Johansen Scores in OT, Boyle Impressed with New Club as Preds Beat Stars

As Brian Boyle said, they call that a ROW.
Ryan Johansen sent the home fans happy as the Nashville Predators defeated the Dallas Stars in overtime, 3-2, on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds wins in five of their last six overall and a pair of victories to conclude their homestand.
The second meeting between the Preds and Stars in the past six days turned out just fine with both teams trading chances and grinding it out for the extra point in the second overtime game between the two on the season.
In the end, it was Nashville that ultimately prevailed over its divisional rivals in thrilling fashion.

"It's good to get a win just because they've beaten us the last two times," Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "In the end, we got ourselves a lead. They came back and tied it, then we pressed forward again and got ourselves a win in the overtime. I like the perseverance of our group tonight."
"Every Central Division game is huge," Preds forward Viktor Arvidsson said. "You climb the standings and make the playoffs through the Central Division so we have to win those games. We lost to these guys twice now, and we won this time, so that was nice."
The game's first 17-plus minutes went scoreless before one of the most bizarre goals in quite some time dropped for the home team. Nashville forward Kevin Fiala threw a puck toward the net from the half wall, and after it struck Craig Smith - who was standing behind the cage - in the back, the biscuit then caromed off of Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin and over the line, a member's bounce if there ever was one.

"That was the easiest goal I've scored," Smith said. "We were doing a lot of the right things. I thought our line at certain times during the first period, I thought we were checking hard. I thought we made some good plays - you're going to have to make enough good plays to get good looks, and I thought we did that so we got rewarded with an easy one."
That was all there was to show for on the scoreboard through the first two periods, but in the third, the puck started going in once more.
Miro Heiskanen was the first to beat Juuse Saros early in the period, and then after Viktor Arvidsson finished off a tic-tac-goal with Filip Forsberg and Johansen to take the lead once more, Taylor Fedun responded just over a minute later to ensure overtime would happen.

In the extra session, Dallas never had sustained possessed, and it took just 43 seconds for Arvidsson to find Johansen wide open in the slot to finish the job.
"We were kind of looping and swooping, waiting for some space," Johansen said. "Even when [Arvidsson] got it down in the corner, it was bobbling, and he had to make a good play and he put it right in my wheelhouse. It was good to finish it off."

Any win against a divisional opponent - especially at this time of the year - carries added importance, but against a club that could potentially prove to be a postseason opponent, it means just a bit more.
"We emphasized that before the game," Johansen said. "They're playing great hockey. They're proving to the League right now that they belong in the postseason. It's something we need to prepare for and make sure we're ready to go for whenever we have a matchup against them, because you want to keep gaining confidence against these opponents."
First Impressions:
It was almost as if Brian Boyle was having trouble finding the words to describe his first experience as a member of the Predators.
Acquired from New Jersey 36 hours earlier, Boyle stood at his stall following a 3-2 overtime victory, reporters gathering around his towering frame to hear him state how much he simply enjoyed being a part of what had just transpired.
"This was fun," Boyle said. "There's plenty to work at, adjust to, and get familiar at, but that's a win.
"I like the standard everyone is held to. Good is not good enough, and we're striving for better and better. It's a fun group; these guys are pretty loose. Obviously, they take their job seriously though. This is a good group to be a part of."
And it wasn't just what occurred in the locker room and on the bench. Prior to Thursday's game, Boyle remarked on his excitement to be on the right side of the Bridgestone Arena crowd for the first time.
His expectations lived up to the hype.
"What a fun place to play," Boyle said of Bridgestone Arena. "It was fun before as a visiting player, but this is different level here. This was memorable one."
Along with the reacquisition of Cody McLeod, Boyle and his new teammate had a noticeable impact in the Nashville locker room, something the rest of their teammates are thrilled to be a part of as time marches on.
"It's pretty impressive, the respect and the presence they bring to the room here," Johansen said of Boyle and McLeod. "It's going to be fun to get to know them by playing in these games and in the playoffs."

Notes:
Brian Boyle finished with two hits and two face-off wins in 14 minutes of ice time in his Nashville debut.
Cody McLeod appeared in his first game for his second stint with the Predators and recorded two hits in 6:54 of ice time.
Kyle Turris returned to the Nashville lineup after missing the previous 17 games with a lower-body injury and won seven faceoffs in 16:07 of ice time.
Rocco Grimaldi, Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Thursday.
With their three-game homestand now complete, the Predators will face the St. Louis Blues for a home-and-home set this weekend. The Blues will host first on Saturday afternoon (at 1 p.m. CT) before the two clubs switch venues for an 11:30 a.m. start at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.