Nashville 5, Arizona 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Kendrick Nicholson, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Libor Suchanek
Attendance:
17295
By Field Level Media
Captain Roman Josi collected a goal and two assists as the host Nashville Predators skated to a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
Fellow defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Calle Jarnkrok each scored and set up a goal, and Filip Forsberg ended Nashville's pronounced power-play drought to highlight his team's three-goal second period. Craig Smith also tallied, and Pekka Rinne finished with 24 saves for the Predators, who snapped a three-game home losing skid and averted a season sweep by Arizona.
Vinnie Hinostroza scored his fifth goal in six contests, and Derek Stepan also tallied for the Coyotes, who have dropped four in a row to conclude their six-game road trip with a 2-3-1 mark. Calvin Pickard turned aside 42 shots in the loss.
Entering the game mired in an 0-for-31 drought on the power play, Nashville was unsuccessful on its first two attempts before Forsberg beat Pickard on a shot from the outer edge of the right faceoff circle. Forsberg's 19th goal of the season gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 7:45 of the second period.
Ellis doubled the advantage less than six minutes later, cleaning up a loose puck from the doorstep before absorbing a crosscheck from defenseman Alex Goligoski.
Stepan scored on a wraparound to trim the Predators' lead to 3-2 at 4:19 of the third period, but Rinne got his revenge by stopping him from point-blank range with less than seven minutes to play. The sequence proved pivotal as Nashville regained its two-goal advantage shortly thereafter, with Colton Sissons one-touching Josi's feed to Jarnkrok at the doorstep.
Hinostroza accepted a slick backhanded pass from Goligoski and wristed a shot from the slot past Rinne to open the scoring with 3:01 left in the first period.
Nashville forged a 1-1 tie just 2:58 into the second period as defenseman Mattias Ekholm's one-timer from the right point produced a juicy rebound for Smith, who chipped the puck home from the right doorstep. The goal was Smith's 15th of the season and his first since he tallied twice in a 4-1 win over Montreal on Jan. 5.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Arizona |
|
Nashville |
Vinnie Hinostroza 1 |
Points |
Roman Josi 3 |
Vinnie Hinostroza 1 |
Goals |
Roman Josi 1 |
Alex Goligoski 1 |
Assists |
Roman Josi 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Filip Forsberg 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Calvin Pickard .913 |
Save Percentage |
Pekka Rinne .923 |
Calvin Pickard 42 |
Saves |
Pekka Rinne 24 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Arizona
|
26 |
2 |
0-3 |
4-5 |
10 |
25 |
Nashville
|
47 |
5 |
1-5 |
3-3 |
6 |
38 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Predators have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .522 after a loss.
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .458 after a win and .414 after a loss.