After two previous games that were perhaps Nashville's worst and best performances of the season, the Predators headed to Vegas Tuesday night to take on the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights. The Predators got off to a dominating start, collected goals from several young players, and held off a late Vegas push to come away with a 5-3 win and two valuable points in the playoff chase.
Andrew Brunette made no line up changes tonight from Saturday afternoon's game against the St Louis Blues with the exception of giving the start in net to Kevin Lankinen.
Forsberg - O'Reilly - Nyquist
Trenin - Sissons - Glass
Novak - Jankowski - Evangelista
Smith - McCarron - Sherwood
Fabbro - Josi
McDonagh - Schenn
Lauzon - Carrier
Lankinen
The Predators got on the scoreboard at 5:35 in the first period as Luke Evangelista skated the puck into the circle and scored on Adin Hill glove side. Less than a minute later, Nashville had their first power play chance but neither unit could capitalize on the man advantage.
At 8:20 Evangelista headed to the penalty box for a hook. Michael McCarron's shorthanded chance for Nashville went out of play off Hill, and Lankinen and the Predators' penalty killers kept Vegas from scoring in the two minutes. After the teams returned to full strength, Nashville got hemmed in the defensive zone. Alex Pietrangelo shot the puck past a screened Lankinen to even the game at 14:08.
With less than a minute to go in the first, Cody Glass scored from the high slot to give the Predators the lead once again. As the period wound down, Evangelista returned to the penalty box, this time for interference, with :05 left in the opening period.
The Golden Knights started the second period with 1:55 remaining on the Evangelista penalty, but the Predators were able to kill that off. Michael Amadio took a shift in the sin bin for a hook, but Nashville couldn't capitalize within the two minutes. Just four seconds after Vegas returned to full strength, Tommy Novak scored on Hill five hole to make it a 3-1 game.
The rotation in and out of the penalty box continued as Colton Sissons sat for a trip at 11:24 and Chandler Stephenson headed to the Vegas box at 12:49. Neither team scored on their respective power play chances or at four on four. Cole Smith tipped a puck past Hill at 15:58 at even strength to give the Predators a 4-1 lead.
Kevin Lankinen made several quick saves as time wound down in the second. Yakov Trenin was whistled for interference at 18:52, but the Predators kept the Golden Knights from scoring before the period ended. The teams headed into the second intermission with Nashville up 4-1 and Vegas with :52 left on the late power play.
The Golden Knights cashed in on the power play time as William Karlsson scored at :46 to make it a two goal game. Each team had offensive opportunities through the period, but both Adin Hill and Kevin Lankinen came up with saves under pressure. Nashville had one more chance on the power play at 7:58 after Luke Evangelista was high sticked. The Predators generated looks but again couldn't convert on the man advantage.
With 2:59 left in regulation, Michael Amadio cleaned up a rebound to get the Golden Knights within one goal late. Adin Hill left the net with two minutes remaining and Vegas added the extra attacker. At 1:49 Gus Nyquist gathered the puck and shot it down the ice into the empty net to seal the win with a score of 5-3.
The Predators will head to California to take on the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.
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