Predators Close Out Home Slate with 6-4 Win Over Blue Jackets

For the Nashville Predators, Saturday's 6-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets was a typical Game 81.

It wasn't always pretty – Nashville was outshot 15-9 in the first period and gave up two late goals in the third – but it was enough to secure the win.

"It wasn't particularly our sharpest detail game, but I thought some guys created," head coach Andrew Brunette said. "The power play was good. I thought every line generated offense. But I think when you get ahead big in games like this, sometimes you try to make too many plays. I didn't like that some of the plays left [ Juuse Saros ] out to dry."

Still, the end result saw Nashville take both ends of a back-to-back set after earning a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on the road Friday. Both the Blue Jackets and the Blackhawks had already been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Predators had clinched their spot in the postseason last week.

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"All in all, we'll take four [points] in the back-to-back," Brunette said. "We knew both games would be hard. Teams that have nothing to lose, they're never fun to play this time of year. So we'll take it."

Roman Josi had two goals and two assists in the Predators' win. With his 23rd goal of the season, Josi tied Shea Weber (2008-09) for the most in a single season by a Predators defenseman; the record was matched by Weber in 2013-14 and Josi in 2021-22. Josi’s four-point performance was the eighth of his career, which ranks second among active defensemen behind Pittsburgh's Erik Karlsson (10).

Saturday's win also saw a number of other noteworthy performances for the Predators. Tommy Novak had two goals and an assist, and Luke Evangelista and Gustav Nyquist each had two assists. Filip Forsberg scored his 47th goal of the season. Saros made 31 saves, and Jeremy Lauzon registered seven hits to bring his season total to 374 and put him just nine away from setting a new NHL single-season record. Jaret Anderson-Dolan made his Predators debut and recorded two shots and three hits over 13:39 of ice time.

"I think it probably wasn't our best and not always our style that we want to play," Josi said. "These games aren't always easy, but we find the way to win. And it's important for us to get the win in the last regular-season game here at home; that's the main thing."

The Predators will close out the 2023-24 regular season on Monday when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.