National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 2, Nashville 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 24, 2015
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Dean Morton
Linesmen: Jay Sharrers, Brandon Gawryletz
Attendance: 17163

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Johnston didn't know who was going to win Saturday's overtime affair with the Nashville Predators, but he knew it wouldn't take much time to find out.

"You look around the league. Three-on-three doesn't last long," Johnston said after Phil Kessel's goal 41 seconds into sudden death gave his visitors a 2-1 decision. "You're going to get a two-on-one situation."

The loss was the first at home for the Predators, who had won four straight at Bridgestone Arena to open the season. It also snapped a three-game winning streak for Nashville (6-1-1).

Meanwhile, it was the first road victory for the Penguins (4-4-0) in three tries, including a 4-1 loss at Dallas on Thursday.

Pittsburgh goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury keyed the win with 38 saves.

"I thought early in the game that Fleury played strong; but, in the third period, he was outstanding," Johnston said. "He's really holding pucks tight to him. He was really good tonight."

Nashville, which had not allowed the first goal of the game through its first seven contests, kept Pittsburgh scoreless through the first period -- extending that streak to open the season -- but fell behind when Penguins left winger Chris Kunitz slid a slap shot past Predators goalkeeper Pekka Rinne with 4:56 left in the second period. Center Evgeni Malkin and center Matt Cullen assisted on the score.

Predators left winger James Neal scored from the right side to tie the game with 8:33 remaining in regulation -- just 15 seconds after Rinne had been pulled. Center Mike Ribeiro and defenseman Barret Jackman assisted off defenseman Roman Josi's miss.

The goal extended Neal's points streak to five games, during which he has had six goals and three assists. He has now scored against all 30 NHL teams.

Rinne wound up with 23 saves in the defeat, which prevented Nashville from its second 5-0 start on home ice in franchise history. The Predators won their first five home games to start the 2005-06 season.

"We lost the game," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "There's a point we left on the table. But the guys played their tails off."

Nashville went on the power play with 4:43 left in regulation, following a hooking penalty by Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole, but the Predators could not get the go-ahead goal before the Penguins returned to even strength.

That was the third of three power-play situations Nashville was unable to convert.

The Predators killed off a five-minute Pittsburgh power play early in the first period after left winger Austin Watson was sent to the penalty box for boarding. He hit defenseman Brian Dumoulin behind the Penguins' net and dropped him to the ice, and Dumoulin had to be helped to the team's bench.

On the night, Pittsburgh went scoreless on three power-play situations covering nine minutes.

"Our penalty kill was terrific," Laviolette said. "It was outstanding tonight. That's an important part of the game. Bad things can happen on a five-minute major (power-play penalty). It was important to kill that off."

Pittsburgh left winger Pascal Dupuis, who played his first game Thursday in nearly a year, started Saturday along with center Sidney Crosby and right winger Patric Hornqvist.

"Dup gave our line a lot of energy," Johnston said. "We had four lines rolling and we had really good balance."

Kessel, Kunitz and Fleury were the game's three stars.

NOTES: The Predators recalled LW/RW Viktor Arvidsson from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League. He made three appearances in the Predators' 6-1-0 start, with the team winning all three games, and scored his first career goal in the season-opening win over Carolina on Oct. 8. Arvidsson was assigned to Milwaukee on Friday morning but did not appear in a game before his recall. ... Penguins RW Pascal Dupuis saw his first regular-season action in nearly a year on Thursday against Dallas. Dupuis, who missed the final 66 games of last season after a blood clot was discovered in a lung, also missed the first six games of this season because of a lower-body injury suffered at the end of training camp. He had not played since Nov. 15, 2014. ... Pittsburgh scratches were D Adam Clendening, C Kevin Porter and RW Bobby Farnham. Nashville scratches were D Anthony Bitetto, C Calle Jarnkrok and D Victor Bartley.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Nashville
Evgeni Malkin 2 Points James Neal 1
Phil Kessel 1 Goals James Neal 1
Evgeni Malkin 2 Assists Barret Jackman 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .974 Save Percentage Pekka Rinne .920
Marc-Andre Fleury 38 Saves Pekka Rinne 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 25 2 0-3 3-3 6 32
Nashville 39 1 0-3 3-3 9 23
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Predators have a W/L % of .667 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Penguins have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .400 after a loss.