Tommy Novak continued his hot streak, scoring his fourth goal in five games, as the Nashville Predators defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Luke Evangelista, former Knight Cody Glass, Cole Smith, and Gustav Nyquist also found the back of the net for the Predators. Roman Josi and Ryan McDonagh contributed two assists each, while Kevin Lankinen made 23 saves in his first start since Jan. 27.
“I thought it was a complete effort,” Josi said. “We can definitely be happy with the way we played. You need depth in this league, and I thought every line did their part tonight, which is why we were successful.”
The victory marked the first time the Predators have won consecutive games since Jan. 12 and 13. They improved to 13-4-2 on the road since Nov. 24, tied for the second-most road points in the NHL during that span with 28.
“Just a bunch of different guys stepping up, it felt like a complete team effort,” Josi said. “Lankinen was amazing in the net. Just a great road win, a great team win.”
Alex Pietrangelo, William Karlsson, and Michael Amadio scored for the Golden Knights, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back after shutting out the San Jose Sharks 4-0 on Monday. Adin Hill made 35 saves.
Evangelista opened the scoring for Nashville, skating into the right circle and firing a wrist shot under Hill’s arm for an early 1-0 lead.
Pietrangelo tied the game later in the period with a wrist shot from the right circle that went top shelf on Lankinen.
With less than a minute remaining in the first period, Glass ripped a shot from the top of the slot, beating Hill over his blocker to regain the lead for Nashville.
“It was good; it feels like just every other game. I want to score as much as possible,” Glass said. “Playing against an old team, it’s a good feeling I can’t really hide.”
Novak made it 3-1 midway through the second period, beating Hill through his legs. Smith extended Nashville’s lead to 4-1 with a shot from the left circle.
The Golden Knights came out strong in the third, with Karlsson converting on a power play just 47 seconds into the period. Shea Theodore earned an assist in his first game since Nov. 22.
Amadio cut Nashville’s lead to one with a goal late in the third, but Nyquist secured the win with an empty-netter.
“That’s a team that lost big last week,” Pietrangelo said. “So you knew they were gonna come out strong. They’re fighting for a playoff spot, and so are we. We needed a little bit more tonight, especially on a back-to-back.”
UP NEXT
- Predators: Visit the Kings on Thursday night.
- Golden Knights: Host the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.