Captain Roman Josi scored the go-ahead goal with 1:22 remaining in the third period, propelling the host Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Josi followed a four-assist performance in Nashville's 8-0 romp at San Jose on Saturday by scoring his 15th goal of the season. The defenseman's blast from the point sailed past Jake Oettinger (29 saves) to send the Predators to their fourth win in the past six games.
Nashville's Ryan Johansen also scored in the third period and Juuse Saros made 22 saves to improve to 12-4-1 in his career vs. Dallas.
Defenseman John Klingberg scored 32 seconds into the third period for the Stars, who saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt.
Dallas was outshot by a 24-13 margin through two periods before Klingberg opened the scoring.
Klingberg wired a shot from well outside the right circle that deflected off Nashville's Eeli Tolvanen and past Saros. It was Klingberg's second goal of the season and first since he tallied in overtime during a 4-3 win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 18.
Klingberg's goal also was his first in regulation against Nashville. The 29-year-old Swede scored 17:02 into overtime in the Stars' Western Conference first-round, series-clinching victory against the Predators in April 2019.
Saros denied Michael Raffl on a partial breakaway at one end of the ice before Johansen scored on a backhand shot with 6:52 remaining in the third period. The goal was Johansen's 14th of the season and first since Feb. 1.
Nashville nearly opening the scoring 50 seconds into the contest after Alexandre Carrier's shot caromed off the left post. Play continued until the next stoppage, and reviews showed the puck had stayed out of the net.
Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell kept the game scoreless by dropping to a knee to prevent Luke Kunin from shooting into an open net, with Oettinger out of position at 12:52 of the first period.
Nashville's Nick Cousins registered three hits in 11:36 of ice time in his return to the lineup after missing seven games due to a lower-body injury.
--Field Level Media
Dallas | Nashville | |
John Klingberg 1 | Points | Ryan Johansen 2 |
John Klingberg 1 | Goals | Ryan Johansen 1 |
Denis Gurianov 1 | Assists | Ryan Johansen 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Jake Oettinger .935 | Save Percentage | Juuse Saros .957 |
Jake Oettinger 29 | Saves | Juuse Saros 22 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Dallas | 23 | 1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 6 | 26 |
Nashville | 31 | 2 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 4 | 19 |