Saros makes 35 saves for Predators in win against Penguins

NASHVILLE --Juuse Saros made 35 saves, and Roman Josi had three assists for the Nashville Predators in a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Rookie forward Tanner Jeannot scored his 19th goal, and Colton Sissons had two assists for the Predators (35-21-4), who are 5-1-0 in their past six games.
It was the third game in four days for the Predators, who lost to the St. Louis Blues 7-4 on Saturday and won 5-2 at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
"We've played three really strong teams," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "I just have a lot of respect for the way the guys have dug in and competed and remained focused and ready for the game. [They've] met the challenges of each game and also the challenges within each game."

Jake Guentzel scored, and Casey DeSmith made 21 saves for the Penguins (36-16-9), who had won five of seven (5-1-1).
Penguins center Sidney Crosby had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (13 points; six goals, seven assists).
"I thought we played real well," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I really liked our energy. I loved our effort. I thought we played the game hard tonight. We didn't end up on the right side of the score, but I think if we bring that effort, if we bring that commitment, we're going to win a lot of games."
Mattias Ekholm gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 19:58 of the first period following quick passes from Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg. The assist extended Duchene's point streak to seven games (14 points; eight goals, six assists).

Guentzel tied it 1-1 at 14:00 of the second period, beating Saros with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
The Predators scored twice within 1:23 to take a 3-1 lead.
Jeannot made it 2-1 at 15:40, redirecting Josi's slap shot from the blueline. Josi's three assists gave him an NHL career-high 52 and extend his point streak to seven games (16 points; three goals, 13 assists).
"I don't know how many games [Josi] has won for us this year," Ekholm said. "He keeps proving to everybody that he's, if not the best defenseman … I would say [he is]. And offensively, he's been lights-out all year."

Eeli Tolvanen extended the lead to 3-1 at 17:03 on a breakaway. It was his first goal in 13 games.
"I think that's huge," Jeannot said. "He's been playing so well for us. He's doing everything, really. He's getting hits, he's blocking shots. It was just a matter of time for it to go in for him. He's been getting the chances too, so it's really nice to see that go in."
Saros made a save on Kasperi Kapanen's breakaway at 9:15 of the third period. It was his 50th appearance of the season, one behind Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL lead. Saros (29-18-3) did not play Sunday.
"[Saros] has played at a high level in every game he's played this year," Hynes said. "It's nice that he always responds when he does get some time off and he does get rest. It's the mental part and the physical part. We're going to need to be able to do that this year."
Yakov Trenin scored an empty-net goal 18:10 for the 4-1 final.
"I thought we played a pretty good game, pretty full 60 minutes," Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues said. "This one stings a little bit because I thought we controlled a majority of the play. You've kind of got to move past it quickly and take the good from it and move on to the next one."
NOTES: Crosby has 878 career assists, tied with Nicklas Lidstrom for 22nd in NHL history. He is the 14th player in NHL history, and the only active player, to have at least 10 double-digit point streaks with one team. Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 21 for the Edmonton Oilers. … Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had an assist and has scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 16 games against Nashville. … Josi leads NHL defensemen with 69 points (17 goals, 52 assists). He broke his Predators record for assists by a defenseman (49, 2019-20) and tied Paul Kariya for second-most in their history (2006-07). Kariya holds the record with 54 in 2005-06. … Forsberg had an assist, extending his point streak to four games (nine points; four goals, five assists). … Nashville defenseman Philippe Myers had one shot and two hits in 12:26 in his first game since March 2. He replaced Matt Benning, who sustained an undisclosed Sunday.