Seven Straight for Nashville: O'Reilly Scores Twice, Saros Stops 40 and Josi Wins It in a Vegas Shootout, 3-2

The hottest team in hockey just keeps finding ways. The Nashville Predators trailed the Vegas Golden Knights entering the third period Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, got the tying goal from Ryan O'Reilly, rode goaltender Juuse Saros through a flood of shots and won 3-2 in a shootout on Roman Josi's goal in the fourth round, The Associated Press reported in a recap carried by TSN ^[1]. It was Nashville's seventh straight win ^[1].

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported ^[2].

O'Reilly Does the Heavy Lifting

O'Reilly scored both Nashville goals in regulation. He opened the scoring at 7:56 of the first period, with assists from Steven Stamkos and Mavrik Bourque, Yardbarker reported ^[4]. Vegas answered with goals from Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Andersson and carried a 2-1 lead into the third period ^[1][3].

That is where the veteran center went back to work. O'Reilly tied the game at 9:44 of the third ^[4], and from there the night belonged to the two goaltenders. Neither team scored again through the rest of regulation and overtime.

Saros Stands Tall

The numbers tell the story of how hard Vegas pushed. Saros finished with 40 saves, while Vegas goalie Adin Hill made 30, according to the AP ^[1]. With each team scoring twice, that means the Golden Knights outshot Nashville 42-32 ^[1].

When a team is on the road, being outshot by 10, and still finds a way to get the game to a shootout, the man in the crease usually deserves the first handshake.

The Shootout

The tiebreaker had its own drama. Golden Knights rookie Trevor Connelly scored in the second round to put Vegas ahead, according to the AP ^[1]. Filip Forsberg answered in the third round to keep Nashville alive ^[1][3]. Then Josi, the Predators' captain, snapped a wrist shot past Hill's glove side in the fourth round to win it ^[1].

The victory moved Nashville to 11-4-5, while Vegas fell to 13-5-3 ^[4]. Those records put two of the Western Conference's better teams within a couple of points of each other, and they show how dangerous Nashville has become as a team that does not panic when it falls behind.

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A Strange Night to Be on the Road

Friday was not an easy day for anyone traveling in sports. A nationwide ground stop on air traffic scrambled travel plans for college football, NBA and NHL teams alike, the Los Angeles Times reported ^[5]. In the middle of that chaos, two of the West's better teams put on a tight game that went the distance.

Nashville found a way through it, even if it took 65 minutes and four rounds of a shootout to settle things.

Maguire's Take: Old Hands, Steady Hearts

There is a lot of talk in hockey these days about speed, youth and analytics, and all of that matters. But look at who carried Nashville on Friday night: O'Reilly, Stamkos, Josi and Forsberg, a core of veterans who have been through long seasons, deep playoff runs and plenty of hard nights in tough buildings.

Veterans like that do not get rattled by a one-goal deficit in the third period. They do not get rattled by being outshot by 10 on the road, either. They keep their shifts short, they trust their goaltender, and they wait for the one play that changes the game.

That kind of steadiness is something every young player in the Predators' system can learn from. Being a professional is not just about talent. It is about showing up the same way every night, doing the unglamorous work in front of the net and believing in the man beside you on the bench.

Seven straight wins does not win a Stanley Cup in November. But it does tell you something about a locker room. The Predators look like a team that has found its identity, and on a hectic Friday in the desert, that identity was simple: stay calm, stay together and let the captain finish it.

For Vegas, there is no shame in this one. The Golden Knights put 42 shots on goal and outshot their visitors by a wide margin. On another night, those 42 shots produce a different result. On this night, Saros and the Predators had the answer.