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National Hockey League
Nashville 5, New Jersey 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette
Linesmen: Steve Miller, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 13744

NEWARK, N.J. -- James Neal scored twice and Viktor Arvidsson added three assists as the Nashville Predators defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.

The win was the second in as many nights for the Predators (15-12-5), who also rallied for a 2-1 shootout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. It marked the first time in four weeks that Nashville has won consecutive games.

"It was a really steady, solid win, especially after playing (Monday) night," said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette. "It was a tough game just fighting back (Monday), expending a lot of energy. So, I thought our guys played a real smart, simple game tonight."

A quick start by the visitors set the stage for Tuesday's victory. The Predators raced to a 2-0 lead just 7:15 into the game as Neal netted his team-high 13th and 14th goals of the season.

The Devils (12-13-7) did not recover and their losing streak reached a season-high seven games (0-6-1).

"That was obviously a tough start," said New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider, who made 27 saves. "We've come back before, but it's difficult to do, especially after they get another one in the second. Definitely not the way we wanted to start the game."

Schneider's counterpart at the other end of the ice, Predators rookie goaltender Juuse Saros, made sure Nashville kept New Jersey down after securing the early lead.

Saros made a stunning left-pad save on Taylor Hall late in the opening period and kept the Devils off the scoreboard until only 5:49 remained in regulation -- after Nashville had already built a 5-0 leade.

Saros stopped 27 of 28 shots, and came close to his first career shutout while making only his sixth NHL appearance.

"It was good to get that save (on Hall) and not let them get close," said Saros. "It was also a really good game for a goalie to play, the shots were not coming all the time and our defense made it easy for me to see the puck. I'm not disappointed about (not getting) the shutout because the win is the most important thing."

Neal's two goals to open the scoring both came on right-wing snipes. He first buried a cross-ice feed from Arvidsson at 5:43 during a 2-on-1 rush after Devils defenseman Damon Severson was caught at the far blue line. Neal beat Schneider 92 seconds later, this time set up on a cross-ice pass from Roman Josi.

"A great pass from (Arvidsson) on that first one, he found me in the right spot," said Neal after the game. "Then he makes a good pass to Josi and, again, I get a pass right in the same spot on the second one. Two great plays there."

Devils captain Andy Greene had his own take on Neal's quick-strike scores.

"It wasn't the first period we wanted," said Greene. "We did some good things in the first, but we made two mistakes and they made us pay. We had to jump on them early, but they did it to us instead."

The Predators added to their lead early in the second period when Mattias Ekholm hammered a 60-foot slap shot through a screen and past Schneider to make it 3-0 at 5:55. The goal was Ekholm's first of the season, and first since March 26.

Nashville put the game away in the third period as Filip Forsberg scored a power-play goal at 8:12 and Ryan Johansen scored short-handed at 13:40.

New Jersey avoided the shutout on Sergey Kalinin's first goal of the season, a deflection at 14:11.

NOTES: The Predators are being accompanied on this two-game trip to Philadelphia and New Jersey by the players' fathers for the annual Fathers and Sons Trip. ... Nashville D P.K. Subban, however, did not make the trip due to an upper body injury, and missed his third straight game on Tuesday. ... The Predators also scratched D Petter Granberg and C Reid Boucher, and remained without D Anthony Bitetto (upper body) and RW Miikka Salomaki (lower body) who are on injured reserve. ... The last time the Devils were winless in six straight games was March 21-31, 2015 (0-4-2). ... Their last seven-game skid was October 3-17, 2013 (0-4-3). ... New Jersey's scratches were RW Devante Smith-Pelly, LW Luke Gazdic and C Jacob Josefson (upper body).
Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   New Jersey
Viktor Arvidsson 3 Points Sergey Kalinin 1
James Neal 2 Goals Sergey Kalinin 1
Viktor Arvidsson 3 Assists Andy Greene 1
Filip Forsberg 1 Power Play Goals N/A
Ryan Johansen 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Juuse Saros .964 Save Percentage Cory Schneider .844
Juuse Saros 27 Saves Cory Schneider 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 32 5 1-1 2-2 4 30
New Jersey 28 1 0-2 0-1 2 26
Upcoming Games
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Devils have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .300 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Predators have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .556 after a loss.