Niederreiter Scores on Debut, Predators Beat Sharks in Prague – TSN.ca

PRAGUE (AP) – The Predators’ signings quickly made themselves felt in the NHL’s first game of the regular season.

Nino Niederreiter scored his debut goal for Nashville, who defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1 in the Czech capital on Friday night.

Another freshman, Kiefer Sherwood, became the first player to score this season, putting Nashville in the game 1-01. Eeli Tolvanen also scored and Matt Duchene completed with an empty net.

“All the new guys on our team have obviously contributed a lot,” said coach John Hynes. “The style, the game they played really fits the identity we want to play.”

Teams will return to Prague’s O2 Arena on Saturday for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the league’s return to Europe.

Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose in the first period and thrilled the 16,648 spectators in his hometown. Tolvanen’s goal at 1:24 of the second gave the Predators the lead to stay.

The Predators overtook the Sharks 32-31 while Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 30 shots.

Niederreiter and defenseman Ryan McDonagh were key offseason additions for the Predators, who hope to continue a streak of eight straight playoff finishes. That ties Washington for the second-longest active streak in the league.

Niederreiter made it 3-1 late in the second period with a one-timer from Dante Fabbro.

“To be honest, this journey has been very easy for all the new guys,” said Niederreiter. “We bonded very well. I mean, they’re very inviting, so I think that’s a big reason we clicked the ice.”

Sherwood rebounded past goaltender James Reimer, who finished with 28 saves.

Hertl, 28, who recently signed an eight-year, $65.1 million deal to remain at San Jose, picked up a feed from Timo Meier and found the roof of the just 6 seconds after a Sharks power play ended net.

“Obviously that was a very special moment,” said new San Jose coach David Quinn. “That inspired us a bit and we played better afterwards.”

Quinn was hired after the Sharks missed the NHL playoffs for the third straight season.

“I like some of the things we did, but when they made it 3-1 I really thought there was a big difference in the way they played compared to the way they played we were playing,” Quinn said.

The Sharks converted just 19% of power plays last season, and on Friday they struggled again, going 0-4 with the man advantage. Nashville also went empty-handed with four power plays.

OVER THE POND HOCKEY

This is the ninth season the NHL has played games in Europe, where it hopes to connect with fans in hockey-loving countries like the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland.

Nashville played in Europe for the first time. The Predators were set to open the 2020-21 season in Prague against the Boston Bruins before the pandemic threw those plans away.

The Sharks have played four previous games outside of North America. They met the Columbus Blue Jackets twice in Stockholm and played two games against the Calgary Flames in Tokyo in 1998.

Friday’s opener was the first NHL game in Europe since the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabers met in Stockholm on November 9, 2019.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers were the last NHL teams to play in Prague on October 4, 2019.

The league’s 2022 Global Series concludes in Tampere, Finland, where defending Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche will take on the Blue Jackets on November 4-5.

REMARKS

Friday’s matchup was the 29th game of the regular season in Europe and the sixth in Prague. … Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on Friday that the schedule for next year’s games in Europe would be announced in the “relatively near future”.

NEXT

The teams complete the series on Saturday evening.

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