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How Predators' Roman Josi helped tame Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers in 4-3 OT win
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- How Predators' Roman Josi helped tame Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers in 4-3 OT win
The Nashville Predators pulled off an impressive 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 13.
And like their win over the Washington Capitals two days earlier, captain Roman Josi played a big role.
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"Big moments, big plays, two games in a row," coach Andrew Brunette said of his captain after the win.
Josi scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead the Predators (22-20-4, 48 points) over the Oilers. His first goal came 38 seconds after the Oilers had taken a 3-2 lead in the second period and his game-winner came off a pass from Brady Skjei with 1:18 left in overtime.
"As much as the overtime goal was big for us, the goal to make it 3-3 when we'd lost momentum was arguably the play of the game," Brunette said.
Josi's overtime winner came off a broken play during 3-on-3. After Ryan O'Reilly lofted a long pass to Josi, Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry came out of the net to poke the puck. But Skjei was able to gather the loose puck and find Josi along the goal line. Josi then fired a tight angle shot into the net just as Jarry was getting back to the crease.
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"I was a little nervous, it was tight and I was tired," Josi said. "I was like, 'I don't want to go back (on defense) again,' I'd been out there for a while. But (Skjei) made a great play and I'm glad it went in."
The win ended a five-game losing streak for the Predators against the Oilers. It also puts Nashville closer to a playoff spot - the Preds are now tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild card spot, though the Kings have the current tie breaker with one fewer game played.
Beating the Oilers has been a tough task for the Predators over the years. Edmonton had won 14 of the last 16 games against Nashville, dating back to the 2020 season. In the Predators' previous meeting against the Oilers on Jan. 6, Connor McDavid scored a hat trick in a 6-2 win for Edmonton.
But in this game, McDavid was limited to just two assists.
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"We kept (McDavid) to two points, I think. I guess that's a good night," Josi said, smiling.
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Josi was a big part of containing McDavid. According to Natural Stat Trick , Josi was on the ice for 7:31 against McDavid. During that time, McDavid's line accounted for only three shot attempts, allowing seven to the Predators.
Next up, the Predators visit the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 16 (8 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com . Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1 . Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds .
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Predators' Roman Josi helped tame Connor McDavid, Oilers in OT win
