Jonathan Marchessault's Scouting Led to Penalty Shot Goal

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators (3-2-3) closed the week's homestand with a trio of firsts in a 5-2 victory Saturday night to take down the St. Louis Blues (3-4-1).

Filip Forsberg got his season on track, scoring his first goal of the year with a gorgeous wrap-around finish. Jack Drury slammed the door on St. Louis by scoring his first goal in a Predators sweater in the third period. But the firsts began earlier when Nashville forward Jonathan Marchessault scored the Predators' first penalty shot of the season during a power play.

St. Louis defenseman Adam Jiricek put Nashville on the power play at 8:11 when he tripped Ross Colton. Thirty seconds later the officials put his arm in the air after Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington tossed his stick at Marchessault outside the crease.

Marchessault thought the Predators would see a five-on-three advantage, but instead the officials awarded him a one-on-one penalty shot.

"It was just a good breakout out of us, good puck management," Marchessault said. "Fil [Filip Forsberg] made a good play to me there, just bringing it to the net. Yeah, I knew he was not allowed to do that. So I didn't know it was going to be a penalty shot. I thought it was going to be a five-on-three, but I was happy about it. After I found out it had to be me to go too, I was happy about that. It ended up being good."

Marchessault calmly skated down the left side of the ice, weaving the puck back and forth as he approached Binnington's goal. He slowed to take aim, faked a shot, and fired the puck past the goaltender to tie the game 1-1 in the first period.

"Well, I've been playing for a while against him, and he kind of knows I favor the glove-side a little bit, so I've got to have some different tools in my toolbox," Marchessault explained. "I made a fake shot there, and I saw him go a little bit wider there, so I kind of saw the five-hole open up and just tried to be quick."

Marchessault, 36, is in his 14th NHL season and said his experience playing against Binnigton led to his goal. The building erupted at the home side's first goal of the game, and the Predators were able to dig into the game, ultimately claiming the second win of the year in Bridgestone Arena.

"Yeah, it helps a lot," Marchessault said. "I think Binnington does a great job, he has a whole report, but I've been around for a bit, so I kind of know the guy. He's an aggressive goalie, he's a gamer, he's a great goaltender. So sometimes you can have him on a quick shot, and I just got lucky there."

The result was satisfying for a Predators group that's emphasized starting the season on a positive note. Nashville's up to nine points on the year, tied for fifth in the Central Division and sits tied for the second Western Confernce Wild Card spot after three weeks of play.

"I mean, it's huge," Marchessault concluded. "We had a little bit of a homestand here, and we got three points out of six. It's not the best, but it's okay. We do need to get some more wins on the board here a little bit. We're going to take care of business on the road, and we have a couple practice days ahead of us and days off, so we've got to take advantage of that."

The Predators face two Eastern Conference foes on the road next week before returning to Bridgestone Arena for a four-game homestand to close out the month of October.

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