Predators notch 10th straight win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A year after an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, the Nashville Predators have been hard at work preparing for the postseason.
It’s just a happy byproduct that they’ve matched the NHL’S longest win streak this season in the process.
Austin Watson scored a short-handed goal late in the second period as the Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Thursday to extend their franchise-record run to 10 games.
The Predators also matched Colorado for the longest win streak in the NHL this season. The victory kept Nashville’s edge at six points ahead of Winnipeg and the Golden Knights for the Western Conference lead.
Pekka Rinne made 31 saves to improve to 18-1-1 over his past 20 games.
Johansen had a goal and an assist and also fought with Ducks center Ryan Kesler.
“What did he have, a fight, a goal and an assist?” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “That’s old school.”
Craig Smith and Viktor Arvidsson each scored. Filip Forsberg had two assists for Nashville, which honored David Poile before the game for becoming career wins leader among NHL general managers with his 1,320th victory last week.
Rickard Rakell scored twice in the third period for the Ducks, who had won three straight. Rakell’s second goal at 16:35 pulled the Ducks within 3-2 before Arvidsson scored over goalie John Gibson’s glove with 1:46 left. At Edmonton, Alberta, Connor Mcdavid banked in a shot off defenseman Brandon Davidson with 1:50 left in regulation to tie it, was stopped on an overtime penalty shot and then scored the shootout winner.
At Columbus, Ohio, Seth Jones scored 59 seconds into overtime, and Thomas Vanek scored twice for Columbus, which won a third straight for the first time since November.
Oilers 2, Islanders 1, SO — Blue Jackets 5, Avalanche 4,OT— Jets 3, Devils 2 —
At Newark, N.J., Patrik Laine scored to extend his points streak to 10 games to back Connor Hellebuyck, who had 41 saves, as Winnipeg won its fourth straight.
At Chicago, Sebastian Aho snapped a third-period tie with a power-play goal in Carolina’s first game since Ron Francis was forced out as general manager.
At
Los Angeles, Jeff Carter had a goal and an assist to back Jonathan Quick, who had 25 saves, as Los Angeles won for the fourth time in five games.
At Sunrise, Fla., Roberto Luongo made 40 saves in his second shutout of the season as Florida notched its seventh straight home win.
At Tampa, Fla., Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay, which put 17 shots on goal before New York had its first.
At Boston, Brad Marchand scored with 22 seconds left to back Tuukka Rask, who had 31 saves, as Boston won its fifth in a row.
At San Jose, Calif., Martin Jones notched a 16-save shutout to outduel Jake Allen, who stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced.
At Ottawa, Ontario, Jacob Josefson scored the shootout winner to back Robin Lehner, who had 37 saves.
Hurricanes 3, Blackhawks 2— Kings 3, Capitals 1 — Panthers 5, Canadiens 0 — Lightning 5, Rangers 3 — Bruins 3, Flyers 2 — Sharks 2, Blues 0 — Sabres 4, Senators 3, SO —