The Predators have proven adept at
recovering from early deficits this season.
Three rallies in one game, however, was
just a bit too much to ask, even for a team that's been scorching hot at home.
The Minnesota Wild snapped Nashville's
six-game home winning streak on Thursday, edging the Predators 4-2 in front of
a sellout crowd at Bridgestone Arena. It was their first home loss since Feb. 5
and just the fifth loss in 31 home games.
As if the Predators hadn't given enough
indication already that this year is something special, they produced yet
another one on Tuesday:
By beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 in
front of a sellout crowd at Bridgestone Arena, the Predators topped last year's
entire points total — with a full quarter of the season still remaining.
The Predators now have an NHL-best 89
points through 61 games, one point better than last year's sub-par squad
managed in a full 82 contests.
The Predators ended a two-game losing skid
but got all they could handle from the NHL's worst team, the Buffalo Sabres.
Mike Santorelli and Filip Forsberg scored
in the shootout and Carter Hutton stopped three out of four shooters to give
Nashville a 2-1 victory. The win was the 40th for the Predators and helped them
avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.
It didn't come easy though. Sabres forward
Tyler Ennis scored his 15th goal of the season with 13.9 seconds left in the
second period when he received a backhand pass from All-Star forward Zemgus
Girgensons and deked Hutton for the goal.
For two periods Saturday it was hard to tell which team sat atop the NHL standings and which was fighting for its Stanley Cup Playoff life.
The Philadelphia Flyers, battling for a postseason spot, used a strong defensive effort to lead after two periods, then held on to defeat the Presidents' Trophy-leading Nashville Predators 3-2 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Center.
Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds scored in the tiebreaker, and goalie Rob Zepp finished with a flourish, making a glove save on Craig Smith and celebrating the win with a fist pump.
