January 20, 2026 — The Nashville Predators couldn’t overcome an early deficit, falling 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres at Bridgestone Arena before 17,159 fans. Despite Ryan O’Reilly’s two-goal performance and Filip Forsberg’s three-point night, Nashville was unable to complete a comeback after spotting Buffalo a 4-0 lead.
The loss drops Nashville to 23-22-4 on the season, while Buffalo improves to 27-17-5 with the victory.
Goaltending Battle
The Predators utilized both netminders in the contest, with Juuse Saros absorbing the loss before giving way to Justus Annunen in relief.
| Goalie | Decision | GA | SA | SV | SV% | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juuse Saros (NSH) | L | 4 | 18 | 14 | .778 | 23:54 |
| Justus Annunen (NSH) | – | 0 | 13 | 13 | 1.000 | 34:09 |
| Alex Lyon (BUF) | W | 3 | 34 | 31 | .912 | 60:00 |
Game Flow
Buffalo seized control early as Noah Ostlund scored twice in the opening period, with Konsta Helenius adding a third to make it 3-0. Tage Thompson extended the lead to 4-0 early in the second before Nashville mounted its response.
O’Reilly got the Predators on the board at 10:09 of the second period with assists from Forsberg and Brady Skjei. Forsberg cut the deficit to 4-2 less than two minutes later, with O’Reilly providing the helper.
Point Leaders
| Player | Team | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan O’Reilly | NSH | 2 | 1 | 3 | +2 | 4 | 20:42 |
| Filip Forsberg | NSH | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 7 | 19:38 |
| Konsta Helenius | BUF | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 4 | 14:43 |
| Peyton Krebs | BUF | 1 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 12:31 |
| Noah Ostlund | BUF | 2 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 3 | 16:58 |
O’Reilly completed his two-goal night at 9:30 of the third period, pulling Nashville within one at 4-3, but the Predators couldn’t find the equalizer. Peyton Krebs sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:14.
By The Numbers
Nashville outshot Buffalo 34-32 and dominated possession with a 63.8% Corsi percentage but struggled with finishing, converting at just 8.8% compared to the Sabres’ 15.6%. Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play, with all goals coming at even strength.
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