Pekka Rinne made 22 saves to earn the win, and he also stopped two shots in the shootout. Minnesota's final shooter, Mikko Koivu, missed the net completely to send the Wild to a second straight defeat.
The result gave the Predators their 49th win of the season and 109 points, three clear of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the best total in the NHL. They also maintained their five-point Central Division lead on the Winnipeg Jets, who also earned a shootout win Tuesday.
The Wild gained a point, giving them 94 for the season and leaving them three points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central.
Minnesota forced overtime when Eric Staal bagged his 40th goal of the season at 16:45 of the third period, taking a Mikael Granlund pass and beating Rinne with a backhander just inside the right post.
Both teams thought they had won in overtime. Ryan Ellis appeared to score 40 seconds into the extra period with a slapper, but a replay review revealed that Nashville was offside. Later, Granlund beat Rinne but not the goal post.
Roman Josi wasted little time putting Nashville in front. After Turris cleanly won a faceoff to him at the left point, Josi ripped a slapper that beat goalie Devan Dubnyk to the glove side at 2:51 of the first period for his 12th goal.
It was the first time in four chances this year that Rinne defeated Minnesota, which touched him for 13 goals in the previous three games, all in Saint Paul.
Dubnyk kept Minnesota in contention by making 28 saves and helping his team kill four power plays in the first two periods. That has been a trend for the Predators, who are just 2-for-36 with the man advantage in their past 11 games.
--Field Level Media
Minnesota | Nashville | |
Eric Staal 1 | Points | Roman Josi 1 |
Eric Staal 1 | Goals | Roman Josi 1 |
Mikael Granlund 1 | Assists | Kyle Turris 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Devan Dubnyk .966 | Save Percentage | Pekka Rinne .957 |
Devan Dubnyk 28 | Saves | Pekka Rinne 22 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Minnesota | 23 | 1 | 0-2 | 4-4 | 10 | 32 |
Nashville | 29 | 2 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 6 | 32 |