Subban, Predators top Oilers in shootout

NASHVILLE -- P.K. Subban had a goal and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a 3-2 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

Colton Sissons scored, and Pekka Rinne made 25 saves for Nashville (37-23-5), which has won three of its past four games and moved one point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division.
"We just wanted to focus on what we had to do," Subban said. "We've got a job to do and we're at home. We want to get some more wins at home, too. I think we've dropped enough wins this year at home (21-12-1), so we wanted to focus and we knew that regardless of where this team was in the standings, we knew they'd been playing well of late. I thought we did a good job of tilting the ice in the second period."
WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Predators highlights]
Leon Draisaitl scored twice, and Mikko Koskinen made 36 saves for Edmonton (26-29-7), which has lost 12 of its past 15 games (3-8-4) and is seven points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
The Oilers played without forward Connor McDavid, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy.
"I thought we played really good," Draisaitl said. "Obviously, they're a hard team to play against here. The crowd gets into it and they feed off that, so I thought we played really well. I think we deserved the point, and obviously the shootout is always a little bit of luck involved in that."
Draisaitl tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 9:12 of the third period, getting the rebound after Alex Chiasson's initial shot was redirected by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:08 of the first period on a shorthanded breakaway. He intercepted a pass by Predators forward Filip Forsberg in the neutral zone before beating Rinne five-hole with a backhand.

Sissons tied it 1-1 at 11:43 of the second period. Rocco Grimaldi received a pass from Subban on the rush and shot from the right circle, and Sissons got the rebound and scored into an open net.
"It's always a weird feeling on Trade Deadline day," Sissons said. "You never know what's going to happen, and [it's] a little bit stressful. So everyone kind of had to regain their focus heading into puck drop tonight, too."
Subban gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 13:07 on a slap shot from the point. The goal was Subban's 400th point in the NHL.
"I still always think I haven't played my best game yet," Subban said. "I haven't had my best year yet. This year has been a tough year so far, but I'm just trying to push it the last couple games here and get myself back to where I know I can be and dominate games. Personally, I'm not too happy with my year. Obviously, I'd like to be healthier and play better, but all you can do is focus on what's in front of you. Being sick for the past two days and not skating or doing anything, I'm pretty happy with my game today."
Forsberg and Brian Boyle scored in the shootout for the Predators.

Nashville acquired forward Mikael Granlund in a trade from the Minnesota Wild for forward Kevin Fiala and got forward Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft earlier Monday.
"Granlund, we play him a lot against [Minnesota]. He's a really skilled player," Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. "Really skilled player, really tough to play against. He's fast, he's very skilled. Really good player, and obviously [Simmonds] is a really tough guy. He goes to the front of the net. He hits hard. He's, as a defenseman, really hard to play against. They both definitely bring a lot."

They said it

"He's playing 25 minutes a night, winning draws, doing the details of the game, scoring goals. He's playing up and down the ice, super hard minutes against the other team's best line, best defensive pairing. I hope he takes this and runs forward." -- Oilers forward Alex Chiasson on Leon Draisaitl
"[Simmonds] provides a big presence and a net-front presence, capable of scoring goals. He has been his whole career. Even this year, he has 16 goals. He's still on a good clip there. Granlund coming in, I think, just provides a guy with just a little bit more experience and a little bit, at this point, more offensive touch to his game." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Draisaitl has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in a seven-game point streak. … Predators general manager David Poile said Simmonds would join the team Tuesday.

What's next

Oilers:At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Predators:At the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-TN, NHL.TV)