National Hockey League
Nashville 4, Florida 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, February 1, 2019
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Steve Kozari, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Darren Gibbs
Attendance: 13158

Viktor Arvidsson scored two third-period goals as the Nashville Predators rallied to defeat the host Florida Panthers 4-1 on Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala also scored third-period goals for Nashville, which trailed 1-0 entering the third. Filip Forsberg added three primary assists.

The Predators put up just three shots through the 14:10 mark of the third period -- but all three of those shots went in, including No. 9 on the season each for Josi and Fiala.

Arvidsson has 21 goals this season, including seven in his past six games.

Nashville, which also got 27 saves from backup goalie Juuse Saros, won its third consecutive game. It was Saros' fourth career game against Florida and his first win.

The Panthers, who had not played in 10 days, had their three-game win streak snapped. The Panthers played short-handed after they traded Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the day. Centers Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan were acquired by the Panthers, but they did not arrive in time to make their debuts for Florida.

Florida got a power-play goal from Jonathan Huberdeau and 22 saves from Roberto Luongo. For Huberdeau, it was his 13th goal this season and 50th point in 49 games.

The Panthers are third in the NHL on the power play, but they converted just 1 of 6 chances against the Predators with the man advantage.

After an evenly played and scoreless first period, Florida finally got on the board with 15:15 gone in the second. Huberdeau's goal from the left circle was enabled by Aleksander Barkov's excellent screen.

Huberdeau took a pass from Keith Yandle and scored on the near side as Barkov skipped out of the way of the puck. The goal was set up by a penalty on Arvidsson, called for slashing on Yandle.

Josi tied the score with 5:29 gone in the third period.

Arvidsson gave Nashville a 2-1 lead with 7:44 gone in the third, as his blast from the right circle knuckled just under Luongo's stick.

Fiala stick-handled his way to a goal with 14:10 left in the third, giving the Predators a 3-1 lead, and Arvidsson added an empty-net goal with 1:56 left in the game.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Florida
Filip Forsberg 3 Points Jonathan Huberdeau 1
Viktor Arvidsson 2 Goals Jonathan Huberdeau 1
Filip Forsberg 3 Assists Evgenii Dadonov 1
N/A Power Play Goals Jonathan Huberdeau 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Juuse Saros .964 Save Percentage Roberto Luongo .880
Juuse Saros 27 Saves Roberto Luongo 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 26 4 0-2 5-6 12 26
Florida 28 1 1-6 2-2 4 30
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Panthers have a W/L % of .450 after a win and .379 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Predators have a W/L % of .645 after a win and .500 after a loss.