Predators Complete Season Sweep of Panthers After 2-1 Win in Florida

Kevin Lankinen backstopped the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers Thursday at FLA Live Arena.
The Preds completed the season sweep of Florida after scoring a season-high seven goals in a 7-2 win over the Panthers on Feb. 18 at home.
Lankinen, making his first start between the pipes since the Feb. 18 victory, made 30 saves in goal for the Predators, who moved to 30-23-6 on the season.

THE STORY

The Predators opened the scoring on the power play at 13:40 of the first period. Luke Evangelista drew a tripping penalty on Florida's Radko Gudas and fed the puck to Matt Duchene, who fired a shot from the circle to put the Preds up 1-0 just seven seconds into their first power play opportunity of the night.

John Leonard extended Nashville's lead to 2-0, backhanding a Roman Josi feed from in front of the net with just 11 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Panthers scored the lone goal of the second period when Brandon Montour received Ryan Lomberg's feed and slapped a shot into the back of the net to slim Florida's deficit to one goal at 3:21.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Let The Kid Play
Evangelista assisted on Duchene's power-play tally in the first frame for his first career NHL point. Evangelista, who made his NHL debut on Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh, drew his second penalty in as many games to give the Predators the man advantage that gave way to their first goal of the night.
The J. Leno Show
Leonard's goal was his first as a member of the Predators, after the 24-year-old winger was re-called from Milwaukee (AHL) ahead of Thursday's game.
Leonard moved into a tie for third on the Admirals in points with 32 (11g-21a) after scoring the lone goal in Milwaukee's 1-0 win against Iowa on Wednesday. The game-winner was also his 141st shot of the season, the most among all Milwaukee skaters. Leonard has picked up points in nine of his last 13 games (5g-5a), including his second multi-goal game of 2022-23 on Feb. 3 vs. Manitoba (2g).
He made his NHL debut with San Jose in 2020-21 and went on to appear in 58 games with the Sharks across the previous two seasons, recording 15 points (4g-11a); at the AHL level, he's tallied 66 points (29g-37a) in 99 games with Milwaukee and San Jose.
Common Captain W
With assists on both of Nashville's first-period goals, Roman Josi extended his team lead in points to 56 (17g-39a). He has 52 points (16g-36a) in his last 50 games and has recorded at least one point in 20 of his last 25 contests.
In addition to leading all Predators skaters in both points (56) and assists (39), Josi also ranks in the top-10 among all NHL defensemen in both categories.
Barrie's Debut
Tyson Barrie, acquired by Nashville on Thursday from the Edmonton Oilers, had one shot on goal and one block in his Predators debut. Barrie's 21:58 of ice time was the third-highest among Preds defensemen, after Alexandre Carrier exited the game early with an upper-body injury sustained during the first period.
Milestone Night

Mark Jankowski and Zach Sanford each skated in their 300th career NHL game on Thursday, while Yakov Trenin skated in career game No. 200.

THEY SAID IT

Barrie on his first game with Nashville:
"It's been great. It's been busy. I got in late last night and didn't have my gear this morning for skate, so I came in a little late and have just been taking everything in stride. And the guys have been great. You can tell they're loose and having a lot of fun and that was a fun game to be a part of. You can see how hard they're working and it's a good, young group... I think you can see the young guys are hungry to make a name for themselves and we've got older guys in here with a lot of pride, who certainly want to drive this team and get them into the playoffs. We're still in the mix and I'm happy to come in and try to be a part of that. And you can see the enthusiasm in here, so it's going to be fun."
Leonard on his first game with Nashville:
"It felt awesome to play tonight. It was a quick 24 hours and everything happened quickly, but it was awesome. The guys are great and helped me out and it was awesome being able to find a way to win tonight with some big saves and a lot of shot blocks as well. It was a full team effort and it was a lot of fun."
Lankinen on his 30-save performance:
"I've got to give a shoutout to our goalie coach Ben Vanderklok. We work really hard. When the team is not skating, we go on and do goalie stuff and make sure that the preparation is there. And I feel really confident in my game and I'm happy with the progress we've been able to make this year. So a lot of credit goes to Benny and also the guys around me. They make me feel comfortable whenever I get a chance to play, so it's always fun."
Coach Hynes on contributions throughout the lineup:
"It's been a combination. I think the younger players have come in and they're excited and they're hungry and they have a lot of energy and they're good players. And they're playing with some swagger in their game and I give credit to the veteran guys that try to set the direction and have a lot of pride. They want to continue to drive us forward. And like we've always said within our room, we believe that we're in reach of still making the playoffs. That dream for us is still alive and so we've got to continue to move forward. So I think from top to bottom everyone's contributed the way that you need them to - both our veterans and young guys."

UP NEXT

The Preds will continue their six-game road trip with a visit to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.