The Nashville Predators led three separate times but eventually fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4, in overtime Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists for the Penguins, ending his 10-game scoring drought. Filip Forsberg (2 assists) and Brady Skjei (1 goal, 1 assist) led the Predators with two points apiece.
With the overtime loss, Nashville moves to 9-17-7 on the season.
How the Predators stack up against Pittsburgh
Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
L’Heureux-O’Reilly-Nyquist
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
Smith-McCarron-Sissons
Skjei-Blankenburg
Lauzon-Wilsby
Del Gaizo-Schenn
saro
I surrender
More: Barron, Pärssinen
IR: Jose
Jeremy Lauzon was activated on injured reserve and reinstated after missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury. Roman Josi, previously listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, has been moved to IR. Marc Del Gaizo, released Wednesday, cleared waivers and started for the Predators against Pittsburgh.
Justin Barron, acquired Wednesday evening from the trade that sent Alexandre Carrier to the Montreal Canadiens, arrived in Nashville on Thursday afternoon and did not suit up for the Predators’ game on Thursday.
Summary of the game
The Predators opened the scoring when Jonathan Marchessault finished off Filip Forsberg’s layup at the 3:51 mark of the first period. After Marchessault’s goal gave the Predators a 1-0 lead, Bryan Rust tied the game for Pittsburgh at 16:21.
Luke Evangelista had a quick response, grabbing the rebound of Tommy Novak’s shot for an easy point on the power play as Anthony Beauvillier sat down for a foul.
Just over three minutes into the second half, the Penguins with a delayed penalty, Steven Stamkos blocked a shot from the left to extend the Predators’ lead to 3-1. The Penguins scored two goals in just over a minute, however, to make it three points apiece. Crosby headed home Erik Karlsson’s shot to make it 3-2, and Rickard Rakell scored on Lauzon’s leg.
Brady Skjei broke the tie at the 7:44 mark of the third period with a wrist shot from the right circle past Ryan O’Reilly on a 3-on-1 run. However, Karlsson tied it for the Penguins at 11:36 with a wrist shot in traffic.
Rust scored 1:07 into overtime with a wrist shot from the high post off Evgeni Malkin’s pass to make it 5-4.
Key Takeaways and Notes
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Thursday marked the first time this season that Nashville’s big three non-offseason signings – Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei – all scored in the same game.
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With a goal in the first half, Marchessault extended his streak to five games. He has seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in that span.
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Luke Schenn’s assist on Marchessault’s first-period goal was his 200th career NHL point.
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The Predators are now 1-7 in overtime games this season, while the Penguins are 6-5.
Next
The Predators will continue their four-game homestand on Saturday, when they host the game Los Angeles Kings at Bridgestone Arena. The puck drops at 12:30 pm CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and NHL Network.
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