Leonard scores game-winner in Predators debut against Panthers

John Leonard scored the game-winning goal in his Nashville Predators debut, and Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in a 2-1 victory against the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Thursday.

Leonard was promoted from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.
"It felt awesome to play tonight," Leonard said. "It was a quick last 24 hours, and everything happened quick, but the guys were great helping me out. It was awesome being able to find a way to win tonight with big saves and a lot of shot blocks as well. It was a full team effort, and it was a lot of fun."
Matt Duchene also scored, Roman Josi had two assists, and Luke Evangelista had his first NHL point for the Predators (30-23-6), who have won four of their past five games.
"The last three games for sure, we've played with some swagger in our game, which is nice to see," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "I think guys are making some good plays and feeling confident with the puck, which is important. I think we're playing really fast and the thing that drives all of it is throughout the lineup, the competitive level and work ethic is at the standard it needs to be to give yourself a chance to win every night."

Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie had one shot on goal and one blocked shot in 21:58 of ice time in his debut after being acquired with forward prospect
Reid Schaefer
, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday for defenseman Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft.
"Got in late [Wednesday] night, didn't have my gear for [the] skate this morning, so it came in a little late," Barrie said. "But taking everything in stride, and the guys have been great. You can tell they're loose and having a lot of fun. You can see how hard they're working, and it's a good young group."
Brandon Montour scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for the Panthers (29-24-6), who have not won consecutive games since a three-game streak from Jan. 28-Feb. 9.
"Obviously, guys care in this room," Florida forward Ryan Lomberg said. "We want to win every game, especially this time of year when we're pushing for a [Stanley Cup Playoff] spot. I don't know if it's [feeling] frustrated, but we all want to win, so we're definitely upset with the result."

Duchene gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 13:40 of the first period, scoring on a give-and-go tap pass from Evangelista in the right face-off circle on a power play.
Leonard made it 2-0 at 19:49. After Josi drove to the net and pushed the puck to him at the left post as he was being tripped, Leonard cut across the crease and went forehand-backhand to score on the delayed penalty.
It was Leonard's first NHL goal since April 2, 2022, as a member of the San Jose Sharks.
"I thought we had a good shift overall," Leonard said. "We had some good cycle movement going, and Josi made some unbelievable plays. I kind of just got lost in front of the net and … just cleaned up the garbage for sure. It was an awesome feeling."
Montour cut it to 2-1 at 3:21 of the second period. Following a turnover at their blue line, Montour scored on a 3-on-1 with a one-timer at the left post off a pass by Lomberg.
Florida outshot Nashville 24-11 over the final two periods.
"In the second period especially, [our team] went as hard as they could," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "[We] had lots of opportunities to put pucks to the net, but that didn't happen. I think we were victimized by how we put the puck in the offensive zone early in the third [period]. We didn't get the sustained pressure we had in the second."

Lankinen, who made his first start since a 7-3 win against Florida on Feb. 18, made eight saves in the third, including stopping a one-timer by Matthew Tkachuk at 13:46 and Montour alone in the slot at 14:17.
"Incredible," Barrie said. "I was going to ask a guy on the bench, but I didn't want to jinx it. "I was like, `This guy's unbelievable.' But yeah, he was great all night. Big saves. What a game from him."
NOTES:Nashville began a season-long six-game road trip. Florida began a season-long seven-game homestand. … Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier left the game early in the second period with an undisclosed injury. … Leonard was acquired with a 2023 third-round pick from the Sharks for Luke Kunin on July 8, 2022. …Predators forward Filip Forsberg missed his ninth straight game with an upper-body injury. … Josi has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past seven games. … Evangelista made his NHL debut on Tuesday.