Kinkaid, Devils end Predators winning streak in shootout

NASHVILLE -- The New Jersey Devils ended the Nashville Predators' 10-game winning streak with a 3-2 shootout victory at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Ryan Johansen tied the game at 18:54 of the third period for the Predators (44-14-10), who matched the Colorado Avalanche (Dec. 29-Jan.22) for the longest streak in the NHL this season.
Nashville leads the Western Conference with 98 points.

WATCH: [All Devils vs. Predators highlights]
"It speaks for our team," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "Winning 10 in a row shows a lot of consistency, and that's what you want toward the playoffs. You want to play with a lot of consistency, and we've been playing really well lately. Obviously we were hoping to keep it going, but we've just got to forget about that one and come back the next game."
Keith Kinkaid made 34 saves for New Jersey (35-26-8), which moved ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"I think I was a little too amped up to start the game," Kinkaid said. "Big game, maybe too much coffee and expresso. Once I settled down after the first period, I felt confident and calm. It was good. The boys played great from the get-go."
Johansen helped send the game to overtime when he scored on a rebound after Kinkaid made an initial save against Ryan Ellis. It was Johansen's 11th goal of the season.
Brian Boyle gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 11:24 of the second period when he redirected Damon Severson's shot for his 13th goal.
"It was two teams that were going after the game," Devils coach John Hynes said. "It was high intensity. Not a lot of time and space, but I thought both teams really came to play. I'm glad we wound up with the two points."
Mattias Ekholm gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:17 of the first period on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle for his 10th goal.
Sami Vatanen tied it at 7:13 of the first period on a shot from the point to make it 1-1.

Kinkaid sealed the win when he made a save against Craig Smith in the fifth round of the shootout after Boyle scored. Taylor Hall and Kyle Turris each scored in the fourth round.
"It was just one of those games where we stuck with it for the whole 60 minutes and found some really good goaltending from (Kinkaid)," Hall said. "They're a really good team. They're deep. They don't have any injuries, I don't think.
"They're primed for a deep playoff run, so for us to come in and snap their winning streak and really play how we wanted to for the majority of the night on the road was really encouraging and a great start for our road trip here."
Juuse Saros made 25 saves for Nashville.

Goal of the game

Boyle's goal at 11:24 of the second period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid against Filip Forsberg 50 seconds into overtime.

Highlight of the game

Johansen's goal at 18:54 of the third period.

They said it

"I thought both teams really played well. I thought they had some good looks and good opportunities and [Kinkaid] came up with some big saves. I thought Saros did the same thing, so I just like the fact that we were in a very competitive game and a very competitive environment and found a way to win it. That's what we can draw on the most from the game is the two points No. 1, but also the style of game and how intense the game was. It was good to see us come out on top." -- Devils coach John Hynes
"A lot of the numbers pointed our way, just not the shots on net. We missed the net probably in the first half of the game more than we have at any point this year. Lots of attempts, we just couldn't get it between the red pipes. That takes away from your offense a little bit." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Hall was held without a point for the second consecutive game after having one in his previous 26 games. … Josi returned after missing four games because of an upper-body injury. He had one assist in 26:21 of ice time.

What's next

Devils: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; MSG+, ATTSM-RM, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN3, FS-TN, NHL.TV)