Murray, playing his first NHL game since Jan. 8, 2024, made 18 saves in his Nashville debut.
“He’s pretty much the reason why we’re still in that game. … In overtime, like he was unbelievable. He gave us a chance to win.” Marchessault said.
It was the fifth NHL game for Murray. The 28-year-old, who signed with the Predators on July 1, 2024, spent the past two seasons with Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.
“This is why you love sports,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “This is why I’ve been in the game as long as I have. There are moments like that where guy’s waited his turn, and we haven’t got him in. He steps in, he plays great. We just feel a little bit bad that we didn’t pull the win out for him because he played so good.”
Colton gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 8:50 of the first period. After a scramble in front of the net, Vitali Pinchuk found the puck and slid it to Colton, who went top shelf past Ullmark.
The assist gave Pinchuk his first career point in his NHL debut.
Marchessault extended it to 2-0 at 13:10 on the power play, beating Ullmark from close range.
“We need to be better at 5-on-5 creating scoring chances,” Marchessault said. “I think it’s, we’re like, not really connected.”
Stutzle’s power-play goal cut it to 2-1 at 9:29 of the second period. Dylan Cozens found Stutzle down low, and he one-timed it into an open net for his fourth goal in five games.
“We try and don’t give the other team anything, and sometimes they kind of play the same way,” Stutzle said. “And I felt like that was today.”