NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night, his team’s fifth to open the season, Steven Stamkos, the headline addition in a summer full of them for the Nashville Predators, tried to keep it all in perspective.
“We’re going to have to watch some film and do some work,” he said. “By no means is the season lost.”
If the season is to turn around, Tuesday was a good start, as Juuse Saros made 33 saves and the Predators ended their losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist each while Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist also scored for the Predators, who entered the game as the only team in the NHL without a win.
“I’ve been trying, I mean, I’ve hit a couple of posts, and a bar, so far,” Nyquist said on the FanDuel Sports Network, after scoring his first of his season. “So, I tried to switch it up and do something different.”
The shutout was the 25th of Saros’ career, while across the ice, Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves for Boston. In his only two previous starts in Nashville, Swayman posted shutouts, stopping all 70 combined shots he’d faced in those games.
O’Reilly scored the game’s first goal with 2:44 left in the opening period, ending Swayman’s Bridgestone Arena shutout streak at 136:34.
With the Predators on a power play, Roman Josi fired a slap shot from above the right faceoff circle and O’Reilly tipped it past Swayman on the short side.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.