Askarov Impresses In Spicy Win Over Tampa Bay Prospects

Tampa Bay scored on a third period 5 on 3 chance, but Nashville's Jack Matier answered back compliments of a brilliant assist from Zachary L'Heureux to make it 3-1. The Lightning opted to go empty net with a little over four minutes remaining, and Josh Williams took advantage with a long goal to give the Preds a 4-1 lead. 

Tampa Bay scored late in the game on a deflected shot off Askarov that found its way into the twine behind, but Nashville had the final word with a late goal by Markus Nurmi to end the game 5-2. 

After the final buzzer, the teams each attempted five shootout shots. Owen Pederson was the sole Nashville scorer, while Askarov shut down each Lightning shooter he faced. 

This was a chippy game from both teams. Afanasyev set a tone early in the game with a post whistle scuffle while Kondelik and Mutter made their presence known at times as well. The spicy tone finally spilled over in the third period as Cameron Hausinger took exception to a neutral zone hit and dropped the gloves. Later in the final period, Navrin Mutter was challenged and answered back with fisticuffs of his own. 

The fights were brief distractions from the real highlight of the game for Nashville and that was the play of young Yaroslav Askarov in net. The Russian netminder faced plenty of pressure from the Tampa Bay offense but never lost his composure and was rarely caught out of position. His movement in net was efficient, and Askarov stayed  dialed in whether fielding a shot from the blue line or covering the puck after a net front flurry. 

Expectations have been high for Askarov since he was drafted by the Predators in the first round in 2020. Predators fans have looked forward to seeing Askarov in net, and today's game will do nothing to lessen expectations for the 6'3" goaltender. Despite not seeing any significant playing time last season in Russia, Askarov has been working hard since development camp, and his hard work and natural talent were evident in his performance today. 

The Predators prospects have a practice day tomorrow and then return to the ice Sunday morning at 9 am CT to take on the Carolina Hurricanes prospects. The game will be streamed online at carolinahurricanes.com.