Rinne, Josi Lead Preds to Shootout Win Over Dallas to Start Road Trip

They needed a shootout to get it done, but one last stick save from Pekka Rinne - and a pair of beauties off the sticks of Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi - got Nashville's eight-game road trip started with a win.
Mikael Granlund's and Eeli Tolvanen's tallies on the man advantage also helped the Predators to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night at American Airlines Center. The result snaps Nashville's three-game skid and gives them their 11th win of the season, as they start their longest excursion in franchise history.
The Predators had a 3-0 lead with fewer than eight minutes remaining in regulation, but the Stars came all the way back, including a game-tying goal with 57 seconds to play, to force extra time. But by the time the night was done, Nashville was on the right side of the ledger once more.

"We got those two points that we came here to get," Granlund said. "The first two periods we were doing a good job, got the lead, and obviously the third period wasn't the way we wanted it to go, but that's hockey, that's something that sometimes happens. We found a way to get those two points, and that's just a really good start for the road trip. It's going to be a long one, so we get off with a win and let's go from here."

"We're going into the third 3-0, and we wanted to close the game off better, but at the same time, we've got to get wins," Forsberg said. "We've got to get those two points, and at the end of the day that was a strong effort to get that."

Nashville's power play converted for the first time on the evening with fewer than five minutes to play in the opening period, as Granlund masterfully tipped a Filip Forsberg point shot into the twine to put the visitors up. Just more than a minute later, Calle Jarnkrok potted his sixth of the season past Jake Oettinger for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The Preds went back to work on the man advantage in the second stanza, and just moments after a goal was wiped out due to goaltender interference, Tolvanen got it right back when he blasted a shot from the left circle off the post for his second power-play goal in as many days and a 3-0 Nashville lead.

"That is something special," Granlund said of Tolvanen's shot. "You don't see that kind of shot too often, and the way he can pick a corner, and it's heavy, so he's been doing great. He's been playing good 5-on-5, and obviously on the power play he's been doing a really good job and finding the back of the net."
Radek Faksa, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson all beat Rinne in the third period to force overtime, and eventually a shootout, but the Preds found a way in extra time. After Forsberg's fancy stickwork evened the score at 1-1 after the first round, Rinne stoned Pavelski by reaching behind himself for a desperate stick save.
"Phenomenal," Forsberg said of Rinne, who was making his second start in as many days. "We haven't been playing great hockey in front of him lately, and today we played better, but he stood on his head when we needed him. Especially that one in the shootout, it was just beautiful to watch. He was phenomenal."

Then, with blood on his jersey from an earlier hit, Nashville's captain finished it with a slick tally of his own to lead his team to a much-needed win.
"Jos was really resilient all game," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "He played really well and got stuck in the face earlier in the game and played through that, and obviously after the hit [in the third period], he came in and played through some things. He obviously had the great shootout winner, so there's a reason why he's the captain and the type of guy that he is. I think tonight's game typifies his intensity level, his competitiveness and his drive to be good."
"He brings that every night," Forsberg said of Josi's intensity. "The blood made him look a little tougher, I guess, and it's just awesome to watch him play night in, night out and lead the way for the team. The rest of us are just trying to do the best we can to keep up with him, and obviously well deserved to get that game-winner."
Nashville's road trip has only just begun, and even though Sunday's triumph didn't come easily, a win is the most important item to come out of the night. Next, the Predators will turn their attention to the rest of the journey that won't come to an end anytime soon.
"Tonight, we found a way to win," Hynes said. "We got off to a good start, they made a push and I think there's certain things we can handle a little bit better, but you find a way to win and you get the two points. That's the most important thing, and like everything, you've got to get better when you win, you've got to get better when you lose. We'll enjoy this one tonight, and then we'll move on to Carolina."

Notes:
Prior to Sunday's game, the Predators recalled forward Rem Pitlick from the taxi squad. Pitlick skated 13:14 with one shot on goal and four faceoff wins in his second-career contest and first of the season.
Forwards Rocco Grimaldi and Erik Haula were scratched for Nashville on Sunday.
With the first of eight games on the trip now complete, the Preds will head to Carolina for the first time this season to face the Hurricanes on Tuesday and Thursday night at PNC Arena before heading to the Sunshine State later in the week.