Predators Power Past Golden Knights in 5-3 Win

Two down, three to go. 

Five different Predators skaters scored and Kevin Lankinen turned away 23 shots as Nashville defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-3, at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

“I felt great about our game,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Even at the end. Obviously, we unfortunately put ourselves in a tougher position and the way we played and the way we dictated the game, to get in that position probably wasn’t ideal. But, I thought it was a really solid 60-minute effort and I thought we did a lot of really good things.”

“We played a really good game,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said. “I thought for 60 minutes we played really well. Obviously, they got some momentum but it's also a good team over there. So, I thought it was a complete effort and I think we can definitely be happy about the way we played.”

The result moves Nashville to 29-25-2 on the campaign and 15-10-2 on the road.

QUICK HITS

A Goal for Glasser

Cody Glass had waited long enough. 

With 52 seconds remaining in the opening frame, the forward netted his first goal since Dec. 19 and his second of the season.

“It was good,” Glass said. “It feels like every other game, I want to score as much as possible. But then again, you're playing an old team and it's a good feeling. I can't really hide that but if I can put more in the net, it'd be awesome.”

“I'm really happy for him,” Brunette said. “It's been a tough year with his injuries and getting back on track, and to score here on the team that drafted him I’m sure feels good. And his game is getting better. Now, can we get a little traction on it and keep growing it?”

Lankinen Stands Tall

Lankinen’s winning performance against the defending Stanley Cup champions followed nearly a month without a start.

Not that anyone would be able to tell.

“You could have fooled me,” Glass said. “He looked like he played yesterday. He was unbelievable and we're very lucky with the goalies that we have in our net.” 

“He’s awesome,” Brunette said. “He was everything you could ask for and more from a goaltending performance tonight.” 

Happy Birthday to Vange

Luke Evangelista’s 22nd birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but that didn’t stop the forward from celebrating early.

Just over five minutes into the game, Evangelista scored his second goal in as many games and his 11th of the season. The forward is now sixth among NHL rookies in goals.

Per NHL PR, Evangelista (18g-22a-40pts in 78 GP) became the third player in Predators history to record 40 points as a rookie (spanning two seasons), joining Filip Forsberg (27g-42a-69pts in 100 GP) and Tanner Jeannot (29g-19a-48pts in 96 GP).

Novak Stays Hot

Tommy Novak’s second-period marker was his 12th goal of the season and the fourth in his last five games.

“He's been really good for the last 10 [games] maybe,” Brunette said. “It's good to see. Obviously he's a big part of our team. When he plays like that we're a much more deadly team. And [Evangelista] is starting to go now a little bit here too. We've got a lot of guys - [Jankowski] played a good role with those guys, and then [McCarron’s] line has kind of set the tone for us through the last couple of games.”

D-Men Double Down

Defensemen Roman Josi and Ryan McDonagh each collected two assists against the Golden Knights. 

The effort earned Josi his 13th multi-point game of the season and McDonagh his fourth. McDonagh is now one helper away from recording 300 career assists.

Josi reached 40 assists on the season for the seventh time in his career.

UP NEXT

Nashville’s five-game road trip continues on Thursday when the Predators face the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. 

Puck drop is at 9:30 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.

NOTES

• Egor Afanasyev, Tyson Barrie and Denis Gurianov were scratched and did not skate in Tuesday’s game. 
• Michael McCarron matched a career-high in assists (7) and points (14) assisting Cole Smith’s second-period goal; Kiefer Sherwood also matched a career-high in points (13) assisting Smith’s goal.