Skip to content

Preds' Ingram stops 33 shots to top Wild in NHL debut

Bruce Kluckhohn / National Hockey League / Getty

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Roman Josi had a four-point game, Connor Ingram won his first NHL start, and the Nashville Predators beat Minnesota 5-2 Sunday night, snapping the Wild's season-opening four-game win streak.

Ryan Johansen scored twice, Josi, Tanner Jeannot and Filip Forsberg had goals and Matt Duchene added three assists for the Predators, who have scored nine goals in two games after scoring eight total in their first four outings.

Nashville has won eight of its last nine games against Minnesota, allowing two or fewer goals in seven of those wins.

The 24-year-old Ingram finished with 33 saves.

Nick Bjugstad and Nico Sturm scored for Minnesota, which was looking to open the season with five straight victories for the first time since 2007-08.

For the fifth straight game, Minnesota allowed the game’s opening goal. Although this time it was the first two goals as the Predators recorded a pair of power-play goals in the first six minutes — and three goals in the opening period.

A shot from the point hit Duchene in traffic, and Josi knocked in the loose puck. Johansen converted on a rebound just over two minutes later after Kaapo Kahkonen couldn’t handle his initial redirect of a shot from Forsberg. Both goals came with a man advantage, a situation in which Nashville finished 2 for 6.

In his first start of the season, Kahkonen stopped 24 shots.

Johansen waited a split-second before snapping a low shot past Kahkonen at 12:25 for a 3-0 lead. Josi recorded an assist and is the only defenseman in the league to have three points in a period this season.

Bjugstad converted an outlet pass off the boards from Jon Merrill to get Minnesota within 3-1 midway through the second, before Forsberg deflected in a slap shot from the blue line by Josi less than two minutes later to restore a three-goal lead.

Jeannot batted the puck out of midair past Kahkonen with 85 seconds left in the second period for a 5-1 lead. Sturm scored on a rebound in the waning seconds of the period.

NOTES: Josi has 13 career games with three or more points. The only Predators defenseman to record more is Shea Weber with 15. … Nashville RW Eeli Tolvanen left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury after being hit by Jared Spurgeon, who was penalized for boarding. The team will provide an update Tuesday. … Minnesota was 0 for 5 on the power play.

UP NEXT

Predators: Return home Tuesday against San Jose.

Wild: Start a three-game trip Tuesday in Vancouver.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox