The Nashville Predators closed out their three-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 10.
The Predators held a 2-0 lead in the game on goals by Ross Colton and Jonathan Marchessault, but Senators center Shane Pinto tied the game with 1:23 left in the third, and also scored the shootout winner.
Despite his team dropping a point after holding a two-goal lead, coach Andrew Brunette was pleased with the effort.
"For 60 minutes, I thought it was our best road game of the trip," Brunette told the media at Canadian Tire Centre. "It was a tight checking affair, we knew that going in. I really liked our third period, it was unfortunate we let one in 5-on-6, because I thought we did a lot of really good things."
Following up
a 5-4 overtime loss to Toronto on Oct. 6 and a 5-2 win over Montreal on Oct. 8, Nashville (2-1-2, 6 points) finished with four out of six points on the road.
Next up, the Predators host the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 13 (7:45 p.m. CT, The Spot Nashville 28) at Bridgestone Arena.
Three players debut for Nashville Predators in shootout loss
Making his NHL debut was Vitali Pinchuk, a 24-year-old ex-KHL center who signed with Nashville in April. He skated on the third line and record his first point, assisting on Colton's goal in the first period. He finished 3-for-7 on faceoffs and played 11:10.
"For his first game, handled himself well," Brunette said of Pinchuk. "He played really well, especially early in the game."
Defenseman Jayden Struble, who was acquired one day earlier in a trade with Montreal, played on the third pair with Adam Wilsby. Thanks to several penalties that disrupted line combinations, he was forced into a bigger role late in the game and held his own: He finished with six hits, two takeaways and two blocks in 19:07.
"(Struble) was really effective with his feet and his physicality. His gap control really helped us here tonight," Brunette said.
Matt Murray also made his Predators debut, and it was his first NHL start since January 2024. The 28-year-old goaltender has spent the past two seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals as the Predators' de facto third goaltender behind Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen.
Murray was named the starter against the Senators, with Saros having played the team's first four games and Annunen still dealing with an injury.
"Awesome, just awesome. This is why you love sports, for moments like that," Brunette said of Murray,. "For a guy who's been waiting his turn and we haven't gotten him in, then he steps in and plays great. Feel a bit bad that we didn't pull the win out for him."
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Three players debuted in Predators' shootout loss to Senators, here's how they looked
