Wild vs. Predators: Blake Coleman Scores the Winner in His Minnesota Debut as the Wild Open With a 3-1 Win

Blake Coleman needed one period to make the Minnesota Wild's summer trade look smart. In the 14th minute of his first game in a Wild sweater, he took a pass from Bobby Brink on the power play, pulled the puck from backhand to forehand in tight and lifted it over Juuse Saros' right pad. Nashville never caught up.

Coleman's goal held up as the winner, Nick Foligno and Kirill Kaprizov also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves as the Wild beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Roman Josi scored the only goal for Nashville, which went 0 for 4 on the power play.

"It's nice to see new guys come in and, I think, get their footing right away and help the team win a game," Wild coach John Hynes said.

A Fast First Period Sets the Terms

Nashville came out flying, by its coach's own account, and even got the first power play when Jared Spurgeon was called for holding at 3:05. Then the Predators started taking penalties of their own. Nick Perbix, Mavrik Bourque and Jack Drury all went to the box in the first period, and that is a lot of chances to hand a team with Kaprizov on it.

Foligno got Minnesota on the board at 9:35. Michael McCarron's shot produced a rebound that Matthew Wood slowed with a dive, the puck settled in the high slot, and Foligno buried a wrist shot glove side. Then came Coleman at 13:48, on the power play created by Drury's tripping penalty.

Coleman arrived in Minnesota on July 2, along with defenseman Olli Maatta, in a trade that sent three draft picks and defenseman Jake Middleton to Calgary. Maatta had an assist on Foligno's goal, so the trade went 2 for 2 on opening night.

"I thought we came out really good," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "Then, we got into some penalty trouble."

The Turning Point: The Goal That Wasn't

Minnesota nearly made it 3-0 before the first intermission. Yakov Trenin banked a shot in off the left post at 15:05, but Nashville challenged for goaltender interference, arguing Ryan Hartman had made contact with Saros. The Predators won the challenge, the goal came off the board, and the game stayed within reach.

It felt like a lifeline, and for a while Nashville used it. Hartman was called for tripping at 7:20 of the second, and three seconds after that power play expired, Filip Forsberg sent the puck into the right circle where Josi one-timed it from a sharp angle off Wallstedt's glove and in at 9:23. 2-1, game on.

Then Wallstedt and the Wild slammed the door. Saros did his part at the other end, stoning Coleman with a pad save on a 2-on-0 at 11:33 after a pass from Matt Boldy. But in the third, Minnesota found the insurance it needed. At 4:42, Quinn Hughes fired a shot from the point through traffic, and Kaprizov tipped it over Saros' stick arm for a 3-1 lead. Nashville did not score again.

"It was a lot of sloppy, sloppy puck play from our side," Forsberg said. "Obviously, they got those two goals pretty early and then it was a little bit uphill from there."

Star Watch

Blake Coleman: The winning power-play goal in his Minnesota debut, plus a near second on that 2-on-0.

Kirill Kaprizov: The insurance goal in 20:53. NHL.com noted he has at least a point in each of his seven season openers since entering the NHL in 2020-21.

Quinn Hughes: An assist and a whopping 27:30 of ice time. NHL.com said it was his 10th assist in a season-opening game, tying John Carlson and Mark Howe for fifth most by a United States-born defenseman in NHL history.

Jesper Wallstedt: 19 saves on 20 shots, and the one that beat him came on a sharp-angle one-timer.

Roman Josi: Nashville's lone goal came in the opener of his 16th season with the Predators. NHL.com noted that is the most seasons in franchise history, one more than David Legwand (15).

Filip Forsberg: His assist gave him at least a point in each of his past 11 season openers, tying Vincent Lecavalier and Viktor Kozlov for the longest such streak in NHL history, according to NHL.com.

Juuse Saros: 27 saves on 30 shots, and the pad stop on Coleman kept it a one-goal game for a while.

Stats That Matter

• 0 for 4: Nashville's power play. Minnesota went 1 for 4, and that one goal was the winner.
• 30-20: Minnesota's edge in shots on goal.
• 3 seconds: The gap between the end of Hartman's minor and Josi's goal, the closest Nashville got to tilting the night.
• 27:30: Hughes' ice time. He was on the ice for nearly half the game.
• 26-20: Nashville's edge in hits, which did not translate into much else.

What It Means

Minnesota starts 1-0-0, and the schedule is about to test that start. The AP noted the Wild play 21 of their first 31 games on the road, so banking two points in the opener matters. They host Boston on Saturday in their home opener. Hynes liked how his team handled the pressure. "I thought, overall, it was a pretty solid game for us," he said. "I thought we managed the game well in the second period and then I really liked our third period."

Nashville starts 0-1-0 and hosts Dallas on Saturday. According to the AP, the Predators have missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons and changed general managers this offseason, with Chris MacFarland coming over from Colorado. Josi was not hitting the panic button. "I don't think it was a lack of urgency," he said. "I think we made some mistakes that we have to get out of our game, but I thought the urgency was there."

Closing Take

Nashville is Music City, and Coleman just dropped the debut single every new arrival hopes for: catchy, on time and stuck in the Predators' heads all night. Brunette traced the penalties that let it happen back to the offseason. "A little bit of the summer recklessness got us there a little bit and took the momentum from us," he said. Minnesota, meanwhile, looked like a team that skipped the warm-up act entirely.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.