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Milwaukee Admirals right wing Ozzy Wiesblatt (89) slams Chicago Wolves defenseman Dominik Badinka (4) into the boards in a game Friday, April 18, 2025, at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Continuing with the trend of mixing NHL veterans with young prospects through the pre-season, Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Saturday in Tampa Bay against the Lightning.

While it’s typical to be inconsistent during the pre-season, the Predators appeared disjointed at times and looked like they could break through on other occasions, but fell to the Lightning 4-1 at the newly-named Benchmark International Arena.

Darren Raddysh scored at 5:34 of the first, Mitchell Chaffee tallied one in the second, Brandon Hagel got one late in the third and Gage Goncalves sealed the victory for the Lightning.

Ozzy Wiesblatt scored the only Nashville goal in an otherwise uninspiring night for the Predators, who fall to 2-1-1 in pre-season.

The two teams also met last Tuesday in Nashville, with Tampa Bay coming from behind to win in a shootout. The Predators attempted to pull a similar comeback Saturday, but came up well short.

Here are three takeaways from the matchup against Tampa Bay.

The Predators Started Sluggish

One of the biggest reasons the Predators had such a disappointing 2024-25 was their penchant for slow starts.

The first three games of this pre-season saw the opposite, with the Preds jumping out in front first. That was not the case Saturday, however, as Tampa Bay struck twice, once in the first period and once in the second, for a 2-0 lead. The Preds trimmed the margin to one, but that was as close as they came all night.

Juuse Saros, who had allowed only one goal in his first 60 minutes of pre-season action, yielded two scores on six shots through one-plus periods. He did make several key saves to keep Tampa from widening the gap before giving way to Matt Murray after 40 minutes Murray gave up the final two goals in the third.

The Predators couldn’t get out of the defensive zone and had numerous erratic passes in the first 20 minutes. They picked up the pace in the middle frame, outshooting the Bolts 14-6 in the period and 29-17 for the game. But only one of those shots went in the net.

Ozzy Wiesblatt Gets An Emotional Goal

Some players were seeing their first action of the pre-season including Tanner Molendyk and Zach Lâ€Heureux, who were both coming off injuries.

Ozzy Wiesblatt, who took a brief leave of absence following the death of his brother Orca earlier this month, also suited up for his first action of the pre-season, and he made his presence felt in an emotional way.

Wiesblatt, who played in the Gold Star Showcase Thursday and scored a goal in the five-a-side shootout, got his first goal in actual pre-season action to trim the Bolts†lead to 2-1.

The 23-year-old forward deflected a shot from Fedor Svechkov to get the Preds on the board at the 11:48 mark of the second. Michael Bunting picked up a secondary assist.

It may not have officially counted in the career stat sheet, but it certainly counted in the hearts of all who have been pulling for the Wiesblatt family.

Ozzyâ€s brother, Oasiz, is also back in camp. He, too, notched a goal in the shootout in Thursdayâ€s showcase. On Saturday, it was Ozzyâ€s night. He even got in a scrap in the third period, going off for cross-checking

Wilsby Went To Work

One name both Brunette and general manager Barry Trotz has raved about throughout the first week of camp is Adam Wilsby. The 25-year-old left-shot defenseman is one of the candidates to make the roster with Hague out.

Wilsby was paired with Roman Josi throughout the night. With the Predators trailing 1-0 in the first, both made bids to tie the game, only to be stymied by Bolts goalie Brandon Halverson.

As expected, there were some hiccups. A high-sticking call in the first period and a somewhat questionable tripping call in the second landed Wilsby in the sin bin. Wilsby and Josi were both on the ice on Tampaâ€s second goal. Josi overextended and Wilsby didnâ€t get over in time, and the Lightning took a 2-0 lead.

Wilsby showed his athleticism throughout the game and continues to keep his name in front of Brunette and Trotz for making the roster out of camp. Having the experience and leadership of Josi as his partner can only help the younger playerâ€s development and comfort level.

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Penalties proved costly in a game where the Nashville Predators led the majority of the way.

A late goal by the Lightning in the third period and a conversion in the third round of the shootout gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win over the Predators on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

“I didn’t like our third period,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Obviously, starting the game with a penalty didn’t help anything. I thought we got going and had a great second [period]. In the third we were kind of waiting around a little bit.”

The Predators were scoreless in the shootout as Steven Stamkos, Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault all missed on their attempts. Boris Katchouk scored the game-winning goal for the Lightning.

Here are three takeaways from the Predators preseason shootout loss to the Lightning.

Fans got a taste of what could be ahead of the Predators’ 2025 5th overall pick, Brady Martin, as he scored twice in the second period, both from the same area of the ice.

“It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Martin said. “It’s pretty cool to score in front of a crowd like that and to hear them go wild is pretty cool.”

On the first goal, Martin scored from the right side of the slot off a pass from Matthew Wood, who was on the right side of the goal line close to the net.

His second goal came on the power play on the opposite side. Michael Bunting gave Martin a pass from just above the left side goal line and Martin one-timed it high into the net. The Predators’ top prospect was due for a goal as he led the Predators in ice time after the first period.

Martin finished the night with those two points. He’s been playing in a prominent spot in the lineup in these first two preseason games, centering the second line with Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault.

This bodes well for Martin as he’s looking to crack the Predators roster instead of heading back to Sault St. Marie for another season of juniors.

“Playing with the veterans, they’re leading me along the way,” Martin said. “I think just playing with them is helping me a lot. Learning all different tips and tricks is going to hopefully help me in the future.”

The Lightning committed 20 minutes in penalties in their first preseason game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. That carried over into Tuesday’s matchup as they logged 12 penalty minutes.

At the same time, the Predators committed 18 minutes in penalties, one of which was assessed before the game had officially started. Six seconds into the game, Fedor Svechkov was given a delaying game – Face-off violation for a hand pass. After he committed the penalty, the clock was reset to 20 minutes.

“He [Svechkov] played with his hand right off the face-off and that’s a penalty,” Brunette said. “They [the officials] brought it back to center ice and reset the clock, because it wasn’t a legal puck-drop. I didn’t know the rule either.”

Another notable penalty came in the second period when Jonathan Marchessault was given a two-minute minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct. Tampa’s Grant Spada, who engaged with Marchessault on the penalty, was given a double-minor, putting the Predators on the power play.

Marchessault was in the box again for roughing in the third period.

What this all means is the Predators penalty killing and power play units got a lot of work.

Nashville was on the power play five times for a 9:12 total minutes, and converted on 1-of-5 opportunities. It was on the penalty kill six times and had a 100% execution.

The Predators took half of their six penalties in the third period, and while they were able to kill off each one, they were rarely on the attack and ultimately scored the game-tying goal.

On paper, the Predators’ special teams had a strong night, but they had constantly hampered themselves due to penalties.

On Tuesday, the Predators only top scorer from last season that did not play was Ryan O’Reilly.

Meaning that Nashville had all of its firepower, including Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and more. The top of its depth chart played Tuesday night.

The Lightning did not bring at least nine of their top scorers from last season, which included Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Darren Raddysh was the only player who traveled and scored at least 30 points in a single game last season.

Even it’s goaltending tandem, Brandon Halverson played one game last season.

On paper, this should’ve been a game that the Predators ran away with, similar to their pair of victories over the Panthers on Sunday. However, Nashville played into the penalties, and it ultimately cost them in the end.

“The lucky thing is that game did not count, so we learn from it, go in tomorrow, practice hard and move on from it,” forward Michael Bunting said. “It’s just an unfortunate ending.”

While it is the preseason and the results don’t count, it is somewhat concerning that the Predators, at near full strength, struggled against the Lightning’s prospects, AHL players, and a few regulars.

It’s not going to get any easier for the Predators as they will travel to Tampa Bay on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday, face those top squads and may be depleted in those games as their top players may not travel.

One preseason loss is not the end of the world, as the Predators have three more games left before they open their 82-game slate against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 9 in Nashville.

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After a sweep of the Florida Panthers in Sunday’s double header, the Nashville Predators face another Sunshine State foe on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

It’s one of three preseason games the Predators will play over the next week, the only one of which will be at home.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday’s matchup.

The Predators’ preseason roster has been trimmed down from 60 players to 54 going into the game against the Lightning.

Forwards Hiroki Gojsic (Kelowna/WHL) and Viktor Norringer (Muskegon/USHL), defenseman Alex Huang (Chicoutimi/QMJHL) and goaltender Jakub Milota (Blainville-Boisbriand/QMJHL) have all been reassigned to their junior clubs.

Forward Alex Kostov and defenseman Hayden Barch have been released following the amateur tryout agreements.

Nashville Predators trim roster down to 54 players following preseason games
Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announces Brady Martin is selected as the fifth overall pick to the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Following Sunday’s game, there was no update to defenseman Nicolas Hague’s status. He exited the game early after taking a hit and did not return. It was his first non-official game as a Predator after being traded to Nashville in June. He recorded an assist on a Matthew Wood goal.

Zachary L’Heureux did not play in Sunday’s game after taking a maintenance day on Saturday. He left training camp practice early on Friday.

On Sunday, it was reported that Luke Evangelista traveled back to Toronto as contract negotiations continue between the Predators and Evangelista. The 23-year-old forward was extended a qualifying offer in July, but has yet to sign a new deal.

Luke Evangelista, Nashville Predators reportedly ‘far apart’ from agreeing on new contract
The offseason is ending the same way it started for forward Luke Evangelista and the Nashville Predators, as both parties have not agreed on a new contract.

• Matthew Wood (1 goal, 2 assists) and Filip Forsberg (1 goal, 2 assists) had three points each in the 5-3 game 2 victory. Wood logged minutes on the second line and the Predators’ top power play unit.
• In game 2, the Predators’ power play unit of Wood, Forsberg, Roman Josi, Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos was 2-of-2, taking less than 35 seconds to find the back of the net.
• Erik Haula scored twice in the Predators’ 5-0 Game 1 win over the Panthers. It was his first game in a Predators uniform since May 27, 2021. He skated with Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Bunting on the first line.
• Joakim Kemell was a priority player in Game 1, playing on the second line with Michael McCarron and Reid Schaefer, the first power play unit and the penalty kill.

4 things we saw in Nashville Predators preseason games against Florida Panthers
Hockey is back in Smashville!

Tampa Bay played its first preseason game on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, walking away with a 2-1 victory.

Conor Geekie recorded two assists and a fight. There were no lack of penalties in the game as a combined 66 minutes were handed out. Steven Santini led the Lightning with 12 penalty minutes as he was called for boarding and given a misconduct in the third period.

Tampa Bay also delivered 27 hits and blocked 16 shots.

This will also be defenseman Nick Perbix’s first game against his former team since he signed as a free agent with the Predators in July.

5 observations from the Lightningâ€s preseason opener in Carolina
In the first of seven exhibition games, Mitchell Chaffee, Conor Geekie and Emil Lilleberg are among the nightâ€s standouts.

Puck-drop: 7 p.m. CST

Where: Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway Ave., Nashville, Tennessee

Streaming: NashvillePredators.com

Radio: ESPN 102.5 The Game and the Preds Radio Network

Tickets starting at $5 can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com

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