Matt Duchene was feeling a bit nervous before his debut with Nashville. A misstep in the pregame warmup helped the Predators’ new free agent feel more at ease. As the warmup came to an end, Duchene was the last Predators player on the ice. He caught an edge and fell in the right faceoff circle. From his backside, he fired a puck into the net, much to the delight of the sellout crowd, who cheered the new center. “That was my best 1972 Phil Esposito impression,” Duchene said. “It gave the fans a good laugh. Honestly, it took a little bit of butterflies out of me. I got a good laugh and you’ve got to laugh at yourself sometimes.” Duchene finished with three assists, Ryan Ellis and Filip Forsberg each had a goal and an assist and Nashville rallied with four goals in the final period and beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. read more https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401144497
