Juuse Saros shut out the Dallas Stars for the second time in three days as the visiting Nashville Predators recorded a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Saros stopped all 37 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, earned in quick fashion after his third shutout. On Thursday night, Saros made 33 saves in the Predators' 2-0 win over the Stars in Nashville. The goalie is now 6-0-1 with a .939 save percentage in seven career games against Dallas.
The victory temporarily moves the Predators (34-26-8, 76 points) into a wild-card position in the Western Conference, though five teams are within three points of the two wild-card spots. Nashville also moves six points behind Dallas (37-23-8, 82 points) for third place in the Central Division.
The Stars are 0-3-2 over their last five games and have gone more than three full games without an even-strength goal. Dallas outshot Nashville by a 70-55 margin over the two-game home-and-home series but couldn't solve Saros.
The game was scoreless until 10:29 of the second period, when Ryan Ellis scored on a Nashville power play. Ellis sent a wrist shot from the boards that seemed to fool both defenseman Esa Lindell (who moved to avoid the shot) and goalie Ben Bishop, who reacted as if he expected Lindell to block the puck.
Ellis' eighth goal of the season ended up as the game-winning score, giving the defenseman a bit of revenge against the Stars. Ellis missed 20 games after being concussed by a Corey Perry elbow during a Predators-Stars game on Jan. 1.
John Klingberg had perhaps the Stars' best chance on Saturday, firing a shot off the crossbar with just over a minute remaining.
All three Predators goals scored during the two games came on the power play. Over the Stars' last 10 games, opponents have gone 10-for-31 on the power play against the struggling Dallas penalty-kill unit.
Bishop stopped 22 of 23 shots and is 0-3-0 over his last three starts.
--Field Level Media
Nashville | Dallas | |
Ryan Ellis 1 | Points | N/A |
Ryan Ellis 1 | Goals | N/A |
Viktor Arvidsson 1 | Assists | N/A |
Ryan Ellis 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Juuse Saros 1.000 | Save Percentage | Ben Bishop .957 |
Juuse Saros 37 | Saves | Ben Bishop 22 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Nashville | 23 | 1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 8 | 29 |
Dallas | 37 | 0 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 8 | 34 |