![]() ![]() The University of Minnesota product impressed in his first tour of duty in the AHL, scoring 42 points in 60 games in the 2019-20 season, and parlayed that success into becoming a member of the team’s taxi squad for the stretch run of the 2020-21 season.Īfter making his NHL debut at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, he became one of the first players Nashville called up when injuries struck and made frequent trips back and forth from their AHL team in Milwaukee. It has been a long road for Novak, who had just 27 NHL games played prior to the start of this season. ”I got the opportunity to play with some really good players over the last couple of weeks and a lot of ice time so I just think the pucks are going in and you got your ebbs and flows, but it’s been good.” “I’m just trusting my skills and my abilities and not really hesitating on the ice,” Novak said. He is second on the Predators in points - only trailing Roman Josi - with 11 points in eight games since being called up from his last long stint with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and has stuck in the lineup like glue since. When you put him with good players, he can finish and good things happen.” But at the same time, it’s really good to see. “We all knew that he was really skilled and he makes plays with really high IQ, so it wasn’t really unexpected for us. ”His confidence is coming out now that he is getting the opportunity,” Cody Glass said. That is a tough ask for a team that is sitting seven points out of the West’s last wildcard spot - even with three games in hand on Winnipeg for that final spot - but nobody could tell Novak that with the confidence he has been riding. ”It is a big opportunity for the rest of our team that’s still here to show that we’re good players in this league and that we can still compete.” ”I think we still have a good team here and we want to win games to stay in the hunt of the playoffs,” Novak said. The 25-year-old now leads a group of young and hungry players that still believes they have a shot at the playoffs. With forwards Tanner Jeannot, Nino Niedereitter and Mikael Granlund shipped out in trades leading up to deadline day, one would tend to think it would be harder to compete, but it is ot that way for Novak. ”We are constantly on about maintaining his competitive level and that consistency in his game but he has played some real consistent hockey for us and it’s good to see.” ”He is a good offensive player, he has great instincts when he plays the game with speed and pace and I think that is when he lends himself to be able to make more plays,” Predators coach John Hynes said. Novak burst onto the scene in the last month after starting the season with Nashville’s AHL team in Milwaukee, totaling nine goals and 22 points in just 27 games this season. ![]() 919 save percentage.SUNRISE - The Nashville Predators look a lot different than they did even a week ago but it seems like they have a new face at the top: Tommy Novak. Juuse Saros will start for the Predators tonight. Forward Filip Forsberg leads the Preds in goals with 19 goals but he will not play tonight and miss his second-straight game due to an upper-body injury he suffered on Saturday. ![]() Predators defenseman Roman Josi leads his team in assists with 31 helpers and in points with 44. ![]()
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