The Preds opened the game with a trip to the sin bin, as Colton Sissons headed off for slashing Leon Draisaitl less than two minutes in — not the start they wanted. Some strong work from the non-Sissons penalty killers kept Scott Wedgewood’s workload light, but Nashville wasn’t able to locate the offensive zone.
When they did, Michael McCarron tipped a Roman Josi shot to get the Preds on the board first at 8:22. They weren’t able to hold that momentum, with Wedgewood forced to make several high-profile saves on the Oilers’ plethora of weapons, and with just a minute left in the first period Jonathan Marchessault took a tripping penalty and the Preds went back to the penalty kill.