Ryan O'Reilly scored twice for Nashville in his return to the lineup; Justus Annunen made 35 saves to earn his first win as a member of the Predators.
The Nashville Predators scored three unanswered goals in the span of three minutes and defeated the Dallas Stars, 4-1, Thursday at American Airlines Center.
Ryan O'Reilly scored twice in his return to the lineup for the Predators, who snapped a franchise record-tying eight-game losing streak with the win. Tommy Novak and Zachary L'Heureux added one goal apiece, and Justus Annunen made 35 saves for his first win as a member of the Predators.
Lian Bischel scored the Stars' lone goal, and Jake Oettinger turned aside 22 shots. With the win, the Predators move to 8-16-6 on the season.
How the Predators lined up vs. Dallas
Forsberg - Stamkos - Marchessault
Nyquist - O'Reilly - Sissons
Jankowski - Novak - Evangelista
Smith - McCarron - L'Heureux
Skjei - Blankenburg
Del Gaizo - Schenn
Gravel - Wilsby
Annunen
Saros
Extra: Pärssinen, Svechkov, Carrier, Lauzon, Josi
O'Reilly returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, and Gustav Nyquist returned after missing Tuesday's game against the Calgary Flames with an illness.
Roman Josi, who left Tuesday's game after the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return, did not play against Dallas and is listed as day-to-day. The Predators recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals Thursday morning to take Josi's place in the lineup.
Alexandre Carrier (upper-body) was moved to Injured Reserve to make room for Gravel on Nashville's roster. Additionally, Jeremy Lauzon remains on IR with a lower-body injury.
Game Summary
The Predators were strong on the forecheck in the first period, outshooting Dallas 8-5. Rookie defenseman Adam Wilsby appeared to score his first NHL goal late in the period off a nice feed from Tommy Novak, but it was waved off after a successful offside challenge by Dallas to keep the game scoreless heading into the first intermission.
The floodgates opened for Nashville just over midway through the second, when O'Reilly got nice feed from Jonathan Marchessault behind the net and went top shelf for his sixth goal of the year. Wilsby, who had his goal rescinded in the previous period, did get his first NHL point with a secondary assist on O'Reilly's first goal.
Novak scored just under two minutes later, receiving a slot pass from Jonathan Marchessault and tucking the puck behind the right skate of Oettinger to put the Predators up, 2-0. O'Reilly scored his second of the period just over a minute later, tipping home a shot from Gravel to extend Nashville's lead to 3-0.
The Stars spoiled the shutout bid midway through the third period with their first goal of the game. Bischel, making his NHL debut for Dallas, ripped a wrist shot from the top of the face-off circle to beat Annunen blocker-side and cut Nashville's lead to 3-1.
The Predators had another goal taken off the board later in the frame when Nick Blankenburg's tally was successfully challenged by Dallas for goalie interference by Filip Forsberg. Nashville still got one back, though, when Zachary L'Heureux scored into the empty net for the 4-2 final.
Key Takeaways & Notes
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Up Next
The Predators remain on the road for another Central Division matchup against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday at Ball Arena. The puck drops at 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.
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