SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Nashville Predators might have a goalie controversy.

Backup goalie Carter Hutton continued his excellent play of late, stopping the first-place Florida Panthers 5-0 on Saturday night at the BB&T Center.

"He's been great -- no question," said Predators coach Peter Laviolette, who declined to say whether Hutton or Pekka Rinne, who started 45 of Nashville's previous 54 games, would get the nod the next time out.

Hutton, who had not played since Jan. 27, is 6-2-1 this season with two shutouts. He made 22 saves against the Hurricanes, including several outstanding stops, and has a three-game win streak.

In his past three games, Hutton has allowed a combined one goal.

By contrast, Rinne has given up eight goals in his past two games and has a career-low save percentage of .902.

The Panthers were last in the league entering the game in save percentage, and a large part of the blame goes to Rinne because he has been given a majority of the starts.

Hutton, though, was modest when asked about his recent hot streak.

"Whenever they give me starts, I play," he said. "Anything I can do to help our team win ... I understand my role."

Offensively, Nashvile went 2 of 3 on the power play and center Calle Jarnkrok scored twice, including short-handed. He has 11 goals this season.

Nashville also got goals from right winger Miikka Salomaki right winger James Neal and defenseman Shea Weber.

Neal's goal was set up by a penalty on Panthers right winger Reilly Smith, who hit Jarnkrok with a high stick. Weber's goal was also on the power play, set up when Florida defenseman Brian Campbell was penalized for playing with a broken stick.

The Predators (26-21-9) are in fifth place in the Central Division.

The Panthers (32-18-6), whose lead over the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division has been cut to four points, had few highlights with the exception of the NHL debut of center John McFarland. The 23-year-old was the 33rd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who was pulled after allowing three first-period goals in Friday's 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues, suffered through another slow start, allowing two first-period goals.

The Predators made it 3-0 on Neal's power-play goal with 9:36 left in the second period. Nashville center Ryan Johansen's knuckling shot fooled Luongo and got behind him but not in ... until Neal tapped it for the goal.

From there, the rout was on, and Panthers coach Gerard Gallant was ejected in the third period. He was upset after two of his centers -- Quinton Howden and Brandon Pirri -- were injured on hard hits that were not penalized.

"If that is not a head shot, I don't know what is," Gallant said, referring to defenseman Anthony Bitetto's hit on Howden.

The Panthers were already playing short-handed with injuries to centers Aleksander Barkov and Dave Bolland and defensemen Erik Gudbranson and Willie Mitchell, among others.

"It looked like it tonight," Gallant said when asked if the injuries have taken their toll. "I'm not saying it did, but it looked like it."

Florida went 0 of 4 on the power play, including two straight man-advantages in the first period that lasted 3:44. The Panthers had a two-man advantage for 16 seconds but got just one shot on goal in nearly four minutes.

The Panthers also have allowed three or more goals in six straight games and are 2-3-1 in that stretch. They have given up a total of 23 goals during that span.

"(Luongo) hasn't been as sharp as he was," Gallant said, "but it's our team (that wasn't sharp). We're missing some depth, but when nobody plays well, that's what hurts your team."

NOTES: When Predators RW James Neal scored his 20th goal on Friday at the Tampa Bay Lightning, he became just the seventh active player to reach that milestone eight years in a row. Panthers RW Jaromir Jagr accomplished the feat in each of his first 17 seasons. ... Nashville entered Saturday with more points from its defensemen than any team in the league. ... Nashville scratched C Cody Bass and D Petter Granberg. ... Panthers C Nick Bjugstad played in his 200th game. C Aleksander Barkov (concussion) missed his third straight game. ... Panthers D Erik Gudbranson (shoulder) missed his fifth game in a row. D Willie Mitchell (lower body) hasn’t played since Jan. 18. ... Panthers C Dave Bolland (lower body) hasn't played since Dec. 12. ... Florida scratched LW Shawn Thornton.