Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene scored in the shootout Thursday night for the visiting Nashville Predators, who outlasted the New Jersey Devils for a wild 6-5 victory in Newark, N.J.
The two teams combined for five ties during regulation and were never separated by more than one goal.
The win was the record-breaking 1,507th (regular season and playoffs) as a general manager for the Predators' David Poile, breaking a tie with Glen Sather for most by any GM in NHL history. Poile spent 15 seasons as the general manager of the Washington Capitals before joining Nashville in 1997, a year before the team debuted.
The win also made for a victorious homecoming for Predators head coach John Hynes, who was coaching against the Devils for the first time since New Jersey fired him on Dec. 3.
Forsberg scored twice in regulation, including the goal that forced overtime midway through the third period. Duchene, Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bonino also scored for the Predators, who are 5-4-0 under Hynes. Goalie Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.
Pavel Zacha had two goals while Nikita Gusev, Jesper Bratt and John Hayden scored once apiece for the Devils, who are 9-11-4 since Hynes was replaced by Alain Nasreddine. Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 25 saves.
The teams wasted no time getting going in the first period, when they combined for three goals in the first 8:17. Ekholm was credited with the game's first goal just 42 seconds after the opening faceoff before Zacha scored at 4:54. The Predators went ahead again when Forsberg picked up a puck that ticked off the skate of Kyle Turris and backhanded a shot home.
Zacha (at 8:44) and Gusev (at 10:26) scored power-play goals in a span of 1:42 to give the Devils the lead midway through the second. The Predators tied the score on Bonino's goal just 2:22 later before Bratt put New Jersey ahead again with 2:36 left in the period.
Duchene capped an end-to-end rush by the Predators by scoring the tying goal just 33 seconds into the third. Hayden scored off a faceoff win deep in the Nashville zone to give the Devils the lead again at 6:37 before Forsberg evened the score yet again with 10:03 left in regulation.
--Field Level Media
Nashville | New Jersey | |
Filip Forsberg 2 | Points | Pavel Zacha 3 |
Filip Forsberg 2 | Goals | Pavel Zacha 2 |
Roman Josi 2 | Assists | Pavel Zacha 1 |
Filip Forsberg 1 | Power Play Goals | Pavel Zacha 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Pavel Zacha 1 |
Pekka Rinne .844 | Save Percentage | Mackenzie Blackwood .833 |
Pekka Rinne 27 | Saves | Mackenzie Blackwood 25 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Nashville | 30 | 6 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 6 | 33 |
New Jersey | 32 | 5 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 6 | 28 |