While the Predators have spent the last week playing their way through the Mountain and Pacific time zones, we don’t blame you if you’ve been unable to stay up late to catch all the game action.
Fortunately, we have you covered with all the latest updates on the Preds’ 12-day road trip and some exciting upcoming events at Bridgestone Arena. Here’s a look back at the week that was:
Back-to-Back
After dropping the first game of their five-game road trip to Edmonton, the Preds won two straight in Calgary and Vancouver. This marks the first time Nashville has won consecutive games since sweeping the San Jose Sharks in the Global Series in Prague to open the 2022-23 season.
As the Preds return stateside to wrap up their road trip with matchups against the Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche, they will look to continue building a winning culture after a slow start to the season.
“I’d still like us to be a little more consistent,” Head Coach John Hynes said following Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Canucks. “I think we’ve got to come out more ready to play the game that gives us the chance to win, particularly in the first period. And I’ll credit the guys, we came from behind to win a game, but it’s not the right recipe to come in and have a first period like that. But I liked our compete, I liked our mental toughness throughout the game to be able to get ourselves going. But I think we can build off some things here.”
Call-Ups Come in Clutch
Prior to Thursday’s game, President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced that the Predators had recalled forward Mark Jankowski from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Jankowski led the Admirals in points (9) and was tied for the team lead in goals (5) through seven games to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
In his Predators debut on Thursday, Jankowski picked up right where he left off in Milwaukee. His strength and aggressive net front presence paid off late in the first period, when he buried the rebound on a Michael McCarron shot to give the Preds an early 1-0 lead.
Originally drafted by Calgary in the first round (21st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Jankowski is entering his seventh full professional season since making his NHL debut in 2016-17. Prior to his Predators debut Thursday, he had recorded 80 points (42g-38a) in 272 career NHL contests, the majority of which came with Calgary (208) during his four seasons with the Flames from 2016-20. He established a career-high 32 points (14g-18a) in 79 games with Calgary in 2018-19.
Additionally, Preds defenseman Jordan Gross scored his first two career NHL goals in Saturday’s game against the Canucks. His first came on the power play, when he redirected a shot from Nino Niederreiter to cut Vancouver’s lead to 3-1 early in the second period. His second came in the third period on a wrist shot from the point to bring the Preds within one.
Nashville recalled Gross from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals on Oct. 31 when Mark Borowiecki was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury. Gross, playing in his first season with the Predators organization, had seven points (1g-6a) in his first six AHL games with Milwaukee before making his Preds debut Thursday vs. Calgary.
Back on the Homefront
With the Predators on the road, more than 100 volunteers from the Preds front office, Foundation and partner organizations rolled up their sleeves and got to work at the 11th annual KaBOOM! playground build on Nov. 2. Employees from every department of the Predators organization, from marketing to hockey operations, worked together to assemble playground equipment, mix cement, build picnic benches and more for KaBOOM! – a national non-profit working to end playspace inequity by uniting with communities to build kid-designed playspaces.
The recipient of this year’s playspace was Dream Streets, a local nonprofit that has been working for nearly a decade to protect and empower under-resourced families in West and North Nashville.
Coming Soon to Bridgestone Arena
Nov. 9: The 56th Annual CMA Awards. Click here for tickets.
Nov. 12: New York Rangers vs. Nashville Predators. Click here for tickets.
Nov. 13: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Colorado Buffaloes Men’s Basketball. Click here for tickets.
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