After a 39-point rookie campaign in 2023-24, Luke Evangelista has struggled through a sophomore slump.
He's not alone − every player on the Nashville Predators has underperformed this season − but in the late stages of a lost season, coach Andrew Brunette likes what Evangelista is building towards.
"(Evangelista's) got a really good opportunity and he's taking advantage of it," Brunette said after the Predators' 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.
The Predators return home to face the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (7 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
Evangelista scored two goals on three shots against the Hurricanes, including a late tipped goal to put Nashville up 3-1 in the final minutes of regulation. He now has three goals and two assists in his last three games, the best three-game stretch for him this season.
"Like what I said after the Toronto game, there hasn't been a lot of feeling good throughout the course of the year," Evangelista told reporters after the game. "It's been a grind. Personally and as a team. Just to string a few solid games together here and get some wins it's a good feeling in the room."
Confidence is not something Evangelista lacked in his first season with the Predators, when he scored 16 goals in a third-line role. But this season he's been generating fewer shots on net and it's hurt his production.
But on Tuesday, there was a return of his rookie-year confidence in the second period.
At the 4:01 mark, Evangelista received an entry pass from Filip Forsberg at the blueline and had open space between him and goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov. He faked a high snap shot, including a high outside leg kick, then deked around Kochetkov and slid the puck into the empty net.
"(Forsberg) made a great play on the wall and he gave me a ton of time and space," Evangelista said. "A great lane to the net. Just kind of threw a fake in up high and saw (Kochetkov) bit and had the cage open around him. It was a good one."
The key to Evangelista's recent offensive success has been his deployment. On Tuesday, he skated with Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly. He's also seen time with Steven Stamkos in recent weeks. With better linemates, Evangelista's had more time to operate with the puck. He's doing less chasing and dumping and more shooting and scoring.
"Some pretty goals ... I think he's getting more comfortable," Brunette added.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Predators' Luke Evangelista has regained goal-scoring confidence
