Since Jon Cooper mixed up his line combinations during the recent road trip, one of the most consistent units has been the line of Tyler Johnson, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow. Nearly seven minutes into the game, Johnson converted a rush chance to open the scoring. The play began with a Lightning d-zone steal of a Victor Arvidsson backhand pass. On the ensuing counter, Coleman set up Erik Cernak, who joined the rush and took the puck deep into the offensive zone. Cernak fed the puck to Johnson at the right circle. Despite the fact that he was falling to the ice, Johnson still managed to get his stick on the puck and slide it into the net.
The Lightning controlled most of the rest of the first period. They added to their lead with a Mathieu Joseph goal at 18:35. This was a game in which the Lightning elected to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. So the line of Joseph and Pat Maroon had a rotating third forward join them. Following a Nashville icing, Steven Stamkos came out with Joseph and Maroon. Stamkos won the face-off and moments later, Joseph's shot from the right point deflected off Mattias Ekholm and into the top of the net.
Rinne was terrific at the beginning of the second period. Alex Killorn did score a power play goal at 2:24, finishing a quick passing sequence in which all five Lightning players touched the puck. But Rinne made a handful of other tough saves during the first 12 minutes of the middle stanza, keeping the deficit at three.
The Predators had three stretches in this game when they applied consistent pressure. The first of those came in the second half of the second period. A Lightning defensive zone turnover led to Yakov Trenin's open look from the slot. He finished his shot at 12:02, pulling the Predators to within 3-1. They had a couple of good chances to make it 3-2, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made tough saves on Alexandre Carrier and Jeremy Davies. The Lightning also killed a penalty during this time. Then, with just over a minute left in the frame, Brayden Point, who was celebrating his 25th birthday, extended the Lightning lead. He carried the puck down he left wing into the offensive zone, veered cross-ice to the right circle, and wrested a shot back across the grain. It flew past Rinne's right shoulder.
Nashville's second push came in the early minutes of the third. Carrier finished a rush chance at 3:17, netting his first NHL goal. On the next shift, the Lightning took a penalty and Erik Haula scored on the ensuing power play. A Calle Jarnkrok shot went wide of the net, but it caromed off the end boards directly to Haula at the side of the net. He was behind Vasilevskiy, who had come out to the top of the crease to defend the Jarnkrok attempt.
Just as Point's goal ended Nashville initial surge, Coleman's backhand tally from the slot at 10:02 slowed Nashville second surge. The Preds made their third and final push in the closing minutes - they posted five shots on goal in the last 5:05 of the game, but Vasilevskiy held them off the board and the Lightning sealed it with an empty-netter.
It may not have been a perfect outing for the Lightning, who yielded some scoring chances at different points throughout the night. But overall, they gave the 3,800 fans a good showing and earned a win on the night that their banner went to the rafters.
The teams wrap up their two-game set on Monday afternoon, the first of a back-to-back for the Lightning (they travel to Dallas for a Tuesday night game). It'll begin a busy five-game-in-seven-day stretch for the Lightning as well.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Erik Cernak - Lightning. Two assists.
2. Blake Coleman - Lightning. Goal and assist.
3. Tyler Johnson - Lightning. Goal and assist.
