After an eventful last 24 hours forward Gustav Nyquist assisted the Nashville Predators in taking down the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.
The Nyquist’s welcomed their third daughter Greta into the world last night and Gustav was right with his team the next afternoon. Nashville picked up their first regulation win since Nov. 4 when they were in Edmonton.
“It epitomizes a true professional,” head coach Andrew Brunette said of Nyquist. “Riding the emotional roller coaster yesterday and he wasn’t being expected to come in like that and give an effort like it that speaks volumes of his character and love for the sport. It could have been easy to take the day off but he came in and played great.”
Nyquist, after an undisclosed amount of sleep, notched his second goal as a Predator to take a 2-0 lead in the first period against the Blackhawks.
“We were a little sleepy to start but give them credit they came out hard,” Nyquist said. “We found ourselves up 2-0 and it was nice to put this one away. I thought we played pretty desperate to keep that lead and it was great to see us get a win.”
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Taking a positive step forward in the win column wasn’t the only thing that went well. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen picked up his second win of the season making 29 saves on 31 shots faced against his former team.
“We have [Juuse Saros] in here who is a world-class goalie and one of the best in the world so it’s tough to steal some games,” Lankinen said. “But at the same, I have my own motivation and my own desire to get better, perform, and take some steps in my career. That’s the big picture to keep in mind work hard every single day and earn your starts.”
Just one shot on goal came from the renowned rookie Connor Bedard who was taken first overall in Bridgestone Arena over the summer by Chicago. He had one assist during his first game against the Predators and won’t be able to capitalize on more chances until Dec. 5 in Chicago.
Looking at the Predators’ offense it featured Cole Smith alongside Philip Tomasino and Michael McCarron. This was the first iteration of this trio playing a game together this season and they made it count.
Smith scored two goals in the win, his second career multi-goal performance in the NHL. His most recent two-goal game came back on Oct. 19 in New York against the Rangers.
“It was easily one of our best games in a little while here. It’s nice to get that one out of the way,” Tomasino said. “I thought we played well and executed well. I felt we were stripping their guys off of pucks and turning quickly.”
Not only did the bottom forward line have good chemistry but when it came down to how Tomasino felt he knew this was another step in the right direction as he got more playing time.
“I felt like I had the puck a lot more and for me the last few games I feel like I’ve gotten into my game and when I’m playing like that I think I can generate a lot,” Tomasino said. “Those two guys are great players as well and I think we complement each other well and it was nice to get that one, I think we had a good game all around.”
After the game, Brunette went even further in his analysis of Tomasino’s line as he saw goals come from in tight around Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Söderblom.
“They were gritty,” Brunette said. “They played into their role, they were going to hound on pucks. I thought [McCarron] was really good and all over the puck and in the offensive zone couldn’t take it away from them. I thought their line was effective and it was nice to see that gritty greasy kind of goal and it was nice to see them get rewarded.”
Nashville has a day off before taking on the Colorado Avalanche who bring former Predators centerman Ryan Johansen back to town for the first time since being traded over the offseason.
As a young prospect at the time, Tomasino reflected on his relationship with Johansen prior to Monday’s game.
“Joey was a pretty big important piece to my career here so far,” Tomasino said. “He did so much for me so It’ll be a good chance to play against him and he’s a pretty big boy so I’m excited to give him a little reverse hit. Hopefully, he’s the one that falls down this time. It’s going to be another big test for us so hopefully we can get that done.”
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