Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead on the power play with 34.7 seconds remaining in the first period. P.K. Subban took the initial shot from the point, and Smith beat Semyon Varlamov for his seventh goal.
"I think you can see in [Smith's] body language and just his overall presence there, he feels a lot calmer and a lot more relaxed when he's got a few more goals under his belt already," Ekholm said. "He's a tremendous player, the way he skates out there and the way he uses his speed, turning defensemen. He's been a big part of our success this year."
Colton Sissons gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 9:11 of the second period. Nick Bonino intercepted the puck in the offensive zone and passed it to Roman Josi, who found Sissons for the backdoor tap-in.
Anthony Bitetto made it 3-0 at 10:38 of the second period on a slap shot from the top of the left circle.
Ekholm gave the Predators a 4-0 lead at 7:53 of the second period on a slap shot from the point.
"I play with good players on the power play, that's the first (thing)," Ekholm said. "And then I get good opportunities to shoot the puck. I'm trying to shoot it as much as I can, and some of them have found the net lately. It's obviously fun to contribute. It's obviously fun to score goals. If I can chip in like this, it'll be awesome."
Viktor Arvidsson gave the Predators a 5-0 lead at 11:51 of the third period on a redirection on a shot from Subban. It was his eighth goal.
Mironov ended Rinne's shutout bid at 15:23 of the third period to make it 5-1.
Compher scored his second of the season at 18:15 of the third.
Varlamov made 19 saves.
