NHL Recaps: Preds beat Sharks to open season, Crosby scores twice in exhibition, and more
Anthony Scultore
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NHL Recaps: October 7, 2022
Prague, Czechia was the setting as the Nashville Predators were victorious over the San Jose Sharks. The NHL Global Series between the two squads today with a chance for the Sharks to even things up.
In North America, the NHL regular-season will begin for the remaining 30 teams on October 11.
Meanwhile, several teams are wrapping up their preseason strong and getting themselves ready for when the real action begins.
NHL Recaps: Predators take first game of Global Series
Predators 4 vs Sharks 1
Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a season-opening 4-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in the 2022 NHL Global Series on Friday in Prague.
Eeli Tolvanen, Nino Niederreiter and Matt Duchene also scored, and Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville.
Tomas Hertl scored in his return to his home country, and James Reimer made 28 saves for the Sharks.
NHL Global Series (10/7 – 10/8)
| VISITOR | HOME | Time/Score | Broadcast Info |
| San Jose Sharks | Nashville Predators | 4-1 (NSH) | NHLN, BSSO, NBCSCA |
| Nashville Predators | San Jose Sharks | 2:00 PM ET | NHLN, BSSO, NBCSCA |
Nashville opened the scoring by gettin a goal on its second shift of the game.
Sherwood passed the puck out to defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who then slid it over to defensive partner Mattias Ekholm. His point shot was saved by Reimer, but the rebound went off the skate of San Jose forward Logan Couture and Sherwood poked it into the net for a 1-0 lead at 1:01.
San Jose had back-to-back power plays in the first period, and Hertl scored six seconds after the first expired to tie the score 1-1.
Tolvanen gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 1:24 of the second period. Cole Smith brought the puck across the San Jose blue line and left it for Tolvanen, who scored on a slap shot from just above the left circle.
Niederreiter, who signed with the Predators in the offseason after spending the past 3 1/2 seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, scored off a 2-on-1 with Dante Fabbro to extend the lead to 3-1 at 15:14 of the second period.
Duchene scored into an empty net to make it 4-1 with 32 seconds left.
“I thought all the new guys to our team obviously contributed,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “A lot of them contributed on the scoreboard, but I thought also just the style of game they played really fits the identity, so it’s nice. It’s nice for those guys to get off to a good start.”
NHL.com
The teams will meet again Saturday at the same venue, O2 Arena, where attendance was announced at 16,648 for the season opener.
NHL Recaps: Sidney Crosby scores twice for Pens
Penguins 7 vs Sabres 1
Sidney Crosby scored twice and added an assist in the Penguins romp over the Sabres. Jake Guenztel (1G-2A) and Evgeni Malkin (3A) also recorded three points in the contest. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 for Pittsburgh in the victory. Vinnie Hinostroza ruined his shutout bid with a shorthanded goal.
Red Wings 4 vs Maple Leafs 2
Tyler Bertuzzi led the way for the Red Wings along with Alex Nedeljkovic making 21 saves to take down the Maple Leafs. Rasmus Sandin scored his first of the exhibition season after recently ending his hold out. Ilya Samsonov allowed three goals on 26 shots for Toronto.
Jets 5 vs Flames 3
The Jets big names scored in this win over the Flames as they look to get off to a hot start when the season opens. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice along with goals from Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, and Kyle Connor. Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves for the win, while his counterpart Jacob Markstrom allowed 5 on 16 shots. Nazem Kadri scored his first with the Flames in exhibition action.
Oilers 5 vs Kraken 3
Leon Draisaitl led the way for the Oilers with a goal and 3 assists. New starting goalie Jack Campbell stopped 30 of 33 shots in the winning effort. Seattle’s Matty Beniers appears ready to challenge for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, scoring his fourth of the preseason.
Canucks 4 vs Coyotes 0
In what can only be called a joke, Thatcher Demko made 7 saves in 60 minutes of play for a shutout against the hapless Coyotes. Bo Horvat, Dakota Joshua, Elias Pettersson, and Andrei Kuzmenko were the Canucks scorers.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article