NHL - Central Division - Pre-Season Games

Minnesota
Wild v Buffalo Sabres 2-3 - Monday, September 21
Jack Eichel scored a shorthanded goal with 5:44 remaining in the third period to give the Buffalo Sabres a win against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Eichel, the second pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, was making his professional debut. He earned his first point earlier in the period with an assist on Matt Moulson's goal to tie the game 2-2. Jared Spurgeon gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 13:12 of the first period before Sabres forward Nicolas Deslauriers scored with 1:32 left in the period to tie the game 1-1. Mikael Granlund scored a power-play goal at 11:04 of the second period to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. Chad Johnson made 15 saves on 17 shots in two periods for the Sabres; Nathan Lieuwen made three saves on three shots in the third period. Darcy Kuemper played the entire game for the Wild and had 16 saves.
Wild v Winnipeg Jets 1-0 OT - Tuesday, September 22
Matt Dumba scored at 4:12 of overtime to give the Wild a 1-0 victory against the Jets at MTS Centre. Justin Fontaine and Charlie Coyle assisted on Dumba's goal. Niklas Backstrom played the entire game for the Wild and made 28 saves for the shutout. Ondrej Pavelec started for Winnipeg and stopped all 19 shots he faced. Connor Hellebuyck made six saves.

Wild @ Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 - Thursday, September 24
Five players scored and Charlie Coyle had three assists for the Wild in their 5-2 victory against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Christian Folin and Nino Niederreiter each scored a power-play goal in the first period to put the Wild ahead 2-0. Blue Jackets forward James Sheppard cut the lead in half when he scored at 16:29 of the first. Jonas Brodin restored the two-goal lead when he scored on the power play at 18:36 of the second period. Erik Haula made it 4-1 at 8:47 of the third before Columbus center Brandon Dubinsky made it a two-goal game at 11:25. Jason Zucker, who had two assists, scored into an empty net at 19:00. Devan Dubnyk played the entire game for Minnesota and made 22 saves. Curtis McElhinney started for Columbus and made saves on 19 of 21 shots before being relieved by Anton Forsberg, who made four saves. Minnesota was 3-for-5 on the power play; Columbus was 1-for-2.


Wild @ Edmonton Oilers 0-3 - Saturday, September 26
Anders Nilsson made 25 saves, and Connor McDavid had two assists for the Oilers in a 3-0 win against the Wild at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
McDavid, who did not play the prior two preseason games, had the secondary assist on a first-period goal by Anton Slepyshev and a third-period goal by Oscar Klefbom. Rob Klinkhammer also scored in the third period. Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves playing in his hometown. Erik Haula scored 24 seconds into a 3-on-3 overtime period for Minnesota.
Wild v Buffalo Sabres 6-1 - Thursday, October 01
The Wild had 42 shots in a 6-1 win against the Sabres at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota outshot Buffalo 42-11. Jason Zucker, Tyler Graovac, Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter, Zac Dalpe and Thomas Vanek scored for the Wild, who led 4-0 at 5:38 of the second period. Mikko Koivu had three assists. Devan Dubnyk made 10 saves for Minnesota, which finished its preseason 4-2-0. Tim Schaller scored an unassisted goal and Chad Johnson made 36 saves for Buffalo. Patrick Kaleta made his preseason debut but left the game with a lower-body injury after playing 2:06.

St Louis
Blues @ Columbus Blue Jackets 1-3 - Tuesday, September 22
Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist to help the Blue Jackets defeat the Blues 3-1 at Nationwide Arena. Johansen scored at 3:17 of the first period to give Columbus a 1-0 before assisting on Sonny Milano's power-play goal at 6:45 of the second. Dmitrij Jaskin got St. Louis on the board to make it 2-1 at 1:04 of the third period. Gregory Campbell's empty-net goal gave Columbus a 3-1 lead with 13 seconds remaining. Jake Allen played the first period and made three saves on four shots. Jordan Binnington stopped 13 of 14 shots in relief. Sergey Bobrovsky made 24 saves and didn't allow a goal in two periods for Columbus. Anton Forsberg made 11 saves.
Blues v Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 - Tuesday, September 22
Alexander Steen scored the tie-breaking goal in the second period to help the Blues to a 5-2 win against the Blue Jackets at Scottrade Center. The teams traded goals in the first period; Paul Stastny scored for St. Louis at 10:46, and Boone Jenner tied the game 1-1 at 14:11. Justin Falk scored at 6:20 of the second period before Vladimir Tarasenko scored on the power play and Steen scored at 15:27 to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. Alex Pietrangelo's power-play goal at 4:17 of the third and Spencer Asuchak's goal at 10:24 finished the scoring. Tarasenko, Steen and defenseman Colton Parayko each had two assists. Curtis McElhinney played the entire game for the Blue Jackets and made 31 saves on 36 shots. Brian Elliott made eight saves on nine shots in the first period for the Blues before being replaced by Pheonix Copley, who made 13 saves in 39:48. Columbus was 0-for-1 on the power play; St. Louis was 2-for-3.
Blues @ Chicago Blackhawks 1-3 - Saturday, September 26
Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith each scored a power-play goal for the Blackhawks against the Blues at United Center. Brent Seabrook, who earlier Saturday agreed to terms on an eight-year contract extension, had an assist on Keith's goal, which made it 3-1 with 2:02 left in the third period. Keith and Hossa had an assist each. Corey Crawford made 20 saves. Joel Edmundson gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal with 1:05 remaining in the first period. Jake Allen made 31 saves.
Blues @ Dallas Stars 4-1 - Tuesday, September 28
Brian Elliott made 25 saves for the Blues in a 4-1 win against the Stars at American Airlines Center. Jamie Benn played 17:44 in his preseason debut. The Art Ross Trophy winner had surgeries on his hips during the offseason.
Mattias Janmark gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 3:46 into the second period.
Dmitrij Jaskin, Vladimir Tarasenko and Scottie Upshall scored in the second period for St. Louis (3-2-0), and Troy Brouwer had a third-period goal. Kevin Shattenkirk had two assists. Antti Niemi made 24 saves for Dallas (1-4-0).
Blues v Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 - Thursday, October 01
Jori Lehtera had a goal and an assist in his preseason debut, helping the Blues to a 5-2 win against the Blackhawks at Scottrade Center. Lehtera, who had surgery on his right ankle Aug. 4, assisted on Troy Brouwer's power-play goal at 9:32 of the first period and scored a shorthanded goal at 6:29 of the second.
The Blues went 2-for-2 on the power play, killed seven Blackhawks power plays, and scored twice while shorthanded. Jake Allen made 20 saves, and Dmitrij Jaskin, Kevin Shattenkirk and Brouwer scored for the Blues, who finished their preseason 4-2-0. Dennis Rasmussen and Brandon Mashinter scored first-period goals for Chicago. Neither team scored in a demonstration of the NHL’s new 3-on-3 overtime format.

Dallas
Stars @ Florida Panthers 2-3 - Tuesday, September 22
Jonathan Huberdeau scored two goals, and the Panthers held on to defeat the Stars 3-2 after building a three-goal lead at BB&T Center. Huberdeau scored at 13:01 of the first period and 38 seconds into the second to give Florida a 2-0 lead. Nick Bjugstad's power-play goal at 10:09 of the third period gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. Tyler Seguin and Jason Demers scored in the third for the Stars to make it a 3-2 game. Jack Campbell played the entire game for the Stars and made 32 saves. Roberto Luongo started for the Panthers and made saves on all 15 shots he faced in two periods before he was relieved by Mike McKenna (seven saves).
Stars @ St Louis Blues 0-6 - Thursday, September 24
Brian Elliott made 22 saves to help the Blues shut out the Stars in a 6-0 win at Scottrade Center. Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny each had two goals and an assist. Tarasenko scored a power-play goal at 2:23 of the first period to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead. Petteri Lindbohm, Tarasenko, Joel Edmunson and Stastny scored in a four-goal second period for the Blues to extend their lead to 5-0.
Stastny scored at 11:09 of the third period. Kari Lehtonen played the entire game for the Stars and made 24 saves. The Blues were 1-for-5 on the power play; the Stars were 0-for-4.
Stars v Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 - Saturday, September 26
The Stars scored three times in a 2:19 span of the third period to defeat the Lightning 6-3 in a preseason game at American Airlines Center. Cole Ully (4:59), Tyler Seguin (6:47) and Brendan Ranford (7:18) broke a 3-3 tie. Slater Koekkoek scored for Tampa Bay 2:01 into the third period to tie it 3-3.
Seguin had two goals and an assist, and Patrick Sharp, Esa Lindell and Ranford each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Goalie Antti Niemi, in his first preseason action for the Stars, made 16 saves. Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Ray Emery made 19 saves.


Stars v Florida Panthers 2-4 - Sunday, September 27
Vincent Trochek had two assists and Roberto Luongo made 20 saves in the Panthers' 4-2 win against the Stars at American Airlines Center. Connor Brickley broke a 2-2 tie for the Panthers at 15:41 of the third period. Jussi Jokinen, Reilly Smith and Derek MacKenzie had goals. Mattias Janmark and Travis Moen scored for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals on 20 shots.
Stars v Tampa Bay Lightning 2-3 - Thursday, October 01
Nikita Kucherov scored the first goal but then sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of the Lightning’s 3-2 preseason win against the Stars at Amalie Arena. Kucherov scored 33 seconds after the opening faceoff, then was injured on a hit on his second shift. He played 1:01. Coach Jon Cooper said Kucherov doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of missing the season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers next Thursday. Valtteri Filppula and J.T. Brown also scored for the Lightning. Curtis McKenzie and Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Stars (1-5-0). Ben Bishop made 23 saves in his first full game of the preseason. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen made 21 saves. Nichushkin tied the game 2-2 at 4:51 of the third period, and Brown scored the game-winner with 4:32 remaining. Each team was 0-for-4 on the power play.
Stars @ Chicago Blackhawks 0-4 - Saturday, October 03
Marian Hossa scored twice to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-0 victory against the Stars at United Center in the final preseason game for each team. Hossa opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 12:46 of the second period. Patrick Kane knocked home a rebound at 1:42 of the third period to make it 2-0. Hossa scored again with 3:21 remaining and Andrew Shaw capped the scoring with 1:01 left. Rookie Artemi Panarin had the primary assist on the first two goals for Chicago, which finished the preseason 4-2-0. Corey Crawford made 13 saves before being replaced by Scott Darling midway through the second period. Darling made 15 saves. Antti Niemi played the first two periods for the Stars and made 17 saves on 18 shots. Kari Lehtonen played the third period and made eight saves on 11 shots. Dallas finished the preseason 1-6-0. The Blackhawks open the regular season against the New York Rangers at home on Oct. 7. Dallas opens against the Pittsburgh Penguins at American Airlines Center on Oct. 8.
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25327085/watch-blackhawks-rookie-artemi-panarin-is-a-magician-with-the-puck




Chicago
Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings 5-4 OT - Tuesday, September 22
Trevor Daley, in his first game with the Blackhawks, scored at 1:40 of overtime against the Red Wings at United Center. Daley, who was acquired from the Dallas Stars in the Patrick Sharp trade, also had an assist. Kyle Baun and Jonathan Toews gave Chicago a 2-0 lead after the first period. Teuvo Teravainen scored at 6:24 of the second to make it 3-0 Blackhawks. Anthony Mantha scored for the Red Wings at 14:55 of the second period. After Ryan Garbutt scored for Chicago at 2:39 of the third to make it 4-1, Detroit got three unanswered goals from Riley Sheahan, Teemu Pulkkinen and Luke Glendening to tie it 4-4. Jimmy Howard started for the Red Wings and made 18 saves on 21 shots. Tom McCollum made 14 saves on 16 shots. Scott Darling made 22 saves in 29:53. Mark Visentin allowed four goals on 16 shots. Detroit was 1-for-3 on the power play; Chicago was 1-for-4.
Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings 1-4 - Wednesday, September 23
Tomas Tatar had a hat trick to lead the Red Wings to a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena. Justin Abdelkader also scored, Brad Richards had three assists, while Jakub Kindl and Niklas Kronwall had two assists each. Petr Mrazek made saves on all 16 shots he faced before being relieved by Jared Coreau, who made 15 saves. Andrew Shaw scored a power-play goal for the Blackhawks at 14:29 of the second period. Corey Crawford allowed one goal on eight shots; Michael Leighton made 14 saves. Chicago was 1-for-6 on the power play; Detroit was 1-for-4
Blackhawks @ Montreal Canadiens 5-1 - Friday, September 25
The Blackhawks scored three goals against Carey Price in a 5:07 span of the first period and defeated the Canadiens 5-1 at Bell Centre. Ryan Garbutt, Garret Ross and Kyle Baun scored to give Chicago a 3-0 lead 13:48 into the first period. Zack Kassian scored for Montreal 25 seconds into the second period before Baun scored in the second and Jan Hejda into an empty net in the third for Chicago. Price made 26 saves playing the entire game. Chicago goalie Scott Darling made 22 saves. Baun also had an assist, and Trevor Daley and Andrew Desjardins each had two assists for the Blackhawks.
Colorado
Avalanche v Anaheim Ducks 5-4 OT - Tuesday, September 22
Alex Tanguay scored 1:18 into overtime to lead the Avalanche past the Ducks 5-4 at Pepsi Center. Tanguay, Jack Skille (one goal, one assist), Nathan MacKinnon (two assists) and Nikita Zadorov (two assists) each had two points for Colorado. Conner Bleackley, Mikko Rantanen and Nick Holden had goals.
Jiri Sekac scored twice and Mike Santorelli had two assists for the Ducks. Julius Nattinen and Chris Wagner also scored. Ducks goalie John Gibson played the entire game and made 26 saves. Semyon Varlamov started for the Avalanche and allowed two goals on 17 shots. Roman Will made nine saves. Colorado was 1-for-5 on the power play; Anaheim was 0-for-3.
Avalanche v Calgary Flames 0-1 - Thursday, September 24
Goalie Joni Ortio made 35 saves in the Flames' 6-0 shutout win against the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Josh Jooris scored the game's only goal at 13:50 of the first period. Reto Berra played the entire game for the Avalanche and made 24 saves. Calgary was 0-for-5 on the power play; Colorado was 0-for-4.
Avalanche v Los Angeles Kings 1-2 SO - Sunday, September 27
Dustin Brown scored in the fourth round in the shootout in the Kings' 2-1 victory against the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Jonathan Quick allowed one goal on 11 shots through two periods. Peter Budaj started the third period for Los Angeles and made seven saves. He stopped three of four in the shootout. Michael Mersch opened the scoring for the Kings at 13:19 of the first period. Tanner Pearson scored in the first round of the shootout. Tyson Barrie tied the game for Colorado 1:39 into the second period. Gabriel Landeskog extended the shootout with a goal in the third round. Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves. Jake Muzzin and Matt Greene sustained upper-body injuries during the game. Muzzin was hit hard into the boards by Avalanche forward Blake Comeau eight minutes into the first period. He played four additional shifts in the period but did not return for the second. Greene took his final shift late in the second period. He remained on the bench for the third.
Avalanche @ Anaheim Ducks 0-3 - Thursday, October 01
Shawn Horcoff and Mike Santorelli scored goals 1:49 apart early in the first period, and the Ducks defeated the Avalanche 3-0 at Honda Center. Horcoff opened the scoring at 3:10 of the first period, and Santorelli scored at 4:59. Hampus Lindholm had an assist on each goal. Carl Hagelin, playing his first preseason game for the Ducks after being acquired from the New York Rangers on June 27, scored into an empty net with 2:29 remaining in regulation. John Gibson made 20 saves in two periods before being removed from the game because of illness. Anton Khudobin made 11 saves in the third period for the Ducks. Semyon Varlamov finished with 30 saves for the Avalanche. Matt Duchene scored in a demonstration of the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format.
Avalanche @ Los Angeles Kings 0-4 - Saturday, October 03
First-period goals by Dustin Brown and Kyle Clifford led the Kings to a 4-0 victory against the Avalanche in the annual Frozen Fury preseason game at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Brown scored at 8:56 of the opening period, converting a passout by Dwight King. Clifford stuffed a shot past Avalanche goalie Reto Berra at 15:00 for a 2-0 lead. Trevor Lewis scored 5:17 into the second period and Marian Gaborik had a third-period goal for the Kings (4-1-1), who outshot the Avalanche 28-6 through two periods. Jonathan Quick made 14 saves for Los Angeles, who open their regular season at home against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 7. Berra made 28 saves for Colorado, who finished the preseason 1-4-1. The Avalanche begin the regular season against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center on Oct. 8.

Winnipeg
Jets @ Edmonton Oilers 2-3 - Wednesday, September 23
Matt Hendricks scored on a penalty shot late in the third period to give the Oilers a 3-2 victory against the Jets at Rexall Place. Adam Pardy was called for holding Hendricks on a shorthanded breakaway with 2:12 left in the third, and the Edmonton forward scored against Winnipeg goalie Eric Comrie on the penalty shot for the game-winner. Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle scored power-play goals for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists. Ben Chiarot and Lowry scored goals 6:10 apart in the third period to erase Edmonton's 2-0 lead. Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson made saves on 21 of 22 shots through two periods before being relieved by Comrie, who made 10 saves on 12 shots. Cam Talbot played the entire game for the Oilers and made 30 saves. Oilers rookie center Connor McDavid did not play.
Jets v Edmonton Oilers 3-4 OT - Friday, September 25
Anton Slepyshev scored 2:43 into overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 win against the Jets at MTS Centre in a game they trailed 3-0. Edmonton scored three third-period goals to tie it, topped by Rob Klinkhammer's shorthanded goal with 3:27 remaining. Winnipeg took a 3-0 lead on second-period goals by JC Lipon, Ben Chiarot and Andrew Copp. Ben Scrivens made 31 saves for Edmonton. Lauri Korpikoski had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, and Anton Lander scored a power-play goal. Ondrej Pavelec made 35 saves for Winnipeg. Edmonton was 1-for-8 on the power play; Winnipeg was 0-for-5. Connor McDavid was scratched for the second straight game but was expected to play the following day, against the Minnesota Wild in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Jets @ Minnesota Wild 1-8 - Sunday, September 27
Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund and Matt Dumba scored in the first period to lead the Wild to an 8-1 win against the Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise scored in the second period for Minnesota and Dumba scored again at 14:01 for his second goal of the game. Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin scored in the third period. Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves. Mathieu Perreault scored for Winnipeg. Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson allowed six goals on 18 shots. Connor Hellebuyck made 10 saves.
Jets v Ottawa Senators 4-3 OT - Tuesday, September 29
Mark Scheifele's goal 2:00 into overtime gave the Jets a 4-3 victory against the Senators at MTS Centre. Winnipeg trailed 3-0 at 14:30 of the second period.
Scheifele's wrist shot beat Ottawa goalie Andrew Hammond during the 3-on-3 overtime after the Jets rallied with three goals in the third period. Blake Wheeler scored 26 seconds into the period, and Drew Stafford had a power-play goal with 5:00 remaining before Andrew Ladd tied the game at 19:08 with Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec on the bench for an extra attacker. Pavelec made 22 saves for the Jets, who won for the first time this preseason (1-2-2). Milan Michalek had a goal and an assist, and Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the second period for Ottawa (1-3-2). Craig Anderson started in goal for the Senators and stopped all 17 shots he faced before being relieved midway through the second period by Hammond, who allowed four goals on 12 shots.


Jets v Calgary Flames 3-1 - Thursday, October 01

Mark Scheifele scored two goals to help the Jets defeat the Flames 3-1 at MTS Centre. After Flames defenseman Deryk Engelland opened the scoring at 3:38 of the first period, Scheifele tied it 5:17 later with a power-play goal. Nikolaj Ehlers put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 with 38 seconds left in the first period. He had an assist on Scheifele's first goal. Scheifele, who had an assist on Ehlers' goal, scored his second of the game at 18:34 of the second period. Jets captain Andrew Ladd did not play the third period as a precaution against an injury that has lingered through training camp. Michael Hutchinson made 32 saves for the Jets, and Joni Ortio made 23 for the Flames. Winnipeg defenseman Tyler Myers scored in a demonstration of the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format.
Jets @ Calgary Flames 3-2 - Saturday, October 03
Blake Wheeler and Ben Chiarot scored in the second period and Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves in the Jets' 3-2 win against the Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome in the preseason finale for each team. Winnipeg, who were 3-2-2 in the preseason, opens its regular season on Oct. 8 at the Boston Bruins. Lance Bouma scored 3:45 into the third period and Karri Ramo made 21 saves for the Flames, who were 4-4-0 in the preseason. Calgary will open against the Vancouver Canucks at home on Oct. 7. Drew Stafford scored an empty-net goal for the Jets at 18:54 of the third. David Jones got the Flames back within one at 19:44. Flames forward Jiri Hudler did not play in the third period because of a lower-body injury.
Nashville
Predators @ Florida Panthers 2-5 - Sunday, September 20
Filip Forsberg scored twice to help the Predators race out to a four-goal lead and Ryan Ellis had three assists in a 5-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday. Forsberg, who had 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) as a rookie, scored the first goal of the NHL preseason on the power play at 13:43 of the first period. He scored another power-play goal 8:25 into the third period to give Nashville a 4-0 lead. Vladislav Kamanev, Roman Josi and Colton Sissons scored for the Predators. Carter Hutton made eight saves; Marek Mazanec allowed two goals on 14 shots. Connor Brickley and Jussi Jokinen scored power-play goals for the Panthers. Mike McKenna played the first two periods for Florida and allowed three goals on 19 shots. He was relieved at the start of the third by Colin Stevens, who made eight saves.
"We're just trying to figure out how we want to play during the season. Obviously you can't expect to have this many goals every game during the season, but it was a great start and we've got something to build on." Forsberg told the Predators website
Predators @ Florida Panthers 2-3 OT - Sunday, September 20
In the first 3-on-3 overtime, Mike Matheson scored at 2:05 to help the Panthers rally past the Predators 3-2 in the second game of their doubleheader at Bridgestone Arena. Aleksander Barkov and Shane Harper scored for Florida, which trailed 2-0 less than four minutes into the game. Al Montoya made 18 saves for the Panthers before being relieved by Sam Brittain, who denied all nine shots he faced. Nashville held an early 2-0 lead after goals from Taylor Aronson and Mike Fisher. Pekka Rinne started in goal and made 11 saves; Juuse Saros allowed two goals on 14 shots. Each team was 0-for-3 on the power play.
"We had our chances. We had two breakaways and quality scoring chances right in the slot, so it's back-and-forth hockey. You've got to play smart. The League wants odd-man rushes, and that's what they got. It just depends on who capitalizes first." Seth Jones said.
Predators @ Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 OT - Tuesday, September 22
Mattias Ekholm's power-play goal with 1:10 left in overtime gave the Predators a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against the Lightning at Amalie Arena. Cody Bass and Viktor Arvidsson scored goals 2:10 apart in the third period to erase the Lightning's 2-0 lead and help send the game to overtime. Erik Condra opened the scoring at 2:58 of the second period, and Jonathan Drouin made it 2-0 at 1:01 of the third. Ray Emery made 10 saves without allowing a goal in 30:16 before being replaced by Adam Wilcox, who allowed three goals on 17 shots. Carter Hutton made 26 saves on 28 shots. The overtime was played under the NHL's new 3-on-3 format. However, the Predators had a 4-on-3 power play when Ekholm scored the winner.
Predators v Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 - Wednesday, September 23
Craig Smith scored twice, and Colin Wilson, Roman Josi and Mike Ribeiro each had two assists in the Predators' 5-2 win against the Lightning at Bridgestone Arena. James Neal, Shea Weber and Colton Sissons had goals for Nashville. Pekka Rinne played the entire game and made 30 saves. Vladislav Namestnikov and J.T. Brown scored for the Lightning. Adam Wilcox allowed four goals on 21 shots; Allen York made eight saves. Nashville was 2-for-7 on the power play; Tampa Bay was 1-for-4.
Predators v Columbus Blue Jackets 2-5 - Tuesday, September 29
Brandon Saad had two goals and two assists for the Blue Jackets in a 5-2 preseason win against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Linemate Ryan Johansen had a goal and two assists, and Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist.
Nashville took a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Austin Watson 9:03 into the game. Columbus scored the next five goals; Scott Hartnell gave the Blue Jackets a 4-1 lead 45 seconds into the third period. Barret Jackman scored for the Predators, who lost in regulation for the first time in five preseason games (3-1-1). Pekka Rinne made 12 saves, and Carter Hutton allowed three goals on five shots. Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves for Columbus (3-2-1).
Predators @ Columbus Blue Jackets 1-7 - Saturday, October 03
The line of Nick Foligno, Ryan Johansen and Brandon Saad combined for 11 points in the Blue Jackets' 7-1 win against the Predators at Nationwide Arena.
Foligno had two goals and two assists, Saad had two goals and one assist, and Johansen had four assists for Columbus, which finished the preseason 5-2-1.
Foligno, Rene Bourque and Jared Boll gave the Blue Jackets a 3-0 first-period lead. Cody Hodgson scored for Nashville to make it 3-1 at 1:52 of the second period. Saad scored two in a row before Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky pushed the lead to 7-1. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for Columbus. Pekka Rinne allowed seven goals on 33 shots for Nashville (3-2-1), who opens the regular season Oct. 8 at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.