Andrew Brunette dismayed by 'self-inflicted' errors in Predators loss

It’s been one step forward, two steps backward for the Nashville Predators this season.

Riding a brief high after a two-game win streak, the Predators looked poised to climb out of the bottom of the Central Division against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 29.

Instead, Nashville (8-13-4, 20 points) lost 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena, succumbing to familiar issues − early defensive mistakes and an ineffective offense.

"It's really hard in this league when you give up one in the first minute and one in the last minute of the period," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said after the loss.

For the third time this season, the Predators allowed a goal in the first minute of play when Gabriel Vilardi scored 47 seconds into the game. On Nov. 22, the Colorado Avalanche scored 15 seconds into the game, then on Nov. 24, the Florida Panthers scored just 11 seconds in.

This time, the Predators made it worse by allowing Nino Niederreiter to score with 54 seconds left in the first period.

"We just stub ourselves in the toe, night after night. Two missed assignments in the first period," Brunette said.

After the Jets built a 3-0 lead, they held the Predators at arms length for most of the game. That is, until Nick Blankenburg and Luke Evangelista combined to make it a one-goal game early in the third period.

But once again, a defensive error let the game slip away from Nashville. A defensive turnover allowed Jets forward Kyle Connor to deflect the puck by Justus Annunen to extend the lead to 4-2 with 10 minutes to play.

"On the fourth goal, we had the puck on our stick in the neutral zone and we turned it over," Brunette said. "We turned it over about three or four times in the defensive zone and lost a stick in front of the net. It was a little bit self-inflicted."

The Predators have had goal-scoring issues and this game was no different. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, and Ryan O'Reilly − three players expected to put up points − combined for zero points and just two shots on goal. Another offensive weapon, Jonathan Marchessault, missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

"That's why the fourth goal hurts so much," Brunette said. "We had really good momentum, we had them on their heels. We kind of got into our game."

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Brunette added that he liked what he saw out of the Predators' young core. In addition to Evangelista and Blankenburg, he liked what forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt, Reid Schaefer, and Tyson Jost produced.

"The margins are tight, but the energy was there," Brunette said. "I thought they had a lot of jump to their game. We were just slow in other areas."

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at [email protected]. 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: Andrew Brunette dismayed by 'self-inflicted' errors in Predators loss