When asked what he was most looking forward to about his first home game with the Nashville Predators, Jason Zucker didn't hesitate with his answer.
"Being on the right side of this," said Zucker, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes at the NHL trade deadline. "I hate that goal song — until now. Now, I think I'll like it a little bit more. This has always been one of my favorite places to play. So for me, it's going to be exciting to be on the right side of it."
In the second period of the Predators' March 19 game against the San Jose Sharks — Zucker's home debut in Nashville — he finally got to be on the right side of it. With Nashville down 2-1, Colton Sissons deflected a shot by Ryan McDonagh, and Zucker tapped in the loose puck for his first goal in front of his new home crowd.
“I liked [the goal song] a little bit more tonight, that's for sure,” Zucker grinned. “It was so good to be on the right side of it, and it was a good win for us.”
It's a good thing that Zucker's feelings had softened toward Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It," because he had to hear it a total of eight times in Nashville's win over the Sharks.
“It was good to come out in the second and get that tying goal,” Zucker said. “I felt like we just turned the page and started playing our game after that.”
Zucker's goal was his second in five games with the Predators; he scored his first in Nashville's 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 13.
“It’s not overly surprising,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “I had him as a coach a while ago, and the way he skates, his competitiveness, [his] leadership qualities — he's got a knack for scoring big goals, and he's fit in really good.”
Brunette was with the Minnesota Wild organization in various roles while Zucker was in his formative years in the NHL; he was an assistant coach for two seasons beginning in 2014–15 and served as Minnesota's assistant general manager until the conclusion of the 2018–19 season.
"Luckily for me, I had a strong past [with Brunette], and we had a good relationship," Zucker said. "So we've had that line of communication already, which is, I think, a strong start to it for me. But I've been a big fan of the way that he's been handling everything, especially this time of year. It's always hard to manage practice, games, rest and things of that sort, but I think he's doing a great job."
Zucker's familiarity with Brunette's coaching style and offensive system have helped him fit right in with his new team.
"It's a demanding style of play," Zucker said. "It's tough to play against, and it's something that we look forward to bringing every night."
Zucker and the Predators will look to extend their point streak to a franchise-best 16 games on March 21 against the red-hot Florida Panthers.
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