Neal, Saros Help Preds to Strong Start, Solid Win

James Neal scored twice and Juuse Saros made 27 saves as the Nashville Predators defeated the New Jersey Devils by a 5-1 final on Tuesday night at Prudential Center. The win gives the Preds two consecutive victories on the road for the first time this season, not to mention a perfect Fathers Trip.
Mattias Ekholm found the back of the net as well for the Preds, his first of the season, and then Filip Forsberg scored his second in as many games with a power-play tally in the final frame. Ryan Johansen scored shorthanded for good measure to finish it out, with Viktor Arvidsson collecting his third assist of the night on the play.
Two road wins in 48 hours not only give the Predators four points in the standings, but some much needed confidence away from home.

"I thought the guys did an excellent job of answering the bell tonight right off the bat," Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "They played hard in the first shift and followed it up, got the first goal and backed it up with more goals. It was a good start, but also a good solid game. It was probably our cleanest, strongest team road win of the year."

Sweet Scores, Fast Start:
James Neal said prior to Tuesday's game at New Jersey he was hoping to give his father a better effort than he did on Monday. Goal achieved.
Neal tallied twice in the game's opening period within 1:32 - his 13th and 14th goals of the season - to give the Preds a 2-0 lead. It was the first time in the past six contests the Preds have scored the first goal of the game, a welcome result to begin the night.
"We had a good start to the game," defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "An early goal from Nealer, and then he just followed it up again; that's a big start on the road. It's tough to come to this building, they play hard every night. To start so solidly, it was huge for us."
"It's great for our confidence," Neal said of the win. "It's something we talked about all year when we're on the road, and I think you have to be [confident on the road] if you want to find yourself in a playoff spot. The year goes by quickly, so we have to jump on these when they really matter, and that's now. So great couple road wins for us."

Do Juuse What I See:
In his fifth start of the season, Juuse Saros did what he's done in every other outing - give the Preds a chance to win. The Nashville netminder recorded 27 saves and was only beaten by a deflection late in the third.
His stop in the first period on Devils star Taylor Hall off a one-timer at the side of the net was particularly impressive and helped keep New Jersey off the board. From there, Saros continued to frustrate the Devils, never allowing them into the game.
"It was good to get that save and not let them get close in the game," Saros said. "Our defense made it easy for me to see the puck."
"Unbelievable," Ekholm said of Saros. "I think he's been lights out since he came up here. He's talking a lot, he's communicating, saving the puck, so he's doing it all right now."

Two for the Dads:
As Head Coach Peter Laviolette stated prior to Monday's game in Philadelphia, no one wants to play poorly in front of their father.
The Preds backed that up by going a perfect 2-for-2 on their annual Fathers Trip over the past two days, completed with Tuesday's triumph in New Jersey. The trip itself was already enjoyable enough, but when it comes down to it, winning is the name of the game. And the sons did just that.
"Two-for-two with the dads, I don't know if I've done that in my career," Neal said. "They're good luck charms, and it's nice to have them with us."
Notes:
James Neal scored two goals in a single period for the first time in almost exactly two years (last time on Dec. 29, 2014, vs. Chicago).
Viktor Arvidsson dished out three assists on Tuesday night, marking the first three-point game of his career. Arvidsson leads the NHL in shorthanded points with four.
The Predators return home to host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena, their final game before a four-day Christmas break.