December 17, 2025 – The Nashville Predators struggled to generate offense Tuesday night, falling 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes at Bridgestone Arena. Despite a solid effort from goaltender Juuse Saros, Nashville couldn’t overcome Carolina’s balanced attack and strong defensive play in front of 17,159 fans.
The Predators found themselves in an early hole when Jackson Blake opened the scoring at 13:00 of the first period, assisted by Logan Stankoven and Alexander Nikishin. Nashville’s penalty trouble in the opening frame limited their ability to establish momentum, with Brady Skjei’s hooking penalty disrupting their rhythm.
Goaltending Battle
| Goalie | Team | Decision | Saves | Shots Against | Save % | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juuse Saros | NSH | L | 33 | 36 | .917 | 57:58 |
| Pyotr Kochetkov | CAR | W | 25 | 26 | .962 | 59:57 |
The Predators’ struggles continued in the third period when Sebastian Aho capitalized on a power play opportunity at 2:43, extending Carolina’s lead to 2-0. Seth Jarvis added another goal less than two minutes later, putting Nashville in a 3-0 deficit and effectively putting the game out of reach.
Filip Forsberg provided a spark with Nashville’s lone goal at 8:06 of the third period, assisted by Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos. However, the Predators couldn’t generate sustained pressure to mount a comeback. Aho sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:15.
Point Leaders
| Player | Team | Goals | Assists | Points | Plus/Minus | Shots | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Aho | CAR | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 4 | 20:20 |
| Andrei Svechnikov | CAR | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 17:31 |
| Jackson Blake | CAR | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 4 | 16:28 |
| Filip Forsberg | NSH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 19:41 |
| Ryan O’Reilly | NSH | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 | 21:06 |
| Steven Stamkos | NSH | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 18:58 |
Special Teams Woes
Nashville’s penalty kill struggled against Carolina’s power play, surrendering a crucial third-period goal. The Predators went 0-for-3 on their power play opportunities, failing to capitalize when they had the man advantage. The team committed eight penalties totaling 16 minutes, with Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, and Nicklaus Perbix each serving two-minute minors.
The loss drops Nashville to 13-16-4 on the season as they continue searching for consistency. The Predators were outshot 37-26 and struggled to generate quality scoring chances throughout the contest. With Roman Josi recording a minus-3 rating in over 22 minutes of ice time, the defensive unit will need to regroup quickly.
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