The Nashville Predators took on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in their second game of the season and came away with a 2-0 win. The Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes two nights ago in their season opener, while the Oilers lost to the St. Louis Blues the same night. Last season, Nashville won all three games against Edmonton, with then-rookie Filip Forsberg scoring two of the winning goals. Since then the Oilers organization has gone through many changes, with a new coach, general manager and first overall pick.
At the beginning of the game, right winger James Neal was down on the third line, but he made his way back onto the top line before the end of the first period. Period one had no goals scored from either team despite several chances, including an open net for Neal, who missed the bouncing puck. The Oilers started out strong, before the Predators took over, with shots ending up 14-to-8 in favor of the home team. Edmonton could not convert on either of their two power plays, the first of which McDavid drew by winning the battle for the puck against Shea Weber, Nashville's 6'4" captain.
Edmonton was more dominant in period two, with both the top line featuring Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and McDavid's second line looking dangerous and the shots favoring them 14-to-9. Unfortunately, the visitors failed to convert on another two minutes with the man advantage, and their opponents scored in the final two minutes of the period. Craig Smith converted a 2-1 opportunity off a nice cross-ice pass from Colin Wilson.
In the third period Nugent-Hopkins had a potential goal reviewed, but the on-ice call of no goal stood due to a distinct kicking motion to send the puck into the net, which was the right call. The Oilers put a lot of pressure on Pekka Rinne on their fifth power play, but they could not solve him. Forberg scored a goal set up for Mike Ribeiro with seven minutes left, killing Edmonton's chances to tie the game, especially when they take a penalty shortly afterwards. A couple of good short-handed chances and an extra attacker when the goalie was pulled were not enough to beat Rinne, who ended uo with his 37th career shutout.
McDavid is still without his first NHL point, though he looked calmer and more effective playing with Benoit Pouliot and Lauri Korpikoski.
Next up, Nashville has two days off before taking on the New Jersey Devils on the road on Tuesday, October 13th. Edmonton, meanwhile, will continue to look for their first win of the season when they play the Dallas Stars that night, also on the road.