4/82: Tuesday, October 14 vs. Nashville Predators

Final Score: Leafs 7, Predators 4

Well, that got dicey for a moment in the second period.

After Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both found the back of the net in the opening period, the Leafs had to deal with squandering a 2-0 lead for the second game in a row.

Michael McCarron’s first of the season and Erik Haula’s second drew the Predators level with the Maple Leafs.

OEL would add two helpers later in the game to finish with three points.

Making his first NHL start in quite some time, Cayden Primeau (the son of former Craig Berube teammate Keith) got a ton of support from Leafs skaters. Even better for him, they responded quickly as alternate captain John Tavares gave Toronto a 3-2 lead less than five minutes after the 2-2 goal.

It’s a bit baffling to see the disparity between his impressive AHL numbers and lackluster NHL totals. Having made his NHL debut in 2019-20, this is the first season Primeau is not on the Montreal Canadiens.

Across five AHL seasons, Primeau’s save percentage is .912 and his goals against average is 2.5, really good marks for any goalie. Yet, through his time in the NHL (not including this season), his numbers look very different (.884 and 3.7, respectively).

I think Toronto is a great spot for a goalie like Primeau as he can pick his spots behind Anthony Stolarz and can trust that the skaters in front of him will support him with their unique offense, as shown Tuesday night.

Primeau looked good in his first start of the season, stopping 26 of the 30 shots he faced. He didn’t need to be unbeatable. He did his job.

It was again a two-goal gap when Bobby McMann grabbed his own rebound and beat backup 25-year-old Nashville goalie Justus Annunen. Juuse Saros had drawn the start Monday night against the Senators in Ottawa.

The bulk of the scoring was saved for the third period. The Leafs added another goal, the first for Auston Matthews (with a goalie in the net) this season. Roman Josi scored from the point with just under four minutes left to make it a 5-3 game. Sandwiched between Matthews and William Nylander empty-netters, Nick Perbix scored his first goal of the young season.

Despite the loss, Nashville is already off to a much better start this season compared to 2024-25, where they lost their first five games in regulation.

Through the first week of this season, most teams have played either three or four games by now (the New York Rangers have played five) and only the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars (both 3-0-0) remain undefeated.

Sitting at 2-2 after four games, Toronto aims for another victory Thursday when the Rangers come into town. 7pm puck drop.