Saros makes 43 saves, Predators shut out Golden Knights

NASHVILLE --Juuse Saros made 43 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Kevin Fiala scored to give the Nashville Predators a 1-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
Saros improved to 5-0-3 in his past eight starts after beginning the season with an 0-3-0 record.

"He's been good for a while now," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "Probably going all the way back to a 4-3 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 4], he's been solid. He's gone down to [Milwaukee of the American Hockey League]. He's played games. He's been solid down there. Every opportunity he's gotten in the net recently he's looked great. Tonight was just another example of that."
***[WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Predators highlights]*
The Predators did not play from Jan. 10-15 and assigned Saros to Milwaukee during that time, where he made three starts. Saros was recalled on Monday, and Laviolette decided to start him against the Golden Knights to give Pekka Rinne additional practice time.
"It was a good decision to send me down there to get some games," Saros said. "It was a good week there so I felt ready coming into tonight."
The Predators (26-11-6) have won three consecutive games and are 14-4-2 at home.
"It's a good hockey team over there obviously with where they are in the standings," Predators forward Austin Watson said. "We've talked about it a lot this year about how good that Vegas team is, so the 0-0 game for a lot of it doesn't really surprise me.
"They're really gifted offensively. They're fast. They work hard defensively. They're never out of a play. It was a really good hockey game. For us to come out on top 1-0 and play well defensively and get good goaltending and be able to get that goal that put us over the edge, it's awesome."

The Golden Knights (29-11-3) are 0-1-1 in their past two games and dropped to 11-9-1 on the road.
"[Saros] made some big saves for them," Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. "He kept them in the game all night long. Our power play was good, too. We had a lot of shots, a lot of chances, and he kept them out. It happens sometimes."
Fiala gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 8:00 of the third period on a rebound. P.K. Subban took the original shot with Calle Jarnkrok in front of the net, and Fiala put the rebound past Fleury for his 11th goal.

Goal of the game

Fiala's goal at 8:00 of the third period.

Save of the game

Saros' save on Jonathan Marchessault at 9:05 of the third period.

#

Highlight of the game

Fleury's save on Colton Sissons at 4:17 of the third period.

They said it

"We created a lot of battles in front of the net, and I think tonight we weren't as hungry as we are normally. I mean, obviously, there's always a positive in the game, but at the end of the night we didn't win." -- Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault
"I thought that we were good at times. They're a team that throws a lot of pucks at the net. They're a fast team both offensively and defensively. It makes it difficult to generate. I thought 5-on-5 we were pretty good. On the penalty kill, we gave up a lot of shots and a lot of attempts. I think there were some good things that we did 5-on-5. Overall, with some of the pieces that were out, I thought we did a pretty good job competing and getting ourselves a win." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Predators forward Ryan Johansen left late in the second period after he took a hit from Golden Knights forward William Carrier. There was no update on his status after the game. … Subban assisted on Fiala's goal and has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 14 games. … Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson missed the game with an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. … Marchessault had 10 shots on goal and 15 shot attempts. … Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin missed the game with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day. … Fleury made 26 saves.

What's next

Golden Knights: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, SUN, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-TN, NHL.TV)