Predators Defeat Flyers: Milestone Moments from Thursday's 4-2 Win

The Nashville Predators got back in the win column Thursday night defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2, and there were several milestone moments from that game worth talking about.

After a disappointing loss to the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night, the Nashville Predators headed to Philadelphia to take on a hot Flyers team that had collected 15 of a possible 16 points in the month of December. The Predators were able to overcome a quick fluke goal for Philly, the loss of Yakov Trenin in the second half of the game, and the pressure from a Flyers team that plays a solid all around game to get the 4-2 win. 

While a win and two points are what really matters, there were a few interesting moments and statistics worth mentioning before the Predators move on to face the Dallas Stars tomorrow. 

With last night's win, goaltender Juuse Saros surpassed Tomáš Vokoun in franchise history on the list of most wins. The win in Philly was Saros' 162nd win for the Predators moving him into second place in franchise history behind Pekka Rinne. Rinne retired with 369 wins. 

"Obviously it's pretty cool to look at those milestones every now and again," Saros said after practice on Friday. "[Rinne] is way ahead of me there, but it's cool to even be on the same list as him."

This was Saros' eleventh win in his last 13 games, a span in which he has earned a .913 save percentage after starting the season a bit shaky in net. Saros is now second in the league for wins among goaltenders only behind Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks.

Phil Tomasino recorded his first career multi-goal game that included the game winning goal with four minutes left in the third period to secure a win for Nashville. It has been an up and down season for Tomasino who has been a healthy scratch for a handful of games over the course of the season. Head coach Andrew Brunette acknowledged the work the 22-year-old forward put in to earn himself a spot back in the lineup and to capitalize on important chances in the game. 

"He went through some hard times," Brunette said Friday. "Credit to him. Proud of the work he put in, the understanding of what I was asking from him. It wasn't easy. I don't think he overly liked it, but he found a way to grind through it and get himself in a position that he's played really good hockey here the last month."

Cole Smith came up big for the Predators in the second period with a shorthanded goal to tie the game when Nashville was down 1-0. This was Smith's first career shorthanded goal, although he has logged plenty of penalty kill minutes and recorded shorthanded points for the Predators. 

With his goal last night, Smith bested his season high in goals. Last night was his fifth goal in 32 games this season and his fifteenth point. In 2022-23, Smith scored four goals and 17 points in 69 games, and he is well on pace to beat that season high point mark as well. 

It took a little longer than anticipated after suffering an upper body injury that sidelined him for eleven games, but Tommy Novak played his 100th NHL game last night against the Flyers. Novak made his NHL debut on October 19, 2021 but spent plenty of time in Milwaukee between then and last night's milestone game. Novak was recalled last season and has become a fixture for the Predators' offense. The 26-year-old recorded an assist in last night's game.

The Predators have very little time to celebrate any of these milestones as they prepare to face Central Division rival Dallas Stars and former teammate Matt Duchen