After a sluggish first period, the Nashville Predators found their spark thanks to Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala.
Hartman scored two quick goals within 57 seconds, and Juuse Saros made 23 saves to help the Predators secure a 4-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Calle Jarnkrok and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Nashville, while Fiala provided assists on both of Hartman’s goals. The win marked the second in three games for the Predators.
Reilly Smith scored the lone goal for Vegas, which has now lost three of its last four games.
Down 1-0 after the first period, Hartman and Fiala sparked a turnaround for Nashville in the second period. Hartman tied the game at 11:27 when he received a pass from Fiala in the high slot, maneuvered past Vegas defenseman Colin Miller, and fired a shot high to the stick side, beating goalie Malcolm Subban.
“I was thinking shot,” Hartman said. “He (Miller) was tight on his gap, so I could step around him and get a 1-on-1 with the goalie.”
Just 57 seconds later, Fiala and Hartman teamed up again. On a 3-on-1 break, Fiala delivered a slick backhand pass to Hartman, whose one-timer snuck past Subban for a 2-1 lead.
“I was focused on playing the right way tonight,” Fiala said. “Keeping it simple, not overthinking things. Sometimes, things work out when you stop thinking so much — and tonight they did.”
P.K. Subban, the older brother of the Vegas goaltender, picked up an assist on the second goal.
Nashville coach Peter Laviolette praised his team’s response after a slow start. “We didn’t play well in the first period, but the team came out and played much better in the second and third.”
Reilly Smith had opened the scoring for Vegas at 17:14 of the first period during a power play. Left unmarked, he fired a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot past Saros. A well-placed pass from Jonathan Marchessault set up the goal.
“They capitalized on our mistakes in the second period, and we didn’t step up after that,” Marchessault said. “(Subban) was great, but we didn’t back him up.”
Saros, making his fifth consecutive start in place of injured Pekka Rinne, was particularly sharp in the first period, stopping 12 of 13 shots.
Jarnkrok extended Nashville’s lead to 3-1 at 6:37 of the third period. On yet another odd-man rush, Craig Smith fed Jarnkrok, who fired a one-timer past Subban.
“We made some bad decisions on pinches that led to odd-man rushes, and that cost us,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant.
With the Vegas goalie pulled late in the third, Arvidsson was fouled from behind by Nick Holden on a breakaway and was credited with an empty-net goal, sealing the 4-1 win.
Game Notes:
Hartman recorded his first multi-goal game as a Predator. Nashville has allowed at least one power-play goal in four consecutive games. Predators defenseman Matt Irwin debuted after being scratched for the first 11 games. Vegas has scored a power-play goal in three straight games.
Up Next:
- Golden Knights: Visit St. Louis on Thursday.
- Predators: Visit Tampa Bay on Thursday.