Live coverage: Golden Knights can’t mount comeback, fall to Predators

By Justin Emerson

Published Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 | 4 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 | 9:51 p.m.

Sometimes a hot goal-scorer is all it takes to decide the outcome of a game. 

The Golden Knights ran into that Tuesday in the form of Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg, who scored two goals that were each impressive in their own ways. Nashville scored the first three goals of the game, and two late ones by Vegas weren't enough to avoid a 3-1 defeat at T-Mobile Arena.

Forsberg was a monster in the offensive zone Tuesday night. His first was just cleanly beating a goalie — he picked up a drop pass and lasered the puck by Logan Thompson, who could only look behind him and wish it missed the net. It didn't, and the goal put Nashville up 1-0.

Yakov Trenin tipped in a goal later in the second period to put Nashville up two, but it was Forsberg's second goal that will make the highlight reels. He started the play down the left wing by barreling through Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, then stopping on a dime once he hit the net to back-hand the puck into the goal. It made the score 3-0, and sent Golden Knights fans for the exits.

Vegas though, didn't give up. A couple of penalties led to a 4-on-3 for the Golden Knights, who promptly called timeout to set up a play and pulled Thompson with nearly 11 minutes left in the game for a two-man advantage. It didn't pay off, but it was a gutsy call by the Golden Knights.

William Karlsson ensured there would be no shutout when he put Vegas on the board with 7:59 to play. He crashed the net and Brayden McNabb's shot deflected off him and into the goal, scoring on the Golden Knights' 33rd shot of the game. It was Karlsson's 100th goal with the team.

And they made things interesting when they pulled Thompson again for the extra attacker, and Shea Theodore found the net with 1:46 to play, trimming the lead to 3-2. They had a few dangerous chances in hunt of another 6-on-5 goal, but could not find the equalizer.

The defeat spoiled the starting debut of Thompson, the Vegas goalie making his second career appearance but first start. He was solid in net, allowing the three goals that netminders with far more experience than him would likely have also conceded. He finished with 22 saves.

Including Sunday's overtime defeat to the Jets, it was the first time Vegas lost back-to-back games since Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, and the first time the Golden Knights dropped back-to-back home matches since Oct. 22 and 24, their third and fourth home games of the season.

Vegas finished with a 43-26 edge in shots on goal.

Golden Knights give up 2, trail Predators after 2

The Golden Knights struggled defensively in the first period, but it didn't hurt them on the scoreboard. It caught up to them in the second, and the Nashville Predators grabbed a multi-goal lead.

Filip Forsberg and Yakov Trenin both found the back of the Vegas net in the second period, and put the Golden Knights in a 2-0 hole at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Forsberg's shot was a thing of beauty, one even experienced goalies would have trouble with, not to mention ones making their NHL starting debut. He took a drop pass from Mikael Granlund and wripped a frozen rope of a wrister by Logan Thompson 2:41 into the second to open the scoring.

Trenin's goal took an equal amount of skill, but in a different way. He stationed himself to Thompson's left and put his stick out when Philippe Myers wound up for a slapshot. Myers' bullet came flying, and Trenin deflected it into the net for a 2-0 lead at 7:01.

The Golden Knights turned up the pressure after the second Nashville goal, including a dangerous power play that ultimately came up empty. They did take the shots-on-goal lead though, and went into the break with a 22-21 edge.

Golden Knights start slow, but tied with Predators after 1

The Nashville Predators didn't exactly make life easy on Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson in his first NHL start. But Thompson was up to the task.

Thompson, making his second NHL appearance but first start, overcame any nerves he may have had to turn in a solid 20 minutes Tuesday, turning away all 10 shots he saw to send the game to first intermission in a 0-0 draw at T-Mobile Arena.

Thompson made his first save just 36 seconds in, and looked calm after that. The shot total may not have been high but the Predators made Thompson work, including a real dangerous chance from leading scorer Filip Forsberg near the nine-minute mark. That immediately preceded a Nashville power play, though the Predators had just one shot.

On the other end of the ice, the Golden Knights were unable to muster much. Their best chance came after an early Predators turnover led to a 2-on-0 for Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, but Marchessault's shot was turned aside.

Other than that, Vegas struggled to exit its own zone, and iced the puck eight times.

Nashville led 10-8 in shots on goal.

Golden Knights using all-rookie goalie tandem against Predators

Logan Thompson led the Golden Knights onto the ice for warmups Tuesday as the starting goaltender against the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena to mark the first start of his career.

That was expected after morning skate. What wasn't was Dylan Ferguson backing him up.

Combined Thompson and Ferguson have just over 18 minutes of NHL action, both in relief, and have faced four total shots. Thompson entered a game last season, while Ferguson has not appeared in a game since he was used in an emergency basis in 2017.

Laurent Brossoit has started the last four games for Vegas while Robin Lehner has been out with a lower-body injury. Lehner has returned to practice, but was clearly not in game shape for Tuesday. The reason for Brossoit's absence is unknown.

Golden Knights ready to take on surging Predators

Entering the season, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see the Nashville Predators contending for a playoff spot. Contending for the best record in the Western Conference though? Few saw that coming.

Backed by an elite defenseman and goalie and some resurgent seasons from their forward group, the Predators come to T-Mobile Arena tonight just three points behind Vegas for the most in the conference. They've won eight of their last 10, and will pose a threat for the Golden Knights on both sides of the ice. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

"They've got a lot of good skill up front and their back end is pretty solid too, so it's going to be a tough match for our group," Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said. "But I think the way we've been competing as of late, hopefully we can jump on them early and continue that pressure."

The identity of the Predators for years has been defense and goaltending. Roman Josi won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2020, and he's well on his way this season to competing for a second, while goalie Juuse Saros even picked up Hart Trophy votes as league MVP. Their credentials were unquestioned.

The surprise came from the resurgence of two centers, Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. Both are paid handsomely, and both struggled mightily last year. This season both are in double digits in goal-scoring after failing to do so last year. Throw in 15 goals in 23 games from gifted winger Filip Forsberg, and the Predators' strong defensive lineup now has the ability to put the puck in the net.

"They're getting elite goaltending and all their best players are having bounce-back-type years," coach Pete DeBoer said. "That's a formula for any team to have success — great goaltending and your best players playing at a really high level."

Tonight's game could feature the starting debut of goalie Logan Thompson. He was one of two goalie, along with Robin Lehner who DeBoer called "doubtful" yesterday, to participate in this morning's optional skate. Laurent Brossoit has started the last four games for Vegas and hasn't surrendered 12 goals including five on Sunday to Winnipeg, so if Lehner can't go, turning to Thompson makes sense as an option.

Thompson, who won the AHL' goaltender of the year award last season, has backed up the Golden Knights' starter a handful of times this season and last, but only appeared in one game — entering in relief for the final eight minutes of a loss to Minnesota last season, making two saves.

While the Golden Knights' first-ever draft pick Cody Glass, who was traded to Nashville in the offseason, won't be coming to town tonight — he is currently with AHL Milwaukee, a lower-profile former Golden Knights forward is still coming. Nick Cousins played seven games with Vegas after coming over at the 2020 trade deadline, and appeared in 17 postseason games before he was not tendered a contract and became a free agent.

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-115, Predators minus-105; over/under: 6 (minus-115, minus-105)

Golden Knights (22-12-1, 45 points; 1st place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)

Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (34)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (16)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (24)

Expected goalie: Logan Thompson (first career start)

Predators (20-11-2, 42 points; 2nd place, Central Division)

Coach: John Hynes (third season)

Points leader: Roman Josi (30)

Goals leader: Filip Forsberg (15)

Assists leader: Mikael Granlund (24)

Expected goalie: Juuse Saros (2.24 GAA, .925 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Evgenii Dadonov

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar

Michael Amadio—Nolan Patrick—Brett Howden

Defensemen

Ben Hutton—Alex Pietrangelo

Shea Theodore—Zach Whitecloud

Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan

Goalies

Logan Thompson, Laurent Brossoit