Consider the Preds done in Dallas.
Six different Predators skaters scored and Kevin Lankinen made 19 saves as Nashville took down the Dallas Stars, 6-3, on Friday at American Airlines Center.
The win not only improved Nashville’s road record to 11-7-1, but gave a needed boost to a Predators team eager to correct their mistakes from a disappointing 5-3 loss at home on Tuesday to Anaheim.
"It was a good win for us,” Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly said. “I thought we started a little slow, but we weathered the storm and then we kind of got going and I thought we played great from then on out. Going into that third period, we stuck with it. They got a little momentum there for a bit, but I thought the bench was great. We stuck with it, it was positive and we kept working and obviously it was huge to get a big win like that.”
“I thought we were really good, besides maybe the first five minutes,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we did all the things that we'd like to do. We didn’t give them a lot of space, we nullified the rush game. In the third period, we had to make it a little harder on ourselves than we really needed, but it was a great 20-man effort.”
The result moves Nashville to 23-18-1 overall as they return home to conclude a back-to-back set on Saturday against the New York Islanders.
QUICK HITS
Perfect in Dallas
Friday’s win saw the Predators go a perfect 2-for-2 at American Airlines Center this season.
The pair of wins was no easy feat against a Stars team who hold one of the best home records in the League, and the Central Division rival gave the Predators a worthy fight before the night was out.
In the third period, Dallas cut Nashville’s lead in half three times, before the Predators sealed the deal with two late empty-net goals from Gustav Nyquist and Juuso Parssinen.
“They're obviously one of the best teams in the League and I feel like we probably played really well against them this year,” Josi said. “Obviously, the first game we kind of lost unfortunately toward the end, but I thought both games here we played some of our best hockey.”
Three for The Captain, Three for Factor
Roman Josi (3a) and Ryan O’Reilly (1g-2a) each netted three points on Friday against the Stars.
Josi’s three-point effort earned the defenseman his seventh multi-point game of the season, while O’Reilly recorded his 10th.
“He's been awesome,” Josi said of O’Reilly. “When you play in the League for a long time, you hear a lot of things about his work ethic, the way he plays, and to have him on your team you can see it firsthand. He's the hardest working guy. He’s the first guy to the rink and the last guy to leave, he plays with so much detail in his game and he's scoring too, so he kind of does it all for us and he's been unbelievable.”
