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 Rookie center Mattias Janmark polished off a three-on-one rush in
overtime with a tap-in rebound goal, giving Dallas a 3-2 win over
the Nashville Predators on Monday night at sold-out Bridgestone
Arena in a potential playoff preview.
In prevailing for the seventh time in eight games, the Stars
(37-15-5) took advantage of a break on their winning sequence.
Nashville left winger Filip Forsberg fell just after coming over the
boards, leaving defenseman Roman Josi to face all three skaters.
Center Tyler Seguin's wrister was stopped by goalie Carter Hutton
(6-2-2), but Seguin got to the rebound and shoveled it to a
wide-open Janmark at the right post for his 12th goal at 3:49.
"A heck of a game," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "They had the edge
in the first, but we responded well in the second. I thought Hutton
made some great saves in the third when we had a chance to
separate."
One could make the case that Hutton enabled the Predators, who
possess a six-point lead for the final Western Conference playoff
spot, to steal a point. Making only his 10th start of the year in
place of struggling Pekka Rinne, Hutton finished with 29 saves,
including 10 in the third period.
Hutton smothered three point-blank attempts by left winger Jamie
Benn with just under 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation, drawing
sustained applause from the crowd of 17,113. But there was nothing
Hutton could do about Janmark's tally that dropped Nashville to a
pitiful 1-9 in games that ended with an overtime goal.
"We've not been good enough," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said
of the extra-session losses. "Our record isn't good enough. We're
letting points slip away."
Nashville (26-21-10) came out the better team, applying steady
pressure and finally potting the game's first goal at 11:32 of the
first period. Right winger Craig Smith pounced on the rebound of a
point shot by defenseman Mattias Ekholm and scored his 12th goal.
The Stars, coming off wins over Central co-leader Chicago and NHL
overall points leader Washington, turned momentum with a
short-handed goal at 5:42 of the second period.
With left winger Antoine Roussel in the box for slashing, Benn set
up center Cody Eakin with a cross-ice pass, and Eakin ripped a
one-timer from the right faceoff circle for his 11th goal of the
season.
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Right winger Ales Hemsky gave Dallas a 2-1 edge at 6:59 of the
middle period, taking advantage of a poor defensive coverage and
camping out at the right goalpost. Janmark fed Hemsky, who roofed
the puck for his seventh goal.
However, the Predators equalized after a giveaway behind the net by
defenseman Alex Goligoski. Smith fed Forsberg in the slot and he
netted his 19th goal of the season, his fifth in the last five
games, at 16:18 of the second period.
While the Stars had more quality chances in the third period and
overtime, goalie Antti Niemi (21-10-5) came up with a clutch save in
the last 30 seconds of regulation, smothering a wrister from Josi
for the last of his 24 saves.
"I thought we played a pretty solid, strong game," Eakin said. "When
they get rolling in this building, it's pretty hard to stop them. We
fought back and waited for our turns and waited for our
opportunities."
When the final opportunity occurred, thanks to what Nashville
defenseman Shea Weber called a failed change, Dallas delivered the
game-winner.
"We got a (good) transition," Janmark said. "I think a couple of
guys on their bench fell and we got a three-on-one and we just tried
to stick with it, and Seguin made a good pass."
NOTES: Dallas C Tyler Seguin, who left Saturday night's 4-3 win over
Washington when his arm was cut by a skate blade late in the third
period, was back in the lineup. ... Nashville D Shea Weber needs one
more power-play point to tie Kimmo Timonen atop the franchise's
all-time list at 182. ... The Stars scratched LW Curtis McKenzie,
along with Ds Jyrki Jokipakka and Jamie Oleksiak. ... The Predators'
scratches were D Petter Granberg and C Cody Bass.
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