Josi Sets Another Franchise Record, Leads Preds Over Senators in Ottawa

Roman Josi set a franchise record for points in a single season, and more importantly, the Nashville Predators defeated the Ottawa Senators by a 3-2 final on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The result gives the Preds two wins in as many tries this week and bumps them up to 86 points to hold firm to the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Josi finished with three assists - and Ryan Johansen tallied what proved to be the game-winner on the power play - as Nashville swept the season series with their second win over the Senators in as many weeks.
Matt Duchene and Tanner Jeannot also found the back of the net, and Juuse Saros made 27 saves to earn his 35th win of the season in another satisfying result.

The Predators had a 1-0 lead through the game's opening 20 minutes thanks to Duchene finishing off a slick feed from Mikael Granlund during a 2-on-1 for his 37th tally of the season. Nashville put 18 shots on net in the second stanza, but it was the Senators that evened the score on a goal from Mathieu Joseph late in the frame.

Josh Norris gave Ottawa their first lead of the night less than five minutes into the third when he beat Saros, but Josi didn't wait long to one-time a shot past Senators netminder Anton Forsberg to tie the game. That goal was later changed to Jeannot's 24th of the season after it was determined the rookie forward tipped the Josi shot, but before that switch was made, the Preds were already celebrating Johansen's third power-play goal in two games that gave Nashville their third and final goal of the night.
Josi's record-breaking point total - now at 87 on the season - beat the previous Preds franchise mark set by Paul Kariya back in 2006. He also became just the 10th defenseman in NHL history to record at least 87 points in a season.
The Predators are now the third active franchise to feature a defenseman holding a single-season record for points among all skaters. The others: Denis Potvin (1973-74 to 1976-77 with the NY Islanders) and Norm MacIver (1992-93 with Ottawa).

Thursday Storyline:

Ryan Johansen referred to his captain as "Roman Franchise-Record-Breaker Josi" a few weeks back.
Nothing much has changed since then.
Josi etched his name in the Nashville record books once more on Thursday night when he tied - and then set - a new franchise mark for points in a single season with 86. He finished with 87 after another three-assist night, and two of those apples came in the game's final 13 minutes as Josi helped his club to another clutch victory.
"It's a huge win for us," Josi said. "Juice was unbelievable in net, and he made so many great saves. They're a good team, and I think this time of year it's all about winning, and we found a way. It was a great job by the guys. [Luke Kunin] and [Jeremy Lauzon] stepping up in the first with two huge fights - I just love the intensity of our team. We always work hard, and it was a big win."
"I really liked our team tonight," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "We came in with the right mindset, and we had some emotion into the game. I thought we were physically engaged in the game, and Ottawa is a tough team to play against. They have a lot of speed, they played a stretch game, they can find ways to try to get guys in behind you, but I thought from a mindset wise, I really liked back-to-back games here coming in and getting to an identity that gives us the best chance to win."

After the visitors got the game's first goal, Ottawa responded with two of their own, including their second of the night early in the third period. But, as has been the case throughout the season, the Preds were unphased.
Instead, they simply found a way to get two more of their own and leave the Canadian capital with win No. 41 on the campaign.
"It's a lot of why you want to build your culture and identity," Hynes said. "We talk lots about mental toughness, physical toughness, and Ottawa is a hard team to play against. For us to be able to come in, and after they scored that second goal, just the talk on the bench with the guys, there's no let downs. [Instead], it's 'Let's get back to our game and come in to do the right things and give us the best chance to win.' The talk on the bench, the mentality of the team is important. I think that's important too when early in the year you have situations where you can come from behind, and your team understands how to do that. They have confidence in doing that, and that was a big factor in tonight's game, for sure, was that mentality."
And, of course, the Preds couldn't have done it without Josi, now the proud owner of another franchise mark.
"It's one of those things where we're so in the moment each and every day right now, and taking it day-by-day as a team, that you're not really focused on it - but, I think after the season when we're able to sit back and relax, it's going to be amazing to look back at," Johansen said of Josi's records. "But as a teammate, right now I just see him doing his thing so consistently, just dominating the puck, dominating the ice and making big-time plays every game. It's really a pleasure to be a part of and watch, and the best part of it all is him as a human being and how great of a person and a leader for our group he is. It just makes it that more special to be a part of."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Roman Josi on if he's able to appreciate the records he continues to break:
"Paul Kariya is obviously an unbelievable player and a guy I grew up watching as a kid. He's a Hall of Famer; he's such an amazing player and it's definitely pretty surreal. But like I said before, I love this team, and I'm getting a lot of free points because guys are playing so well and guys are scoring. Our power play is doing really well. It's just so much fun being a part of this team. Everybody plays for each other, everybody wants everyone to do well and it's just been so much fun."

Notes:

Roman Josi (3a) potted his 12th three-point game of the season, the most in a single season since Paul Coffey in 1993-94 with the Red Wings (12). The last blueliner with more was Al MacInnis (13 in 1990-91 with Calgary).
Predators centerman Michael McCarron did not play on Thursday in Ottawa and is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Forward Eeli Tolvanen was back in the Nashville lineup after being scratched on Tuesday. Defensemen Matt Benning, Ben Harpur and Jeremy Davies were scratched against the Senators.
Nashville will now return home to start a back-to-back weekend set against the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening (5 p.m. CT) at Bridgestone Arena. The Preds will then travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. CT) on TNT.