Josi, Predators hold off Coyotes, extend point streak to five

NASHVILLE -- Roman Josi had a goal and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

Pekka Rinne made 26 saves in his second consecutive start for the Predators (18-12-6), who are are on a five-game point streak (4-0-1) heading into the Christmas break.
"I think as long as you put in the work, you're going to get those bounces and you're going to get those goals," said Josi, who has seven goals and two assists during a five-game point streak. "Lately, I feel like we've been working a lot harder. The effort is there and that's why we're getting some bounces."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Predators highlights]
Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Coyotes (21-14-4), who won 5-2 against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Antti Raanta made 38 saves for Arizona.
"The first period was tough," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "[Raanta] was unreal. They threw everything at us. A couple of adjustments, not saying we weren't ready to play, we didn't go through people early. Against Nashville you've got to go through those guys because they're good in the neutral zone. I thought in the second and third we started to get our legs."

Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators to give them a 1-0 lead at 18:08 of the first period on a rebound from a shot by Josi.
"I think we've been more detailed," Forsberg said. "I think the second period today was not that, but I thought the first period was great. We're being a little more, not careful, but we're just taking care of the puck better and it's not hurting us as much."
Viktor Arvidsson gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 7:53 of the second period on a one-timer on the rush.
"We went out in this game and I think we dominated the first period and went on the offensive attack," Arvidsson said. "It was a great game for us, and we finished it great."
Josi gave the Predators a 3-1 lead at 9:56 of the third period on a wrist shot from the point. It was his 14th goal, the most among NHL defensemen.
Chychrun scored for the Coyotes to make it 3-2 at 10:33 of the third period.
"It's frustrating," Crouse said. "We didn't like our start, but we battled pretty much right until the end. Those are the characteristics that you want to see. Obviously [Raanta] did a [heck] of a job for us back there. He gave us a chance to win the game, and that's really all you can ask for."
Crouse scored for the Coyotes to make it 2-1 at 18:07 of the second period on a backhand shot on the rush.
"We're going to just stick together," Tocchet said. "It's a tough trip here, a lot of air miles. We're going to have three days off and get the guys to reenergize."

They said it

"For me, it was when you go to a guy, stay with a guy, go through a guy. You can't swing off of your checks. We had too many guys swinging off of their checks. You've got Arvidsson and Forsberg, you let them go free and they're going to look fast, which they did. Once we started getting in front of people, we started eating the game up a little bit." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet on the message after the first period
"It's easy just getting into the rhythm of the League when you win one, you lose one and you just keep going like that. Every team in our division is winning it feels like, so we just had to jump on the train. We can't get off of it at any point." -- Predators forward Filip Forsberg on playing with a sense of urgency

Need to know

Coyotes forward Clayton Keller had an assist and has eight points (five goals, three assists) in the past six games. … Defenseman Dan Hamhuis was the only Predators skater who did not have a shot on goal. … Josi has never scored more than 15 goals in a season (2014-15 and 2018-19). ... Rinne had not started two straight games since Dec. 3 and 7. He made 29 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

What's next

Coyotes: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; FS-A+, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Predators:Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday (8 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, FS-TN, NHL.TV)