National Hockey League
Florida 2, Nashville 0
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 20, 2021
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Tim Peel
Linesmen: Libor Suchanek, James Tobias
Attendance: 4358

Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal, and Chris Driedger earned his second career shutout, leading the host Florida Panthers to a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.

Anthony Duclair had an assist as well as an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left. MacKenzie Weegar and Carter Verhaeghe recorded an assist apiece.

Barkov has five goals in his past five games, and Driedger had 21 saves. Driedger's only other career shutout was in his first game with the Panthers on Nov. 30, 2019, also against Nashville.

The Panthers' win overshadowed another brilliant performance by Predators goalie Juuse Saros, who tied a career high with 47 saves. Saros, who made 40 saves to beat the Panthers, 2-1, on Thursday, has allowed two goals or fewer in five consecutive starts.

On Saturday, he stopped a pair of breakaways -- by Alex Wennberg in the second and Barkov in the third.

Saros also posted 47 saves at Vegas on Jan. 23, 2019.

Saros was particularly spectacular during a scoreless first period. Florida attempted 31 shots and got 22 on goal. The Panthers had 10 of those shots during three fruitless power plays.

"Saros is an aggressive goalie coming out to the top of his crease," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle told Fox Sports Florida after the first period. "If we can keep him in his crease, shoot pucks and get screens, that's the best way to beat any goalie."

Driedger got in the great goaltending act with 17:13 left in the second, stoning Nick Cousins with a dramatic glove save.

The Panthers finally scored the game's first goal, with 10:45 left in the second period. After a centering pass from Duclair was fumbled, Barkov lifted a backhander over Saros, who had tripped and had his back to the play.

A lot of the credit for the win goes to Florida's top line of Barkov, Duclair and Verhaeghe.

"Anytime you reunite with those two guys, you get a little extra step," Duclair said of his linemates. "You just put the puck in the area for ‘Barky', and he will figure out the rest."

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Florida
N/A Points Anthony Duclair 2
N/A Goals Anthony Duclair 1
N/A Assists Anthony Duclair 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Juuse Saros .979 Save Percentage Chris Driedger 1.000
Juuse Saros 47 Saves Chris Driedger 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 21 0 0-3 5-5 12 27
Florida 49 2 0-5 3-3 8 25
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Panthers have a W/L % of .526 after a win and .909 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Predators have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .412 after a loss.