Saros Gets Spicy in Win Over Islanders
Nashville's calm, quiet, and competitive goaltender briefly showed his spicy side in last night's shootout win over the New York Islanders.
Nashville is used to seeing a reserved, nearly Zen like Juuse Saros on the ice, but in last night’s game against the New York Islanders, Predators fans got a brief glimpse of the fiery side of the Finnish netminder.
After taking contact in the crease in the third period, Saros took exception to Islanders’ defenseman Adam Pelech tapping the puck into the net after the whistle.
Saros went after Pelech and gave him a few good pushes in front of the net.
A response like that is atypical for Saros. Nashville’s soft spoken netminder almost always lets his play speak for itself. You could count on one hand the number of times he’s shown a moment of outward emotion like that in games or practices. While media and fans may not see an outward manifestation of emotion, his teammates will tell you that behind that calm exterior is the heart of a fierce competitor.
“He’s fiery,” Cole Smith said of Saros.
“I mean, he’s a competitive son of a gun, and you know he wants to win.”
When asked about the little scrap after the game, Saros calmly and quietly explained what happened.
“I just wasn’t happy. He put the puck in the net, so I was just not happy about that.”
“Maybe best that he didn’t come after me because he was a bit bigger guy,” he added smiling.
Securing the shootout win last night was important for the Predators who haven’t lost back to back games since November 22nd & 24th. There was also a little extra motivation for Saros.
“Obviously Pekka was here tonight, so as always you want to show up for him too,” Saros said of his goaltending mentor and friend.
It hasn’t been an easy season for Saros whose .897 save percentage is below his career average .913. The Saros scrutiny has been heightened as he kicks off the first year of an eight year deal that raised eyebrows when it was signed on July 1, 2024. Still, Saros has been a key to Nashville’s recent success helping to steal wins in games against teams like Utah, Minnesota, and Colorado.
Saros is also money in a shootout. He’s secured wins in all three of Nashville’s shootouts this season.
Last night’s outcome was inevitable in Andrew Brunette’s mind.
“He’s very competitive,” Brunette said after the 2-1 win.
“You saw it a little bit tonight there in the third period. I thought in overtime, there’s no way they’re going to score on him and in the shootout.”
Despite a handful of tough games this season, Saros’s teammates know how valuable he is to the team’s success.
“He was a huge reason why we won that game tonight,” Ryan O’Reilly said.
“It’s full confidence,” Smith said. “He’s a stud back there, and he’s the guy that keeps everything together. When plays break down, we break down, we always got him back there.”
“We have full trust in him.”
AK, I have to say Juice really showed us all something the other night. You have to know an athlete his caliber he takes it personal when he loses---and that's the kind of leader you want as your backbone goaltender. He's drawn a lot of criticism from fans and media alike because Barry locked him in to a big money contract, and the bigger picture is he has had no control with the personnel changes in front---but you haven't heard very much complaining from him have you? It's a great illustration that the guy has not got complacent and can deliver in the clutch. The Preds may have some roster issues but goal is not one of them--and we can't say that even about some of the sure fire playoff contenders around the league.
Love how this captures the contrast between Saros's usual zen demeanor and that rare flash of fire. The teammates calling him a "competitive son of a gun" tells you everything about what happens behind closed doors. His .897 save percentage looks rough on paper but context matters, especially when he's delivering in clutch moments like shootouts and OT. I remeber watching Pekka Rinne have similar stretches where the stats didnt reflect how valueable he was keeping games close. That eight-year deal will age better than people think.