Nashville 6, Columbus 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 13, 2024
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Brandon Blandina, Carter Sandlak
Linesmen:
Kyle Flemington, Brad Kovachik
Attendance:
17282
By Field Level Media
Roman Josi scored twice and added two assists as the Nashville Predators defeated the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4 on Saturday.
Nashville (47-29-5, 99 points) increased its lead to five points over the Vegas Golden Knights for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Tommy Novak scored twice and added an assist, Cody Glass and Filip Forsberg also found the back of the net for Nashville, while Luke Evangelista and Gustav Nyquist each had two helpers. Juuse Saros made 31 saves.
Trey Fix-Wolansky scored twice, James Malatesta had a goal and an assist, and Alexandre Texier added a goal for the Jackets. Jet Greaves stopped 31 shots, for Columbus (26-43-12, 64 points), which has lost 11 in a row on the road (0-10-1).
Fix-Wolansky tipped in a Justin Danforth pass for his first of the season at 6:02 of the third to cut Nashville's lead to 6-3.
The Jackets forward added his second of the night with 29.9 seconds remaining, beating Saros glove side.
The Predators outscored the Jackets 3-1 in the middle frame to lead 6-2 heading to the third.
Glass gave Nashville a 4-1 lead, tipping an Alexandre Carrier shot past Greaves at 4:52 of the second.
Texier cut into the Predators' lead, beating Saros five-hole on a breakaway at 10:23 of the second.
Forsberg restored the three-goal lead on a power play at 13:12 as Josi's pass deflected off his skate and past Greaves.
Josi added his second of the night, tucking the puck in short side on Greaves at 15:09.
Columbus outshot Nashville 15-10 but trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes.
Malatesta opened the scoring at 2:04 of the first period, cutting to the slot off a Danforth faceoff win and beating Saros under the glove.
The Predators responded 45 seconds later, as Novak tipped in an Evangelista feed.
Nashville took its first lead of the game on a power play at 4:19, when Josi one-timed a Nyquist pass past Greaves.
Novak made it 3-1 by putting a wrist shot between the pads of Greaves at 13:25 of the opening period.
Carrier took a hit from Mathieu Olivier and fell awkwardly into the boards 1:42 into the third period and did not return to the game.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Columbus |
|
Nashville |
Justin Danforth 3 |
Points |
Roman Josi 4 |
Trey Fix-Wolansky 2 |
Goals |
Roman Josi 2 |
Justin Danforth 3 |
Assists |
Roman Josi 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Roman Josi 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jet Greaves .838 |
Save Percentage |
Kevin Lankinen 1.000 |
Jet Greaves 31 |
Saves |
Juuse Saros 31 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Columbus
|
37 |
4 |
0-1 |
1-3 |
11 |
36 |
Nashville
|
37 |
6 |
2-3 |
1-1 |
7 |
34 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Predators have a W/L % of .587 after a win and .571 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .148 after a win and .407 after a loss.