Predators Earn Sixth Straight Win in 4-1 Decision Over Senators

Five in a row is great, but why leave all the fun out on the road?

Fueled by three-point performances from Roman Josi (2g-1a) and Gustav Nyquist (1g-2a), the Nashville Predators defeated the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday and followed their perfect five-game road trip up with their sixth straight win.

“Coming back home after a big road trip you want to back that up, especially after what happened, so that was a really solid game,” Nyquist said. “I thought [McCarron’s] line set the tone again for us in the first and then [Ottawa] gave us a little pushback, but after that second I thought our third was probably one of our better periods all year. So, it was a good, solid game.”

“It was huge for us,” Josi said. “We knew coming home we needed to play better. We haven't been good at home all year and we need to find some consistency here. We’ve got a long homestand and just for our fans too, we love playing in front of our fans. You always want to win at home and I think after our last [home] game against Dallas, it was a really good win for us tonight.”

The result moves Nashville to 33-25-2 on the campaign and 15-15-0 at Bridgestone Arena.

QUICK HITS

Three for Josi

Maybe he was trying to put some distance between himself and the Predators new second all-time scorer, or maybe it was just another one of those nights for Nashville’s captain.

Scoring twice and adding a helper for good measure, Josi recorded his first multi-goal game of the season and the 18th of his career, tying Viktor Arvidsson for the fourth-most such contests in franchise history behind Filip Forsberg (39), David Legwand (24) and Craig Smith (20).

“He's dynamic, and most games he's like that,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought tonight was one of his best games of the year. It was a hard game, after a long trip and a flight back, and I thought he found some energy and looked like he was having fun playing and making plays. So, like I said, he's a fun player to watch.” 

Tuesday was additionally Josi’s fourth three-point performance of the season and his first since Jan. 12 at Dallas (3a).

Dominant in the Third

After scoring two goals within the opening six minutes of the game, the Predators brought the same intensity to the third period, outshooting the visitors 19-0 in the closing frame. 

“It's probably one of our best third periods this year, especially being up 3-1,” Josi said. “I felt like we had the puck most of the period, we were playing their zone and that next goal was so big… That's how you want to play every time you have the lead. Obviously, it's not that easy, but it was really good tonight.”

“I think we just kind of came wave after wave and kind of got them on their heels,” Brunette said. “They were taking on water, and we kept pressuring with the puck. I thought we did a great job on the puck and didn't give them a whole lot of room. They're a pretty dangerous team, as we saw during a couple stretches of the last part of the first period and part of the second, but I thought we kind of settled in and then got back to a relentless game.”

The feat was just the second time in franchise history the Predators have allowed zero shots on goal in the final frame and the first since Feb. 16, 2008 vs. the St. Louis Blues.

Three for Nyquist

With a goal and a primary assist on both of Josi’s goals, Nyquist recorded his second three-point performance of the season and his first since Dec. 29 vs. the Detroit Red Wings (2g-1a).

Nyquist’s three-point performance additionally earned the forward his ninth multi-point game of the season and the second in his last three games. The forward now has 29 points (12g-17a) in his last 28 games and 49 on the campaign.

McCarron Keeps Rolling

Less than four minutes into the game, Michael McCarron and the rest of Nashville’s fourth line gave the Predators another big spark.

McCarron’s ninth goal of the season gave the forward goals in consecutive outings, a point in three straight games and five points (2g-3a) in his last seven outings. Cole Smith’s assist was the forward’s 13th of the season and gave him three points (2g-1a) in his last seven outings.

“I'm playing with two really good players and really fast players who are able to create a lot of turnovers and spend a lot of time in the o-zone cycling pucks, hunting pucks and creating turnovers,” McCarron said. “And when you work hard, you get rewarded. We're all kind of hot right now on our line and if we continue to work like that, creating turnovers and hounding the puck, we’re hard to play against as a line.”

“I think they've set the tone through this whole stretch,” Brunette said. “What they’ve brought every night and continue to bring is just tenacious, relentless and every puck matters, and they've kind of tugged everybody into the fight, and they’ve been the driving force here through these games.” 

Novak Stays Hot

With an assist on Josi’s first goal, Tommy Novak extended his point streak to five games (1g-4a). 

Novak has now recorded two separate five-game point streaks in his last 11 outings and registered 11 points (4g-7a) during that span.

UP NEXT

The Predators five-game homestand continues on Thursday when they face the Minnesota Wild at Bridgestone Arena. Click here to get tickets.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.

NOTES

• Josi (2g-1a) recorded his 157th career multi-point game and trails only Kris Letang (164) and Victor Hedman (163) for the most among active defensemen with a single franchise; he additionally recorded his 66th career multi-point period and passed Victor Hedman (65) for the third most among active defensemen. Only Erik Karlsson (84) and Brent Burns (74) have more.
• Posting their second six-game run of the season, Tuesday’s win marked the first time since 2010-11 that Nashville posted multiple win streaks of six-plus games in the same campaign.
• Tyson Barrie and Denis Gurianov were scratched and did not skate in Tuesday’s game.