Ryan Johansen netted his second game goal just 33 seconds into overtime. Juuse Saros made 25 saves to propel the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Johansen capitalized on a pass from Matt Duchene, beating goalie Vitek Vanecek from close range.
“That was huge for us. We could have easily walked out with no points,” Johansen said. “We made a couple of big plays and had a great result.”
Mikael Granlund tied the game for Nashville with nine seconds left in regulation. The Devils had a power-play opportunity in the closing minutes due to a penalty for too many men in Nashville, but Granlund scored 37 seconds after the penalty expired. Johansen and Filip Forsberg assisted on the tying goal.
“We had a really big penalty kill at the end, then made a really good play to get our shot,” Granlund said. “That was a good job for us to get two points. We want to be a top team. Tonight was a good step.”
Devils coach Lindy Ruff mentioned that the team aimed to score during the late man advantage, even with a second defenseman on the ice.
“We wanted to attack and try to score, but at the same time, we were going to be smart and have two defensemen for both units,” Ruff said. So the execution there wasn’t what we wanted.”
Colton Sissons also scored for the Predators at 19:16 of the first period after Johansen’s initial goal just 11 seconds into the game, marking the fastest road goal to start a game in franchise history.
Nashville has now won seven straight games at Prudential Center, handing the Devils their second loss in their last 18 games (16-1-1).
“We found a way to get it done,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “That was a hard-fought game. We had a big kill at the end, and the guys at 6-on-5 got it done.”
Defenseman Kevin Bahl and forwards Jesper Bratt and Alexander Holtz scored for New Jersey in a 2:38 span early in the second period to make it 3-2. Vanecek stopped 20 shots.
HYNES RETURNS
Predators coach John Hynes, replaced as Devils coach in December 2019 and hired by Nashville a month later, made another return to Prudential Center. Hynes coached the Devils for four-plus seasons, including their most recent playoff appearance in 2018. “I had a lot of good relationships with people in the organization, people in the arena,’’ Hynes said before the game. “It’s always nice when you come back and see familiar faces. Jersey was a great place for us.”
Game Notes
According to Devils coach Lindy Ruff, devils forward Miles Wood was a late scratch due to illness. New Jersey was also missing injured forwards Nathan Bastian and Ondrej Palat and goaltenders Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier. The Predators scratched forwards Eeli Tolvanen and Michael McCarron. The teams meet again on Jan. 26 in Nashville.
Up Next:
- Devils: At Philadelphia on Saturday night.4
- Predators: At New York Islanders on Friday night.
