Rinne, Predators stop Flyers in shootout
PHILADELPHIA -- The Nashville Predators are finally proving they have enough gas in the tank to finish the race.
Center Filip Forsberg sent the game into overtime and defenseman Ryan Ellis scored the only goal of the shootout, leading the Predators to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Pekka Rinne stopped 30 of 31 shots, including shootout saves on Nick Cousins, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek to give the Predators their first shootout win of the season. The Predators entered the game as the only NHL team without a victory beyond regulation (0-5).
Defenseman Andrew MacDonald scored the Flyers' only goal, and goaltender Steve Mason stopped 30 of 31 shots, plus two in the shootout.
The Flyers (19-11-4) lost a second game in a row following a 10-game win streak.
After going 9-3-2 in November, the Predators had lost six of eight (2-4-2) in December before notching the win Monday night.
The Predators (14-12-5) had the best chance to win it in overtime when Mike Ribeiro led a two-on-one break. However, Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto went down to swipe Ribeiro's pass attempt out of harm's way.
Held to just one goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, the Predators were 8:14 away from their second shutout defeat of the season before Forsberg scored his fourth goal of the season on a redirection.
Forsberg, who has struggled offensively this season after netting a career-high 33 goals last season, staked a spot in front of the Flyers net and deflected a point shot by defenseman Matt Irwin behind Mason for his second goal in four games.
The Flyers outshot the Predators 16-8 in the opening period and were rewarded with a 1-0 lead on MacDonald's second goal of the season. Jakub Voracek made a high-risk backhand pass to MacDonald along the offensive blue line, and MacDonald cranked a shot through traffic. The shot changed direction when it hit Ellis, and it bounced past Rinne.
It was MacDonald's first goal since Oct. 27, snapping a 17-game drought.
The Flyers entered the game without a power-play goal in their previous three games, and despite three early cracks on the man advantage, their lead remained at 1-0 entering the third period.
The Predators entered the game ranked 19th in the NHL on the penalty kill and were put to the test in the second period, successfully killing off a Flyers two-man advantage that lasted 1:24. Nashville had its own opportunity to tie the game on the power play, getting a four-minute advantage when Giroux went off for high-sticking Craig Smith in the chin. Nashville managed just four shots on the power play but went into the third period trailing by one.
NOTES: Predators D P.K. Subban did not make the trip to Philadelphia and sat out his second straight game with an upper body injury. He was replaced in the lineup by veteran Adam Pardy, who was recalled Monday from the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. ... Eleven Flyers remain from the team Predators coach Peter Laviolette last coached in Philadelphia before being fired three games into the 2013-14 season. ... The Flyers return to action on Wednesday when they face the Washington Capitals for the first time since being eliminated in the first round of last year's playoffs. ... The Predators conclude their brief two-game road trip Tuesday night in Newark against the Devils, then return home for games against the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.