Predators Cool Off the Hurricanes 4-1 as Josi and Forsberg Set the Tone
Nashville ended Carolina's four-game winning streak — and Pyotr Kochetkov's perfect start — behind a vintage night from its two franchise cornerstones.
The hottest team in the East ran into a Nashville side that is quietly putting its season back together. The Predators beat the Hurricanes 4-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, ending Carolina's four-game winning streak and handing Pyotr Kochetkov his first loss after a 10-0-0 start to the season, per NHL.com.
The old guard still runs Nashville
Filip Forsberg set up Nick Perbix's first goal of the season with a cross-ice feed in the first period, then found Roman Josi at the back door early in the second for a 2-0 lead. The two assists stretched Forsberg's multipoint streak to five games, tying Josi's franchise record, and he now leads the team with 19 points. Josi later added the primary touch on Adam Edstrom's third-period tip-in — a career-high sixth goal for the big forward — and his earlier strike tied Scott Niedermayer for the eighth-most game-winning goals by a defenseman in NHL history, with 39.
Jackson Blake answered for Carolina in the second, extending his point streak to seven games, but Juuse Saros stopped 29 of 30 and Ross Colton's empty-netter closed it out.
Two teams heading in different directions, sort of
Carolina falls to 12-3-2 — still 12-1-1 across its last 14, so nobody in Raleigh is panicking, though coach Rod Brind'Amour said his team was "trying to do too much." Nashville, at 6-4-5, has points in five of its last six and, as The Hockey Writers notes, currently holds a Western wild-card spot.
The night had subplots, too: Shane Wright made his Predators debut after arriving from Seattle for Matthew Wood and finished plus-2, while Pekka Rinne was honored before the game ahead of his Hockey Hall of Fame induction on November 9.