Saros makes 46 saves, Predators shut out Oilers

EDMONTON -- Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros made 46 saves in a 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.
Saros earned his first shutout of the season in his seventh start in place of No. 1 goalie Pekka Rinne, who made 25 saves in a 7-1 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

"The performance that Saros] had tonight, especially in the first period when we weren't very good, it says a lot about him and the way he is playing right now to be able to handle that many quality chances and shots on net," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.
***[WATCH: [All Predators vs. Oilers highlights]*
Kyle Turris had a goal and an assist, Pontus Aberg, Kevin Fiala and Roman Josi scored, and Mattias Ekholm had two assists for the Predators (20-7-4), who have won 10 straight games against the Oilers since a 5-1 loss at Edmonton on March 18, 2014.

Laurent Brossoit made 19 saves for the Oilers (13-17-2) in his seventh consecutive start in place of Cam Talbot, who is out with an upper-body injury.
Edmonton has been shut out by a backup goalie twice in its past three games. Curtis McElhinney made 41 saves to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 1-0 win Sunday.
"I don't think it's fair, this game," Oilers forward Pat Maroon said. "I've been around the game for a long time now and it's a weird, weird game. You're going to go through times where you shouldn't win, but you do, and you're going to go through times when you should have won by a lot and don't win."
The Oilers outshot the Predators 22-4 in the first period, when neither team scored. Nashville scored four goals on nine shots in the second.

"It was a tough test for us. Juuse won that game for us," Josi said. "He was unbelievable, especially in the first. It wasn't our best game, but we found a way to win it and get two points on (the second game of) a back-to-back."
Aberg scored at 2:56 to give the Predators a 1-0 lead when he tipped Ekholm's point shot.
Fiala made it 2-0 when he scored on the power play at 8:16.
Turris scored at 14:49 to give the Predators a 3-0 lead, and Josi's goal on a two-man advantage at 17:25 made it 4-0.
"We had 46 shots on goal, but their goalie played a [heck] of a game," Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom said. "It was a little bit of that Toronto feeling; we couldn't get the first one. It doesn't matter if we let in one goal or eight goals, it doesn't matter if we don't score the first one."

Saros made 12 saves in the third period. It was his second shutout in 27 NHL starts.
"I like to see a lot of pucks. You don't think as much and you just go with the flow," Saros said. "It's a good way to get into the game. It was a good night, but I still need to find ways to get better."

Goal of the game

Turris' goal at 14:49 of the second period.

Save of the game

Saros stopping Ryan Strome at 7:27 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Josi's goal at 17:25 of the second period.

They said it

"In the first period when you get outshot 22-4 and you walk into the room with the game still tied 0-0, you are thankful that your goalie was ready to play and was able to give you an opportunity to win a hockey game." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on goalie Juuse Saros
"I think we're playing better hockey than we did two or three weeks ago. But you can have those moral victories when you're comfortably in a playoff position, and obviously we're not. We need the wins, and that's what it's all about." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"Other than the result, we outplayed them in every aspect of the game. We know the reality of the spot we're in, but our game, especially in the last four games, is trending in the right way. We have to build on that more than the loss here tonight." -- Oilers forward Milan Lucic

Need to know

The 46 shots are the most Edmonton has had in a shutout loss in its history. Mike Smith made 44 saves for the Arizona Coyotes in a 4-0 win against the Oilers on March 12, 2016. … Fiala has five goals and three assists during a six-game point streak. ... The Predators are 15-2-2 in their past 19 games. They have won three in a row on the road and four of their past five (4-0-1).

What's next

Predators: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Oilers: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; FS-N, SNW, NHL.TV)