Niederreiter scores twice, Hurricanes hold off Predators

NASHVILLE -- Nino Niederreiter scored two goals for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, Jordan Martinook and Justin Williams scored, and Petr Mrazek made 31 saves for the Hurricanes (37-24-7), who have won nine of their past 12 games and moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division.
"We knew what kind of stage we're in right now," Niederreiter said. "We're all fighting for a Stanley Cup Playoff]*
Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith and Brian Boyle scored, and Juuse Saros made 27 saves for the Predators (39-26-5), who had won two in a row and remain one point behind the Jets for first place in the Central Division.
"We were chasing the game, just the way the game started with penalties right off the bat," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "I feel like we didn't get in a rhythm on the bench and when we did we were slow. We were not up to the speed that they were at, and so I thought that they controlled the first period. I thought in the second and third periods we were pushing back, but at that point, you're chasing the game."
Niederreiter gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 14:29 of the first period after he forced a turnover by Predators defenseman P.K. Subban and scored on a shot from the left circle. He extended the lead to 2-0 at 19:29 on a redirection in the slot on the power play.

Smith cut it to 2-1 at 2:52 of the second period on a slap shot from the top of the right circle.
Williams scored 55 seconds into the third period to make it 3-1 on a redirection of Teuvo Teravainen's point shot on the power play.
"It just gives you a little bit of breathing room," Williams said. "It lets you make a play that you might not have made if you're only up a goal. I mean, it's huge, especially with the guys that we have in the net."
Boyle cut it to 3-2 at 2:35, chipping in a rebound in front, but Martinook gave the Hurricanes a 4-2 lead at 6:38 on a rebound of Brett Pesce's initial shot.
Granlund scored his first goal with Nashville to make it 4-3 at 17:31. Originally ruled no goal because of goaltender interference, Laviolette challenged the play and the call was reversed after a video review.

Aho scored his 30th goal into an empty net to make it 5-3 at 19:40.
"Obviously, getting ahead is huge," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "You don't have to chase the game and you can just kind of settle in. They're going to have their push, and they did. They came out in the second and they took it to us pretty good, but that's when [Mrazek] was at his best for us and kind of kept us in there."

They said it

"The biggest key is don't get frustrated. Obviously, having another 5-on-3, we couldn't get the goal done. It's definitely frustrating, but at the same time, we knew we had to stick to the process. We had some good quality shots during that time and we just made sure we got it done at some point." -- Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter on failing to convert on three early power plays
"That's details. It shouldn't happen. We know our changes and we need to execute it. So that's an opportunity for us to get into the game, and it slipped away." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on the penalty for too many men that led to the Niederreiter's second goal

Need to know

Mrazek is 8-0-0 against Nashville. … Predators forward Filip Forsberg missed the game because of an upper-body injury and is listed as day to day. … Granlund was playing in his fourth game with Nashville after being acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 25.

What's next

Hurricanes:At the Colorado Avalanche on Monday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Predators:At the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-W, FS-TN, NHL.TV)