Rinne, Forsberg lead Predators over Kings 5-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- After welcoming Filip Forsberg back to the lineup, the Predators looked like the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Pekka Rinne made 19 saves, Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and Nashville beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 on Thursday night.

Craig Smith, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Ryan Johansen had three assists.

"I think it was maybe one of our best 60-minute efforts in a while," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.

Making his first start since representing the Predators in last weekend's All-Star Game, Rinne earned his fifth shutout of the season and 48th of his career. With play stayed largely in the other end, Rinne had a chance to enjoy the show put on by his teammates.

"I didn't have a lot of work tonight and that was just fun to watch our guys," Rinne said. "Especially our forwards, they played a really strong game. I thought that we were on-point on the forecheck, we turned a lot of pucks over and created chances off them."

Jonathan Quick returned after missing the Kings' previous two games with an undisclosed injury. He made 31 saves.

"They had the momentum for 60 minutes," Kings coach John Stevens said. "They checked hard tonight. They had a simple game plan and we got checked off the puck all night."

Nashville peppered Quick with 15 shots on goal in the first, beating him three times.

Smith scored first at 10:02 of the opening period on a power play, about a minute after Johansen had a goal disallowed. Los Angeles challenged Johansen's score, and after video review, officials determined that Arvidsson pushed Kings defenseman Drew Doughty into Quick prior to Johansen's shot.

Forsberg made it 2-0 at 16:02 of the first. With Nashville on a prolonged two-man advantage, Forsberg beat Quick with a wrist shot that deflected in off of the diving goaltender.

The Predators activated Forsberg off injured reserve earlier Thursday. He missed Nashville's previous 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Laviolette reunited Johansen, Forsberg and Arvidsson on the team's top line. The trio combined for six points in the game.

"We're a lot more deadly with him on our side," Johansen said of Forsberg. "We had a lot of fun out there tonight supporting each other and outworking our opponents and getting some results too finding the back of the net."

Jarnkrok took advantage of Doughty's turnover and made it 3-0 at 17:21 of the first, finally swatting a backhand past Quick on the short side after two attempts.

"They are really good checkers," Kings forward Tanner Pearson said. "You are transitioning up ice, they are closing it pretty quickly from behind and try to create turnovers that way. They beat us tonight."

Sissons ended a 29-game goalless stretch when he beat Quick at 11:01 of the second, and Arvidsson scored at 9:44 of the third.

NOTES: Quick is 5-10-2 in his career against Nashville. ... Jake Muzzin and Anze Kopitar ended their six-game point streaks for LA. ... The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in their last four games. ... Nashville is 25-2-3 when scoring first this season.

UP NEXT:

Kings: Host Arizona on Saturday.

Predators: Host New York Rangers on Saturday.

Forsberg, Hinostroza lead Blackhawks past Predators 2-1

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Chicago Blackhawks turned away a big charge by the Nashville Predators down the stretch.

Anton Forsberg led the way.

Forsberg made 22 of his career-high 42 saves in the third period, helping the Blackhawks beat the Predators 2-1 on Tuesday night.

"Today we actually worked as a team," said Forsberg, who is sharing the goal with Jeff Glass while Corey Crawford is out with an upper-body injury. "We did a really good job of keeping most of the shots outside. I know it was a lot of shots, but it didn't feel like it was that many hard scoring chances, so that way I think it was a team effort."

Last-place Chicago, which needs a big finish to get into the playoffs, returned from the All-Star break with its second straight win. Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and an assist and David Kampf also scored for the Blackhawks.

Kyle Turris had Nashville's only goal and Juuse Saros made 29 saves. The Predators lost in regulation for the first time since Jan. 2.

"They just didn't go in," coach Peter Laviolette said. "At the end of the day, there's probably close to 30 chances there and we scored one goal, so that's not enough. We were OK, we were good enough, we kept it to two goals against a team that can score goals, but we couldn't score. We had lots of chances."

Kampf got the lead for the Blackhawks at 3:03 of the first.

On the right boards, Tomas Jurco knocked down an attempted clear by Saros and kicked the puck toward Hinostroza in the right circle. Hinostroza poked the puck off Nashville defenseman Roman Josi, and Kampf beat Saros with a wrist shot high to the glove side.

Turris tied it with his ninth goal 2:12 into the second.

Craig Smith forced a turnover by Forsberg behind the Chicago net. Smith passed to Scott Hartnell below the goal line, and he fed Turris all alone in the slot for his first goal since Dec. 29.

"Especially at home, we like to start fast and get on top of teams and we didn't do that," Turris said. "We talked about it being a big, important, division game against a really good team, and we knew that they were going to come out hot and we had to match that. It was just a slow start, and we have to do better than that."

Hinostroza got the eventual game-winner at 14:33 of the second.

Inside the Chicago blue line, Patrick Kane absorbed a hit from Nashville's Miikka Salomaki but was able to move the puck to Nick Schmaltz. Schmaltz then carried it into the Nashville zone on the right side and sent a pass to Hinostroza at the top of the right faceoff circle. Aided by a screen from Predators defenseman Matt Irwin, Hinostroza fired a one-timer by Saros on the far side.

Kane's assist was his 30th of the season.

"One of the best players in the league is taking a hit to make a play, making unselfish plays goes such a long way," Hinostroza said. "He made a great play, (Schmaltz) made a great pass and I was fortunate to see that go in. The more guys we have sacrificing themselves for the team, the better we're going to do."

Nashville made a furious push to tie it in the third, but Forsberg stepped up for Chicago. He made one of his best plays with 1:30 remaining, denying Calle Jarnkrok's try from the low slot.

"He was great tonight," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "First 40 minutes we were all right in the game, but we certainly put him through a different task the last 20. I thought they had some great looks and the opportunities they had on rebounds would have been in the net, but he absorbed a lot of pucks from point-blank positioning."

NOTES: Salomaki played his 100th career NHL game. ... The Predators are 0-10-2 when trailing after two periods this season. ... Hinostroza has points in three consecutive games. ... All four games in this season's series between the teams have been decided by one goal, with each team winning two games.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: At Vancouver on Thursday.

Predators: Host Los Angeles on Thursday.

Subban, Rinne lead Predators over Devils 3-0

By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – The Nashville Predators are rolling, which is nothing new. That's the way they have played all season.

All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban scored in his third straight game and Pekka Rinne made 23 saves for his fourth shutout in leading the streaking Predators to a 3-0 victory over the slumping New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

"For the most part, the whole season, we have been pretty consistent, playing good hockey," said Rinne, who also will be heading to Tampa, Florida, for the All-Star game this weekend. "Of the last 14 points, I think we've collected 13 of them. That's a good strong finish before the break, but now the season really starts. We have to be happy the way we have been playing so far."

Nashville, which also got goals from Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson, has points in a season-high eight games (6-0-2) heading into the break. It is six points behind Tampa Bay in the race for the NHL's best regular-season record with two games in hand.

"I feel like we have always been good defensively, and we found our way back to it from the playoffs last year when we were playing better and better in front of Pekks and Jusse (Saros)," Arvidsson said. "It's nice to have and nice to know we can do it."

With regular goaltenders Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid injured, rookie Ken Appleby made 24 saves in his first career start for the Devils, who have lost four straight in regulation. New Jersey has two wins in its last 12 games (2-7-3).

Subban, who also had an assist on Arvidsson's goal, gave Rinne the only goal he would need with a wicked slap shot from the right point that beat Appleby midway through the second period. It was his 12th of the season, three shy of his career high set with Montreal in 2014-15.

"His shots just seem to go in," Rinne said of Subban. "He has a great shot. He finds the net. He is good at using screens. He is good at just getting pucks by the other guy's legs. I feel of late, the puck has eyes when he is seeing it or shooting it. He has been big for us."

Ekholm scored early in the third period on a slap shot that deflected off the stick of Devils forward Kyle Palmieri, while Arvidsson scored short-handed with just under five minutes to play.

Rinne had a little luck in winning his 24th game. The Devils had a goal by defenseman Will Butcher waved off in the first period because of goaltender interference, and Nico Hischier and Stefan Noesen each hit a goalpost.

"It's not about getting people back," Devils coach John Hynes said. "It's about the players in the lineup. They have to play. They have to play better than we played tonight. We're not going to be healthy the whole year. So it has zero to do with who is out of the lineup. It's who is in the lineup and we have to play better."

NOTES: Devils All-Star forward Taylor Hall missed his third straight game with a hand injury. He will not be able to play this weekend and Brian Boyle, who battled cancer in the offseason, has been selected to replace him for the Devils. ... With Schneider and Kinkaid out, the Devils brought up Mackenzie Blackwood from Binghamton (AHL) to back up Appleby. ... C Kevin Rooney also was called up from the minors for the first time this season with Marcus Johansson out with a concussion. ... Rinne is now seven wins away from 300. ... Nashville is 22-2-3 when leading after two periods. New Jersey has been shut out in its last two home games, losing 3-0 to Detroit Monday.

UP NEXT:

Predators: host Chicago on Tuesday.

Devils: at Buffalo on Tuesday.

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More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Smith's shootout goal leads Predators over Coyotes 3-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Despite missing the first three months of the season, Ryan Ellis looks to be in top form already for the Predators.

Ellis had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give Nashville a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Scott Hartnell also scored, and captain Roman Josi added two assists for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona, which has lost five straight.

In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona's Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side.

With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville's Pekka Rinne with a backhander high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts.

Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side off of a nice pass from Josi.

"I felt me and Josi had some good O-zone time," Ellis said. "We were moving the puck a lot. We just weren't getting our shots through, not getting a bounce here or there. I thought the whole game we created a lot of stuff up ice, so it was nice, obviously at a big time in the game."

Josi is happy to have Ellis back.

"He's got a great slap shot and he's scored so many goals from that one-time position last year," Josi said, "and I'm sure he's going to do the same thing this year."

Offseason knee surgery kept Ellis out of the lineup until the beginning of January. Thursday was Ellis' sixth game of the season. He has four points in those games.

"It's great to have him back," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "I've been talking about how good he's been defensively, but he's great offensively, too, and he has been for us. He's a big part of our offense. It's nice to see him contribute the way he did tonight."

Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville's Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand.

"I thought the stick hit (Raanta) before the goal, so I guess they didn't think it was enough to overturn," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "They are good refs. They could have gone either way."

Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout.

Nashville entered the game with the league's second-best home power play at 31.6 percent, but was 0-3 in the game with the man advantage.

"It helps a lot when the D starts taking the sticks away so you can pretty much focus on the puck," Raanta said. "You don't need to focus if there is a redirect or something like that. Our PK is one of the best things we have been doing the whole year."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period.

After taking a stretch pass from Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Hartnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side.

Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman-Larsson's eighth goal of the season.

From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne.

Panik had a pair of assists in the game.

NOTES: Ekman-Larsson has a three-game point-scoring streak. ... The Coyotes are 3-17-5 when their opponent scored first this season. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen played, but did not play the third period of Tuesday's victory over the Vegas Golden Knights after being hit by William Carrier late in the second period. The Predators are 10-3-3 against the Pacific Division this season.

UP NEXT:

Coyotes: at St. Louis on Saturday.

Predators: host Florida on Saturday.

Smith's shootout goal leads Predators over Coyotes 3-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Despite missing the first three months of the season, Ryan Ellis looks to be in top form already for the Predators.

Ellis had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Craig Smith scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give Nashville a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Scott Hartnell also scored, and captain Roman Josi added two assists for Nashville, which won its fourth consecutive game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Perlini scored for Arizona, which has lost five straight.

In the fourth round of the shootout, Smith was able to beat Arizona's Antti Raanta with a quick wrist shot low to the glove side.

With time winding down in the third, Parlini split a pair of Predators before beating Nashville's Pekka Rinne with a backhander high to the glove side in the top corner. Rinne finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime and denied three of four Arizona shootout attempts.

Ellis tied it at 2 with 2:36 remaining in the third with a one-timer from the high slot that beat Raanta on the glove side off of a nice pass from Josi.

"I felt me and Josi had some good O-zone time," Ellis said. "We were moving the puck a lot. We just weren't getting our shots through, not getting a bounce here or there. I thought the whole game we created a lot of stuff up ice, so it was nice, obviously at a big time in the game."

Josi is happy to have Ellis back.

"He's got a great slap shot and he's scored so many goals from that one-time position last year," Josi said, "and I'm sure he's going to do the same thing this year."

Offseason knee surgery kept Ellis out of the lineup until the beginning of January. Thursday was Ellis' sixth game of the season. He has four points in those games.

"It's great to have him back," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "I've been talking about how good he's been defensively, but he's great offensively, too, and he has been for us. He's a big part of our offense. It's nice to see him contribute the way he did tonight."

Arizona challenged the goal, questioning whether Nashville's Nick Bonino interfered with Raanta. After a short review, the goal was allowed to stand.

"I thought the stick hit (Raanta) before the goal, so I guess they didn't think it was enough to overturn," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "They are good refs. They could have gone either way."

Raanta made 37 saves in regulation and overtime, but allowed two goals in the shootout.

Nashville entered the game with the league's second-best home power play at 31.6 percent, but was 0-3 in the game with the man advantage.

"It helps a lot when the D starts taking the sticks away so you can pretty much focus on the puck," Raanta said. "You don't need to focus if there is a redirect or something like that. Our PK is one of the best things we have been doing the whole year."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal with 1:43 remaining in the second period.

After taking a stretch pass from Ellis at the Arizona blue line, Hartnell drove in on the right side with Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his hip. Harnell shielded the puck from Hjalmarsson and moved toward the low slot, where he slid the puck by Raanta along the ice on the glove side.

Arizona tied it at 1 with 11.3 remaining in the second on Ekman-Larsson's eighth goal of the season.

From the goal line to the left of the Nashville net, Derek Stepan threw the puck toward the low slot, where Richard Panik spun and sent a backhand shot on goal. Rinne kicked that shot away, but Ekman-Larsson skated in and flipped the rebound by Rinne.

Panik had a pair of assists in the game.

NOTES: Ekman-Larsson has a three-game point-scoring streak. ... The Coyotes are 3-17-5 when their opponent scored first this season. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen played, but did not play the third period of Tuesday's victory over the Vegas Golden Knights after being hit by William Carrier late in the second period. The Predators are 10-3-3 against the Pacific Division this season.

UP NEXT:

Coyotes: at St. Louis on Saturday.

Predators: host Florida on Saturday.

Saros shutout leads Predators over Golden Knights 1-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- While his teammates enjoyed some time off with a bye week, Juuse Saros kept working. It paid off for the Predators on Tuesday night.

Saros made 43 saves, Kevin Fiala scored eight minutes into the third period and Nashville beat the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0.

Nashville played its first game in a week and has won three straight. The shutout was the third of the season for Saros and the fourth of his career.

During Nashville's bye week, the Predators assigned Saros to the Milwaukee Admirals, their American Hockey League affiliate, where he played in three games, winning twice.

"It's worked really well for this instance to keep him playing during the break, and he played extremely well down there," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We've got a goaltender that's been taking shots for the week in live action and he comes back tonight and he plays terrific."

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots for the Golden Knights, who have lost two in a row.

"I thought we played great hockey - our goaltending was great, our defense played a real solid game and our forwards had all kinds of scoring opportunities," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "So, it's tough to lose the game, but I thought we played great."

Saros was superb, especially against Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault, who peppered 10 shots on the Finnish netminder but was unable to get one by him.

"He's a great player and he has a lot of nifty plays, so I was ready for them," Saros said.

Vegas had four power plays and put 15 shots on Saros with the man advantage.

Fiala got his goal off a rebound. Fleury stopped P.K. Subban's slap shot from the right point, but the puck came to the left side, where Fiala was there to snap a wrist shot underneath the crossbar for his 11th goal.

"It's not always that easy when the puck is coming at you," Fiala said. "This one came nicely and I just buried it."

Fleury's best save came at 4:17 of the third when he made a sprawling stop on a partial breakaway by Colton Sissons.

Predators center Ryan Johansen did not play after the second period following a hit from William Carrier with 38 seconds remaining in the period. Johansen was at center ice along the boards when Carrier hit him high. No penalty was called.

Laviolette did not have an update on Johansen after the game.

Nashville was already playing without two-thirds of its top offensive line as forwards Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson were out of the lineup. Forsberg is out 4 to 6 weeks with an upper-body injury and his Swedish countryman Arvidsson was injured in Monday's practice and placed on injured reserve Tuesday afternoon.

NOTES: This was the third and final regular-season matchup between the teams. Vegas won the first two. ... Nashville has scored a power-play goal in three straight. ... Subban has assists in three consecutive games. ... Fleury is 9-5-1 in his career against the Predators. ... Vegas is 9-5-0 against the Central Division.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

Predators: Host Arizona on Thursday night.

Arvidsson powers Predators past Oilers 2-1

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Viktor Arvidsson and the Nashville Predators cruised into their bye week with another win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Connor McDavid and company are searching for answers.

Arvidsson had a goal and an assist, helping the Predators top the Oilers 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Craig Smith also scored and Pekka Rinne made 25 saves in Nashville's 11th consecutive win against Edmonton. The Predators were coming off a 4-3 win at the Kings on Saturday night and don't play again until next Tuesday against Vegas.

"It puts everybody in the right frame of mind," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's a chance to get away - rest your mind, rest your body and do it on a winning note, which is positive, and come back and be ready to get going again."

The free-falling Oilers have lost seven of eight. McDavid scored, and Cam Talbot had 22 stops.

"I thought tonight we worked hard enough for a break," coach Todd McLellan said. "I'm not sure that we were in that situation in prior games. If we play like that, we'll have our opportunities to win games. It's a step in the right direction."

Edmonton appeared to tie the game with 5:04 left when Mark Letestu found a loose puck in front of Rinne and swatted it in through traffic. Nashville challenged the goal and a video review determined that the play was offside.

"Ultimately, I feel that they should just take the rule out," McDavid said. "I think the number of calls that are a millimeter offside 45 seconds before the play, it doesn't have very much of an effect on the goal itself. I think the fans want to see offense and if that's going to hold back offense, it's very frustrating. It's very hard to sit here and question the rule right now because it's obviously a little sensitive with it going against us, but I think it is something that I hope they take out."

Nashville's players were quick to credit the team's video staff, led by video coach Lawrence Feloney.

"Lawrence, that guy he must have a surgeon's eyes," Rinne said. "He sees when the skate blade is up. He doesn't get enough credit. He's the hardest-working guy in this organization."

The Predators went ahead to stay with two in the first.

With Nashville on a power play, Talbot stopped P.K. Subban's slap shot from the left point, but the rebound deflected off Arvidsson's skate before Smith poked the loose puck in for his 15th goal at 8:26.

"I thought we came out and got a good start, that's what we were looking for," Smith said.

Arvidsson got his 13th at 15:31. Roman Josi's slap shot from above the left circle hit Talbot in the left shoulder and then the face of Edmonton defenseman Adam Larsson on the right side. As the puck fell to the ice, Arvidsson tapped it by Talbot with a backhand.

Rinne denied McDavid on a breakaway with 2:14 remaining in the first. The reigning Hart Trophy winner tried to beat Rinne with a backhand, but the Finn was able to grab the shot with his glove.

McDavid then got a measure of revenge 55 seconds into the second.

With the puck on the right wall, McDavid drove around Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm before cutting toward the low slot, where he slipped a wrist shot between Rinne's pads.

NOTES: The Predators are 20-2-2 when leading after two periods this season. ... Subban has 17 points in 15 career games against Edmonton. ... The Oilers last defeated Nashville on March 18, 2014. ... Edmonton is 4-10-1 against the Central Division this season.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.

Predators: Host the Golden Knights on Tuesday.

NHL announces Head coaches for NHL All-Star Game

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League announced today that Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic), Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators (Central), Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan) and Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific) will serve as the head coaches for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, which will be held Jan. 28-29 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
 
Under the All-Star selection process, the head coach of the team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions through games of Saturday, Jan. 6 – the halfway point of the regular season – will guide the respective All-Star rosters.

Cooper’s Lightning (.744, 29-9-3) posted the top points percentage in the Atlantic Division through games of Saturday, while Laviolette's Predators (.659, 24-11-6), Trotz’ Capitals (.646, 25-13-3) and Gallant’s Golden Knights (.725, 28-10-2) similarly wrapped up the highest points percentages in the Central, Metropolitan and Pacific Divisions, respectively.

Cooper, Laviolette, Trotz and Gallant join Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (Atlantic), Predators defenseman P.K. Subban (Central), Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Pacific), who were voted by fans as captains for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.

For the third straight season, the All-Star Game will feature a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, showcasing teams from each NHL division. Each of the four teams will include six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.

The remaining 40 All-Stars, determined by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department, will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 10.

The Lightning, who are celebrating their 25th season, and the city of Tampa will host the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The League’s midseason showcase will take place at Amalie Arena and will include the 2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) and 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Fleury, Golden Knights blank Predators 3-0 for 8th straight

By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Night after night, the Vegas Golden Knights keep proving it's no fluke they're the top team in the West.

Just ask last year's conference champions.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots in his second shutout of the season, leading Vegas past the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Tuesday for its eighth straight victory.

"It's always a work in progress. It's never perfect," Fleury said. "When you get a shutout, it doesn't mean it was a perfect game on my end. I know there's still stuff to be worked on, but it's definitely nice to be rewarded with a shutout."

Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the surprising Western Conference leaders. Fleury improved to 8-1-1 with his 46th career shutout.

"Our goaltending has been unbelievable all season long," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "Fleury keeps going in there and playing really well. Tonight, they probably should've had the lead in the first period. In the second, they come out in the first five minutes and have some really good chances. He stood on his head, made some great saves, and gave us a chance to get the lead. He played really well and he's a big part of that win tonight."

Vegas has won eight in a row and earned at least one point in 13 consecutive games, both NHL records for a first-year team. The expansion Golden Knights are 17-2-1 at home and 27-9-2 overall.

Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the Predators, who also lost at home to Vegas 4-3 in a shootout last month.

"That's a good hockey team over there. Give them credit, they played well," said Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis, who made his season debut after recovering from knee surgery. "A lot of it comes back to us as far as turning pucks over and not getting pucks deep, getting away from our game plan."

Nashville's penalty kill ranks first in the league on the road, but Vegas converted its lone opportunity with the man advantage.

Smith caught Rinne giving space between his right leg and the post, skated around a defender and sent a shot off the back of the goalie's pad and in for a power-play goal at 12:10 of the second period.

Theodore made it 2-0 at 13:41 when he smacked a one-timer from the point that trickled through Rinne's legs.

Marchessault capped the scoring with an empty-net goal late in the third.

Nashville, which ranks second in the NHL on the power play, was 0 for 2 with the man advantage.

"We've been in some games lately that have gone up and down with a ton of shots and a ton of chances," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "Second period wasn't bad with the exception of those four minutes, but inside of those four minutes, we made too many mistakes and it cost us the game. They're a good team."

Playing their fourth road game in the last five, the Predators were shut out for just the second time this season. Nashville also was blanked by Pittsburgh 4-0 on Oct. 7.

"We just keep playing our game and have good success," Gallant said. "It's about competing and getting ready for the next game. If we keep playing the kind of hockey we're playing, we're going to win a lot of hockey games."

NOTES: The crowd of 18,171 was the third-largest for Vegas. ... Vegas forward Erik Haula played in his 400th career game. ... Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban is the younger brother of Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban. ... Vegas is 17-1-0 when scoring first, best in the NHL.

UP NEXT

Predators: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Golden Knights: At the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

---

A previous version of this story corrected Fleury's save total.

Saros' 29 saves lead Predators over Wild 3-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Juuse Saros stepped in for Pekka Rinne and delivered a gem for Nashville.

Saros made 29 saves for his second shutout this season, P.K. Subban scored his ninth goal and the Predators beat the Minnesota Wild 3-0 on Saturday night.

Saros was quick to credit the players in front of him following the game.

"They were better in front of our net," the Finn said. "We didn't give them as much chances as yesterday. I think we were more active today."

Subban also had an assist, and Scott Hartnell and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Calle Jarnkrok had two assists for the Predators, who have won two of three.

Alex Stalock made 26 saves, and the Wild lost a night after beating Nashville in Minnesota.

"We had opportunities in the second period," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If you don't take advantage of your chances, something is going to come up to bite you."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal at 2:23 of the third period. Nick Bonino's shot from the right boards hit the side of the net, and Hartnell took possession of the puck and skated around the cage. From the left doorstep, Hartnell's wraparound backhand tipped off Stalock's blocker and in.

"That's his bread and butter," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "If you can put it within 10 feet of the net, just draw a loop 10 feet around the net, that's where he needs to be. That's where he's at his best. That's where he scored his goal tonight."

Hartnell was a healthy scratch Friday. This was his first goal since Nov. 3.

"That first goal was going to be a big one when it's a game that tight," said Wild forward Matt Cullen, a former Predator. "We weren't able to generate much on that last part there."

Subban made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 7:50 of the third. With Matt Dumba in the box for tripping, Subban's slap shot from the center of the blue line deflected off the stick of Wild forward Zack Mitchell.

"I'm just trying to do my job and I have great teammates, they are great players that make great plays," Subban said. "I have just been able to put the puck on net and good things have happened. I try to keep my game simple, but what can I say? That is just the (benefit) of playing on a good team. Any player in this league that has individual success will tell you that without a good team around you, you are not going to have much success."

Arvidsson added an empty-net goal with 2:20 to go.

Saros was sharp all evening, with his best save coming with 8:59 remaining in the second when Gustav Olofsson came down the left side unchecked and fired a wrist shot that Saros turned aside.

Following his hat trick Friday, Mikael Granlund paced all Minnesota players with seven shots on goal Saturday.

Stalock stopped eight shots in the first and 11 in the second. He is 0-3-0 in his career against the Predators.

NOTES: Nashville LW Filip Forsberg missed the game with an upper-body injury. The Predators placed their leading goal scorer on injured reserve earlier Saturday. ... The Predators are 5-0-1 this season when the game is tied going into the third. ... Olofsson was scratched in Minnesota's last eight contests. ... The Wild have allowed one power-play goal against in their last three games.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Florida on Tuesday night.

Predators: At Vegas on Tuesday night.

Hanifin and Hurricanes start fast in 4-1 win over Predators

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A fast start by Carolina spelled an early exit for Pekka Rinne.

Noah Hanifin had a goal and two assists to lead an early outburst that carried the Hurricanes past the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Thursday night.

Derek Ryan had a goal and an assist, and Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won four of five. Cam Ward made 28 saves.

Kevin Fiala got the goal for Nashville, which has lost two straight.

"We're not playing hard enough and we're undisciplined," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's a bad combination."

Carolina scored four times in the first 6 1/2 minutes to chase Rinne.

"It was important that we got off to a good start and I think it couldn't have gotten off to a better start with the way it went in the first period," Ward said. "That's a team that's not going to quit even though it was 4-0."

Ryan scored the opening goal 37 seconds into the game on a power play. Just seven seconds after Nashville's Nick Bonino was sent to the penalty box for hooking, Ryan was able to tip Hanifin's shot from the left circle low to the far side of Rinne.

"Definitely one of those periods where everything we touched seemed to be going in," Ryan said. "We talk about that in lots of game plans, especially tonight against a good goaltender like Nashville has, so we want to get pucks and bodies to the net and make sure we make it hard on him. I thought we did that."

Lindholm doubled the lead at 3:11 with a deflection of Jeff Skinner's wrist shot from above the right circle. Skinner had two assists.

Hanifin made it 3-0 at 4:47 when his slap shot from above the left circle deflected off the skate of Nashville defenseman Roman Josi and by Rinne on a Carolina power play.

The Hurricanes finished 2 for 6 with the man advantage.

Rinne's night ended at 6:29 when Rask's seemingly harmless backhand from the right boards took a bad hop in front and then squeezed between Rinne's right leg pad and blocker. Rinne, who stopped just two of six shots, was replaced by Juuse Saros.

"We got some power-play opportunities and capitalized on those and then got a bounce, too. We got a lucky one," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We've been on the other side of that, so we took advantage of that."

Saros turned away all 26 shots he faced.

Fiala got Nashville on the scoreboard at 15:33 of the first when P.K. Subban's slap shot from above the right circle deflected off him in front and by Ward.

Fiala extended his career-high point streak to nine games.

"It's not panic for us," Fiala said. "We're still on top, but we've got to change something because it's going to be fast. The standings are quite close. We've got to be much better."

Nashville had a two-man advantage for 56 seconds late in the second period, but failed to generate a shot on Ward.

NOTES: The Predators have lost consecutive home games in regulation for the first time this season. ... Nashville RW Craig Smith missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk got his 200th career point. ... Carolina is 13-3-2 when scoring first.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

Predators: At the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Late goals push Jets past Predators

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler was effusive in his praise of the Nashville Predators following the teams' Tuesday night matchup.

"They require you to play a pretty good game," he said. "That's the best team we've played all year."

However, Wheeler's team doesn't have to take a back seat to the Predators, or many others.

Winnipeg scored twice in the last 1:26 to earn a 6-4 victory at sold-out Bridgestone Arena, avenging a November loss which wasn't as close as the 5-3 outcome suggests.

Brandon Tanev's wrister from a sharp angle on the left wing beat goalie Pekka Rinne for the tiebreaking tally.

Wheeler tacked on an empty-netter at 19:58 as the Jets (20-10-5) moved within a point of Nashville (21-8-4) and idle St. Louis (22-11-2) for first place in the stacked Central Division.

Other than the third period's first 10 minutes, when the Predators erased a 4-3 deficit with Yannick Weber's first goal 30 seconds in, Winnipeg drove play. It had a 36-34 edge in shots on goal overall, won a majority of puck battles and handed the Predators just their third regulation loss at home this season.

"It's tough to score goals in this league, especially against a team like that," Wheeler said. "You never feel like you can quite establish yourself. One mistake and it can be five-on-three the other way. You can see why that team was a game or two away from winning the Stanley Cup last year."

However, the Jets picked up the two points, thanks to Tanev's dogged effort on the go-ahead marker. Tanev skated down the left side against defenseman Roman Josi, who forced him wide, but Tanev's wrister eluded Rinne (18-5-3) for just his third goal in 35 games. To that point, the Nashville goalie played a better game than the stats would suggest.

Tanev said he benefited from a little luck on his shot.

"The ice wasn't too good, so I just threw a shot on the net," he said. "I got a bounce and it went through his legs."

Nashville employed a sixth attacker for most of the final 80 seconds, but Wheeler ended the suspense with his ninth goal from his defensive zone as Winnipeg won a shootout between two of the league's highest-scoring teams.

Adam Lowry initiated scoring for the Jets at 8:05 of the first period, getting to the rebound of Tyler Myers' point shot after it trickled behind Rinne. Lowry shoveled it home for his sixth goal.

The Predators responded with two goals in the period's last minute. Calle Jarnkrok tallied his eighth when his wrister from a bad angle struck a skate and got past Connor Hellebuyck at 19:19, followed by a Kevin Fiala snipe 21 seconds later. It was Fiala's ninth goal and marked the fourth straight game that he lit the lamp.

The Jets tied it at 6:54 of the second period after Patrik Laine undressed defenseman Alexei Emelin at the blue line, walked into the right circle and wired a wrister by Rinne for his 17th goal.

Nashville regained the lead at 7:55 on the power play when P.K. Subban bombed a one-timer off the crossbar and over the goal line for his seventh goal. Nikolaj Ehlers erased the edge 30 seconds later with the tying goal, then made it 4-3 Winnipeg with a man-advantage tally at 16:00 for his 17th goal.

Weber, who took the penalty that led to Ehlers' second marker, delivered surprising redemption to even the game. His one-timer from the left circle was his first goal since Dec. 30, 2016, at St. Louis, and seemed to rev up the Predators' level of play.

However, Winnipeg regained traction and then came up with the final flurry to post what some might see as a statement win.

"We turned it on in the third a bit," Weber said. "We showed some character, but I don't think we would have deserved that win."

Both Hellebuyck (18-4-4) and Rinne made 30 saves.

NOTES: Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice will work his 1,400th career NHL game on Thursday night in Boston. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen entered with 10 goals and 10 assists in 15 career games against the Jets, and he picked up an assist on D P.K. Subban's goal in the second period. ... Winnipeg scratched LW Shawn Matthias, C Marko Dano and D Julian Melchiori. ... Nashville scratched D Anthony Bitetto, RW Miikka Salomaki and LW Cody McLeod.

Predators hope to continue Canadian domination vs. Jets

Stats, LLC

It's hard to do any better than the Nashville Predators did on their road trip through Western Canada last week.

They swept three games against Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary by a combined score of 13-1. Juuse Saros and Pekka Rinne pitched consecutive shutouts in Alberta, while the power play kept clicking along and the penalty kill came up big in victories against the Oilers and Flames.

"We played a lot of good hockey," Nashville's Ryan Johansen said. "We started off right in Vancouver and found ways to win the last couple of games, so a lot of credit to every guy in here. Every guy was contributing throughout this trip, so it was a fun three games for us."

Nashville will try to keep the fun going Tuesday night on its return to Bridgestone Arena, where it plays the Winnipeg Jets in a Central Division showdown.

The Predators (21-7-4) are 6-0-1 in their last seven games and 16-2-2 since Nov. 3, giving them a tie for first place in the division with St. Louis.

Winnipeg (19-10-5) is coming off a split of its home-and-home series over the weekend with St. Louis. After losing 2-0 Saturday night at Scottrade Center as Carter Hutton recorded a franchise record for saves in a shutout with 48, the Jets bounced back Sunday to win 4-0.

The only difference between that game and Saturday night was that Winnipeg scored. It drove play in both games, pumping 46 shots at Jake Allen in the rematch and lighting the lamp twice in the second and third periods.

"We got a lot of offense in those games," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "That's the real takeaway from it. Those guys expect themselves to score. You need to stay in the game, the style of game you play best and they did that."

Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler said Sunday's result validated the belief that this is a playoff team, mainly because it didn't let frustration color its efforts after Hutton's shutout. All but four Jets skaters put a shot on net Sunday, and two who didn't found the scoresheet, meaning their bus consisted of few passengers.

"The teams that have success when they're in the playoffs are teams that do that over and over again," Wheeler said of sticking to a game plan. "You just stick with it. We were able to take control of the game in the second period."

It helped that Connor Hellebuyck (17-4-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .920 save percentage) was on point when faced with shots, turning away 24 of them for his second shutout of the month and season. He'll have to be as strong to turn away a Nashville attack that has scored at least three goals in 18 of the last 20 games.

The Predators have been particularly explosive on home ice, averaging 3.9 goals in 15 home games. Filip Forsberg, who has 15 goals and 17 assists on the season, has scored at least a point in every home game.

Rinne (18-4-3, 2.25 GAA, .930 save percentage) is expected to start after stopping 32 shots Saturday night in Calgary for his third shutout of the season.

Predators blank Oilers behind Saros

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers dominated the Nashville Predators everywhere but on the scoreboard Thursday.

They outshot Nashville 22-4 in the first period. They were up 33-13 in shots at the end of the second. It should have been a blowout.

But in a bizarre 60 minutes at Rogers Place, the Oilers were the guys who wound up getting blown out in a 4-0 loss to the Central Division-leading Predators.

Backup goaltender Juuse Saros stole the show. The 22-year-old, starting in place of Pekka Rinne, stopped 46 shots for his third victory of the season.

It is the most saves an opposition goalie has ever made in a shutout win against the Oilers.

"I don't think we were quite ready in the first and we needed some goaltending," understated Predators head coach Peter Laviolette. "In the first period when you get outshot 22-4 and you walk into the room with the game still tied 0-0, you are thankful that you're goalie was ready to play and was able to give you an opportunity to win a hockey game. Without him playing the way he did in the first period, we don't have a chance."

Saros settled things down long enough for Pontus Aberg, Kevin Fiala, Kyle Turris and Roman Josi to score second-period goals on Edmonton goalie Laurent Brossoit.

"I like to see a lot of pucks," said Saros, who didn't mind the workload. "You don't think as much and you just go with the flow. It's a good way to get into the game. I like to get a lot of shots. I like those kind of games."

The Oilers were in stunned silence afterward, struggling to come to grips with how badly they'd just been robbed.

"I don't think it's fair, this game," said Edmonton winger Patrick Maroon. "I've been around the game for a long time now and it's a weird, weird game. You're going to go through times where you shouldn't win, but you do. And you're going to go through times when you should have won by a lot and don't win."

And Thursday was definitely the latter, in their opinion.

"Other than the result we outplayed them in every aspect of the game," said winger Milan Lucic, who still likes the way the 14th-place Oilers have been playing lately. "We know the reality of the spot we're in but our game, especially in the last four games, is trending in the right way. We have to build on that more than the loss here tonight."

It was scoreless after the first 20 minutes thanks to Saros, but the Predators took over for good in the second.

Aberg scored on their first shot of the second period and their fifth of the game. Fiala made it 2-0 on their seventh shot, Turris made it 3-0 on their 11th and Josi made it 4-0 on their 13th.

The Predators continue to steamroll the rest of the NHL. They are 15-2-2 in their last 19 games and 20-7-4 overall.

"We just really capitalized on our chances tonight, especially in the second," said Josi. "We got a couple chances and found a way to score. We didn't play our best game, but we found a way to score timely goals and to win the game. That speaks well for our team."

It's been a maddening stretch for the Oilers (13-17-2). In their last four games, they have shelled two of the best goalies in the NHL, putting up 13 goals in chasing Montreal's Carey Price and Columbus's Sergei Bobrovsky, but have been stymied by a pair of backups in Saros and Toronto's Curtis McElhinney, who beat them 1-0.

"It was a little bit of that Toronto feeling again," said Edmonton defenseman Oscar Klefbom. "We couldn't get the first one. It doesn't matter if we let in one goal or eight goals if we don't score the first one.

"We have to get the first one. This is not going to be the last time we face a good goalie."

NOTES: Oilers G Cam Talbot, who has been out six games with a lower-body injury, is now days away from a return. He expects to be in one of the next two games. ... Nashville G Pekka Rinne is 9-0-0 with three shutouts in his last nine games against Edmonton, but sat out Thursday because he played Wednesday. ... Predators C Ryan Johansen saw his four-game point scoring streak against the Oilers come to an end. ... The Predators are 12-2-2 since Kyle Turris joined the team. ... Oilers D Adam Larsson, who's been out more than a week with an upper-body injury, is now practicing with the team and expects to be back by the weekend. ... The Oilers have only won back-to-back games twice in the first 32 games of the season. ... Nashville has only lost five games in regulation since dropping the first two contests of the regular season. ... The Oilers have won only five of their first 15 games at home this season.

Subban displays mid-ice magic in Predators' victory

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Some might call it luck. P.K Subban called it karma.

Subban scored two goals on strange plays as the Nashville Predators routed the Vancouver Canucks 7-1 on Wednesday night.

The Nashville defenseman's first goal was a fluttering shot from the faceoff circle that went over goaltender Anders Nilsson shoulder 93 seconds into the game.

His second was a slap shot from center ice that curved and hit Nilsson's glove before going into the net. That made the score 3-0 early in the second period.

"On the second one, I just tried to shoot as hard as I could on net," said Subban, who has six goals this season. "Sometimes when you do that, the pucks are tough to handle. Just fortunate bounces.

"I can think of a couple times this year when on more of an honest play that pucks should have went in and they didn't. So, I'll take it."

Nilsson said he didn't see the first shot but had no excuse for the second one.

"That's something I would want back," he said. "Unfortunately, they happen. Maybe if you look at the positive side, maybe it's better they come in one game."

The game had a lot of strange twists. Viktor Arvidsson scored on a short-handed, two-on-none breakaway in the first period. In the third, the Predators scored three times in 3:49.

Nilsson was so angry after the sixth Nashville goal he smashed his stick on the cross bar. The Canucks goaltender still managed to make 41 saves.

"Frustration ran over a little bit," a calm and collected Nilsson said after the game. "It shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, it did. It didn't help anything."

Craig Smith had a goal and two assists while Kevin Fiala and Filip Forsberg added a goal and an assist for the Predators, who are 13-2-2 in their past 17 games. Calle Jarnkrok also scored for Nashville (19-7-4). Ryan Johansen had two assists.

"It was awesome," said Johansen, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury. "It seemed like whoever was on the ice was creating offense or playing good defense.

"The two-way game tonight I though was spectacular. Overall, we're definitely happy with our game tonight."

Tempers and frustration boiled over in the third period moments after Nashville went ahead 7-1. Vancouver's Jake Virtanen high-sticked defenseman Alexei Emelin and took him hard into the boards. With Emelin lying on the ice, Subban went after Virtanen, resulting in a scrum along the boards.

Subban, Virtanen and Nashville's Scott Hartnell were all assessed minor penalties and 10-minute misconducts.

Subban wasn't making any apologies for his actions.

"Once I saw that (Emelin) didn't get up, I knew that probably something happened that wasn't supposed to," he said. "I wish I would have got my gloves off earlier to be honest with you.

"These things happen in 7-1 games. But (Virtanen) has got to understand that if you do something like that, we're going to jump in there."

Alexander Burmistrov scored for the Canucks, who lost their fourth consecutive game. Henrik Sedin collected his 800th assist.

The Canucks (14-14-4) thought they had scored with 51 seconds left in the first period, but it was disallowed when a video review showed Thomas Vanek was offside.

Sedin was frustrated with Vancouver's overall effort.

"I don't care about the score," the Canucks captain said. "It was disappointing the way we responded.

"When it's 5-1, we have to play with some pride, play for Anders. We gave up chance after chance when the game is out of hand."

Defenseman Alex Edler said Nashville scored some fluky goals but the Canucks needed to be better.

"I think overall we just weren't good enough tonight," he said. "There were a few odd goals. That's hockey. That's just things that happen. You have to work through those things."

NOTES: Canucks D Chris Tanev didn't play the final 10:55 after sustaining a leg injury. ... RW Nikolay Goldobin returned to the Canucks' lineup after being a healthy scratch for two games. ... It was the 13th time this season Vancouver allowed four or more goals. ... Vancouver has allowed a goal on the first shot of the game five times this season. ... D Alex Biega and C Nic Dowd were scratches for the Canucks. ... LW Scott Hartnell, out 13 games with a lower-body injury, returned to the Nashville lineup. ... Predators C Kyle Turris played despite leaving practice Monday after taking a puck in the face. ... The Predators scratched D Anthony Bitetto, RW Miikka Salomaki and LW Cody McLeod.

Preds recall Juuse Saros, assign Anders Lindback

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the club has recalled goaltender Juuse Saros from the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals. Additionally, the club has reassigned goaltender Anders Lindback to Milwaukee.

Saros is 2-3-1 for the Predators this season and made a career-high 43 saves in Tuesday's win at Dallas. He's 2-0-1 in his last three starts with a .933 save percentage, allowing only eight goals on 120 shots against. Saros made two appearances for the Admirals over the weekend, picking up the victory in overtime on Saturday in a 23-save performance against Manitoba.

Originally a fourth-round (99th overall) draft pick by the Preds in 2013, Saros holds an 12-12-4 career record in the NHL with a .914 save percentage. The Forssa, Finland native recorded his first NHL shutout on Dec. 30, 2016 at St. Louis and appeared in two games for Nashville in last season's Stanley Cup Final. Saros is 43-14-1 in 59 career games at the AHL level with a 2.31 goals-against average and .918 save percentage and was named to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2016-17.

Saros, Predators stop Stars

DALLAS -- Juuse Saros has only made six starts this season, so when the Nashville Predators' backup goaltender gets the starting nod as he did Tuesday night, he must capitalize on his opportunity.

In a 5-2 victory against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center, a game in which he stopped 43 of 45 shots and the Predators had five different goal-scorers, Saros did the job.

"It's always nice to see a lot of pucks and face a lot of shots, especially when our D is playing good in front of me and most of the shots come outside," Saros said. "It was a good win for us."

Kevin Fiala, Cody McLeod, Pontus Aberg, Kyle Turris and Calle Jarnkrok each scored for Nashville, which led 5-0 after two periods en route to its third consecutive victory. Turris added an assist and Mattias Ekholm had two assists for the Predators, who are 7-5-2 on the road.

Nashville (18-7-3) was 2-for-3 on the power play, making the Predators 13-for-30 with the man advantage over their past 11 games. Nashville also had a short-handed goal against Dallas.

"I thought that we played a good road game early. We were able to cash in on some of those goals," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "The second half of the game, I don't think we were real sharp, but the score was 5-0 at that point."

Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak scored for Dallas, which saw its five-game winning streak end. The Stars (16-11-1) are 10-3-0 at home.

"We had no energy this morning, and we had less tonight. I'm not sure why," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Still, we had 45 shots on goal, a ton of scoring chances, 21 shots in the second period, but the people you count on, you've got to count on. That's just the way it is."

Fiala gave Nashville a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission when he scored his fifth goal of the season with 4:11 remaining in the opening frame.

With the Predators on the power play following a cross-checking call on Dallas captain Jamie Benn, Fiala beat Ben Bishop far post on a wrist shot from the left circle, giving him goals in three straight games.

"We just didn't have it tonight, and we're going to move on," Benn said.

McLeod made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season 2:48 into the second. Alexei Emelin sent the puck into the Nashville zone, and after it deflected off Johns, McLeod scored on a wrist shot from the slot.

Aberg made it 3-0 with his first goal of the season from the right circle at 4:26 of the second. That tally spelled the end for Bishop, who stopped 12 of 15 shots before being relieved by Kari Lehtonen.

Turris gave the Predators a 4-0 lead with his sixth goal of the season. He tipped a one-timed slap shot by Ekholm from the left point with Nashville on the power play.

"Kyle has done a really good job coming in here," Laviolette said of Turris. "He's just provided more depth to our attack and another level to it. I think (Craig) Smith and Fiala are playing really well with him."

Jarnkrok then scored a short-handed goal with 4:44 remaining in the middle frame. He knocked in a pass from Austin Watson, who had skated around the back of the net before feeding Jarnrkok with a cross-ice pass that found him at the far post.

Johns broke the shutout 1:27 into the third with his third goal of the season on a wrist shot from the deep right point.

Oleksiak scored his first goal of the season with 42 seconds remaining for Dallas, his shot deflecting in off the skate of Nashville's Anthony Bitetto.

"It was unfortunate that last one goes in on the redirect. It's really a nothing play," Laviolette said. "(Saros) could've walked away with 40 shots on net and a one-goal-against performance; that's pretty impressive."

Lehtonen stopped 15 of 17 shots in relief of Bishop.

"First, we need to flush it (this game) out with a hockey practice (Wednesday) and then get ready to play (Thursday at St. Louis)," Hitchcock said. "We're disappointed. I'm sure individually some guys are disappointed, so we'll find out (how we respond)."

NOTES: The Predators scratched D Matt Irwin, C Ryan Johansen (upper body) and RW Miikka Salomaki. ... The Stars scratched D Julius Honka and LW Antoine Roussel (flu), who skated in pregame warmups but missed a third consecutive game. ... Nashville hosts Vegas on Friday before embarking on a three-game trip to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

Well-timed goal helps Predators hold off Bruins

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- NHL coaches get only one opportunity a game to call a timeout, so they have to be certain they use it at a moment when it can most help their team.

After watching his Nashville Predators turn a four-goal lead into a one-goal nail-biter Monday night, coach Peter Laviolette hit the reset button. It didn't take long for his team to respond.

Filip Forsberg scored on a breakaway just 34 seconds after Laviolette's timeout, and Nashville buttoned things up from there to close out a 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.

Boston (12-9-4) tallied twice in 75 seconds to inject some apprehension into a building which has seen the Predators struggle with third-period leads most of the season. Zdeno Chara's point shot skipped by Pekka Rinne at 4:33, followed by David Pastrnak's wrister from the left circle that drew the Bruins within 4-3.

Like most coaches, Laviolette prefers to hold his timeout in case it is needed to challenge a goal for offside or goalie interference. But these circumstances demanded a different tack.

"One, to stop the game and send it in a different direction, and two, to remind them that we had to keep playing," Laviolette said when asked why he called for time. "We were playing too much defense at that point. We needed to get back on the attack and create some offense."

Roman Josi and Forsberg got the message. Josi sprung Forsberg for a breakaway with a pass through the neutral zone. Forsberg beat Tuukka Rask with a wrister to the glove side, his 14th goal of the season, at 6:22 to restore a two-goal advantage.

The goal not only settled Nashville down, but also served as a gut punch for Boston.

"The next shift after it's 4-3 still needs to be simple, still needs to be our game," Bruins right winger David Backes said. "Instead, they get a puck all the way through the neutral zone for a breakaway. That's a shift I'd like to have back and our group would like to have back."

There is no question Boston would also like to have the game's first 25 minutes back. The Predators (17-7-3) won the game in that span, running goalie Anton Khudobin out of the crease with four goals on only 14 shots.

Most of the damage was inflicted by the new first line of Craig Smith, center Kyle Turris and Kevin Fiala. The trio accounted for seven goals and three of the first four goals, with Smith personally giving Nashville a 2-0 first-period lead.

Smith pounced on the rebound of Alexei Emelin's point blast at 1:26, then lofted a wrister over Khudobin at 19:42 for his 11th goal. That is one fewer than he scored in 78 games last season.

"Shooting the puck, having fun, making plays," Smith said when asked why he is on a pace for his first 30-goal season.

Khudobin (7-1-2), who brought a 2.22 goals-against average and .932 save percentage to the rink, lasted barely over four minutes of the second period. Nick Bonino beat him to a rebound and scored his fifth goal at 2:15 to make it 3-0, and Fiala undressed Khudobin with a backhander to the net's roof at 4:10.

"The 4-0 lead is suboptimal at best and sometimes a death sentence," Backes said. "But I told the guys before you came in here, we battled and got back into the game."

Rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy got the Bruins on the board at 10:14 of the second period with a one-timer on the power play, his fourth goal of the season. Rask settled things down and Boston made its push early in the third period.

However, Laviolette's timeout and Forsberg's scoring touch quickly quashed any thoughts of a blown lead for a team that has been outscored by 12 goals in the third period.

"They're constantly pressing, attacking," Laviolette said of the Bruins, "so if you can stay patient, you can get somebody behind the defense."

Rinne (16-4-2) stopped 37 of 40 shots to earn the win. Rask saved 10 of 11 shots after replacing Khudobin.

NOTES: Nashville C Ryan Johansen (upper-body injury) missed a game for the first time this season Monday night. He was hurt in the second period of a 3-2 shootout win over Anaheim on Saturday and didn't play the last 33-plus minutes that evening. ... Boston LW Jake DeBrusk (upper-body injury) missed his second game Monday night. DeBrusk tallied the go-ahead goal in his NHL debut against the Predators on Oct. 5. ... The Bruins scratched D Paul Postma, LW Matt Beleskey and C Frank Vatrano. ... Nashville scratched D Anthony Bitetto and LW Cody McLeod. D Yannick Weber (lower-body injury) drew back into the lineup after missing 10 games.

Boeser nets 2, Sedin hits milestone as Canucks top Preds 5-3

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It was a grand night for Daniel Sedin.

Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, Sedin surpassed 1,000 career points and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Thursday.

Loui Eriksson also scored twice and Sedin had a goal and two assists for Vancouver, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Henrik Sedin added three assists, one on his brother’s 1,000th NHL point — a power-play goal that tied it 3-all at 10:22 of the third period.

“I wanted it to be a goal and in a big win, too,” Daniel Sedin said. “We got both, so I’m extremely proud of the group. To be a part of this group, too, it’s amazing.”

Daniel Sedin now has 1,001 career points. He and Henrik Sedin are the first pair of brothers to both reach 1,000 in the NHL.

“It’s been special playing with him for so long on the same team,” Daniel Sedin said.

Anders Nilsson made 29 saves for the win.

Craig Smith had a goal and an assist for Nashville. Filip Forsberg and Nick Bonino also scored for the Predators.

“We gave up too much in the second and in the third,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “When you have a 3-2 lead going into the third, you can continue to push but you have to do it inside of some structure. I thought that we lost the structure and they gained a lot of opportunities from it. We need to play better defense.”

Smith scored the game’s first goal at 2:42 of the second period. From the neutral zone, Matt Irwin banked a pass off the right boards across the Vancouver blue line. Smith skated to the puck and carried in along the right side before cutting toward the net parallel to the goal line. In front, he slipped a backhand between Nilsson’s pads.

Boeser tied it 12 seconds later.

After taking a pass from Bo Horvat above the right circle, the rookie cut to the slot with a nice toe drag before firing a wrist shot high to the stick side of goalie Pekka Rinne.

Forsberg made it 2-1 at 4:31 of the second. With the Predators on a power play, Smith sent a cross-ice pass from the left faceoff dot to Forsberg in the right circle. His wrist shot deflected off the crossbar and in.

Forsberg leads Nashville in goals with 13 and power-play goals with eight.

The Predators have scored at least one power-play goal in each of their 12 home games this season, setting a franchise record for consecutive home games with a man-advantage goal.

Eriksson tapped home the rebound of Daniel Sedin’s slap shot from the right circle at 14:11 of the second.

At 16:45 of the period, Bonino capped a wild scramble when, with his feet below the goal line, he reached around and tapped the puck by Nilsson.

Daniel Sedin tied it with a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Rinne between the pads.

Boeser scored his second of the night at 14:08 of the third.

From the left dot, Nikolay Goldobin slid a pass to Boeser in the slot. He skated toward the net and made a move before beating Rinne low to the glove side.

“Goldie played a heck of a game and I thought our line played really well tonight,” Boeser said. “It was a tremendous pass. I don’t know how he got it through, honestly.”

Boeser had a trio of two-goal games on the six-game road trip that ended Thursday.

“We definitely gave them too many odd-man rushes. I think they had two or three breakaways — that can’t happen,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said about the third period. “I thought we had a couple of chances early in the third and couldn’t capitalize.”

Eriksson added an empty-netter to seal it.

NOTES: Rinne made 27 saves. ... Nashville entered with the league’s best home power play, converting at a 40 percent rate. The Predators went 1 for 4 with the man advantage. ... The Predators are 12-2-2 when leading after two periods. ... Henrik Sedin has eight assists in his last six games. ... Eriksson has points in three straight games.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Predators: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

Rinne makes 37 saves, Predators beat Blackhawks 3-2

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg has scored on many different goalies, but Tuesday night was the first time he collected a goal against one with the same name on the back of his jersey.

Forsberg opened Nashville’s scoring against Chicago goaltender Anton Forsberg, Pekka Rinne made 37 saves, and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.

“Yeah, it was,” Filip Forsberg said with a laugh when asked if that was his first goal against another Forsberg. The two Swedish players are not related.

Auston Watson and Roman Josi also scored goals for the Predators, who have won 10 of 12.

“It’s a division game, and we’ve kind of created a little bit of a rivalry for sure over the years,” Rinne said. “It means a lot not only in this locker room but in the standings too. It’s a huge win.”

Tommy Wingels and Lance Bouma had the goals for Chicago, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.

Chicago made its first appearance in Nashville since the Predators swept them in last spring’s opening round of the playoffs.

With Nashville clinging to a one-goal lead late in the third, Rinne made his best save of the night when he denied Nick Schmaltz’s backhand from just outside the crease on a shorthanded breakaway. He later denied WIngels with the left pad in the game’s final minute.

Watson also blocked three shots off the stick of former Predator Cody Franson in the game’s final six seconds.

“That was awesome,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s a guy that the puck always seems to find him. ... There’s an art to that, and it was on full display at the end of the game.”

Filip Forsberg scored at 3:16 of the first when Anton Forsberg stopped his initial attempt from the high slot, and the rebound deflected off the right skate of Arvidsson, who was stationed just outside the Chicago crease. The puck drifted to the right, where Nashville’s top goal scorer tapped in his 12th of the season.

“I shot it and it hit him in the stomach, I think, and obviously he tried to spin and it hit his skate and went right to me,” Fillip Forsberg said. “It was fortunate, but at the same time, we were both in the good area where pucks might find us.”

Chicago tied it nearly two minutes later when Alex DeBrincat sent a pass to Wingels skating through the slot, where he redirected the puck over the glove of a diving Rinne.

“For the most part, we played a pretty good road game. That being said, the only thing that matters is the two points,” Wingels said. “While we are happy with some aspects, the biggest thing is we didn’t come away with two points.”

Anton Forsberg made 28 saves.

Watson made it 2-1 at 3:48 of the second when Matt Irwin’s shot from the left point was off the mark but deflected off Watson’s body and into the Chicago net. Officials upheld the goal after a challenge by the Blackhawks, who thought Watson had interfered with Anton Forsberg.

“It’s close. I looked at it,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “It could have gone either way, but it was one of those decisions that it could have gone our way too.”

Josi scored a power-play goal at 2:32 of the third with a slap shot from above the left faceoff circle.

Nashville entered Tuesday with the league’s best home power play conversion rate at 41.5%. The Predators were 1-4 in the game with the man advantage.

Bouma cut the lead to 3-2 midway through the third from the lower part of the right faceoff circle.

NOTES: Nashville has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its 11 home games. ... The Predators are 9-1-1 at home. ... Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane failed to record a point in the game, ending his point-scoring streak at seven games. ... Chicago is 2-5-0 against fellow Central Division teams. ... Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker attended the game.

UP NEXT:

Blackhawks: Host Dallas on Thursday.

Predators: Host Vancouver on Thursday.