Nashville coach John Hynes used an overtime timeout to strategize for a crucial power play, and his young Predators responded by keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
Cody Glass scored a power-play goal 3:30 into overtime, lifting the Predators to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
“We have so many guys normally … you have an opportunity to practice it, and it was really four new guys that hadn’t been on it,” Hynes said. “So it was just an opportunity just to kind of sit and talk about some certain plays.”
The power play came after Jonathan Marchessault was called for holding Philip Tomasino. Glass scored his 14th goal just 37 seconds into the man advantage, with his shot deflecting off the skate of Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb and past goalie Jonathan Quick.
“We’ll take that,” Glass said. “I was happy it went in. We stuck with it and got a win, so it was huge.”
Tommy Novak scored twice and assisted on Glass’s game-winner, giving him points in 46 games this season. Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves.
The Predators are now three points behind Winnipeg for the second wild card in the Western Conference, with Calgary also in the mix. Nashville visits Winnipeg on Saturday night with five games remaining.
Alex Pietrangelo scored twice in the second period for Vegas, matching his career high. The Golden Knights snapped a two-game winning streak but still lead the Pacific Division and Western Conference with 103 points. Quick finished with 24 saves.
“Sometimes, it’s just not meant to be,” Pietrangelo said. “I thought we poured a lot in on the back-to-back, and we got in really late. You’ve got to be proud of the effort. We obviously wanted to win, but it was something to build off of here. I don’t think we can go home. I’m super disappointed.”
The Golden Knights had a chance to win in regulation with a late power play after Lankinen was penalized for delay of game, but they couldn’t capitalize.
“A late power play, again a chance to win the game, let us down again,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s been a few games now where we’ve had an opportunity to win with that.”
Novak gave Nashville a 2-0 lead in the first 13:08. He scored on a backhand 6:50 into the game and then added a power-play goal with a wrister from the edge of the left circle.
Lankinen made several key saves during a 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the first period, including stopping a shot from Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague.
Nashville nearly went up 3-0, but Egor Afanasyev’s goal was overturned because it was kicked in off defenseman Tyson Barrie’s skate.
Pietrangelo scored his 10th goal of the season with help from a deflection off Predators defenseman Kevin Gravel at 6:00 of the second. He tied the game at 13:39 with a shot into the far net, marking his first two-goal game of the season and eighth of his career.
PRIDE NIGHT
During warm-ups, the Predators wore “Pride Night” jerseys and featured an introductory video welcoming fans.
Hynes and Barrie confirmed the team had discussed the issue and had no objections to wearing the jerseys. Barrie, who has family and friends in the LGBTQ+ community, expressed his support.
“There’s a little bit of frustration on my end with what’s transpired this year with everything, and I think I know how hard it can be for people to come out and live their authentic lives,” Barrie said.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Los Angeles on Thursday night.
- Predators: Host Carolina on Thursday night to wrap up a two-game homestand.
