Predators defeat Oilers in shootout

EDMONTON -- Ryan Ellis and James Neal scored in the shootout and defenseman P.K. Subban returned to the lineup for the Nashville Predators in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Friday.
Pekka Rinne, who made 30 saves, stopped Mark Letestu and Pat Maroon in the shootout for Nashville (22-17-7). The Predators won for the fifth time in six games and are 3-1-0 on their five-game road trip.

Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson scored for Nashville in regulation.
WATCH: All Predators vs. Oilers highlights
Matt Hendricks and Milan Lucic scored for Edmonton (25-15-8) and Cam Talbot made 42 saves. The loss ended Edmonton's four-game win streak.
"We knew this was an important trip for us," Ellis said. "It's always tough when you go and you play five games on the road, but for our team to come out and play that way on a back-to-back against a good hockey team, to get two points is a good step for us."

Nashville won 4-3 at the Calgary Flames on Thursday and conclude trip at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Subban returned for the Predators after missing the past 16 games with an upper-body injury.
"Overall, it's great to have him back," Ellis said. "I think the team in general played better with him and it's a good sign for a team that has been bit with the injury bug."
Subban logged 22:53 of ice time, had three shots and was plus-1 in his first game since Dec. 15.

"I felt OK. It's been about five, maybe six weeks that I haven't been in a game," Subban said. "It's been a while, but I felt pretty comfortable out there."
Arvidsson gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 17:12 of the second period, but Hendricks tied it 41 seconds later on a setup from Zack Kassian out of the corner.

"We were on our heels a lot," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "That was a game that probably favored the team that played the night before. They were a little bit quicker than we were and a little bit harder."
Ellis scored his third goal in two games on a long shot from the point to give Nashville a 2-1 lead at 6:55 of the third period.
Lucic tied the game on the power play at 15:31 with forward Austin Watson serving a roughing penalty after retaliating for a heavy hit from Lucic.
"I was able to [have] one of my better games in a month and got a big goal out of it, but the main thing is the win," Lucic said. "It's great that we get a point out of it and go nine-of-12 on this six-game homestand, which is pretty good, but it would have been nice to get the win."

Oilers forward Connor McDavid had an opportunity six seconds into overtime, crashing into the net on a rush after collecting the opening faceoff.
Predators forward Ryan Johansen hit the goalpost on a breakaway with 31 seconds remaining in overtime.

#

Goal of the game

Arvidsson scored off a rebound that he lifted over Talbot.

#

Save of the game

Rinne denied McDavid with 1:38 remaining in overtime, then made consecutive stops on Leon Draisaitl at 1:36.

Unsung performance of the game

Mattias Ekholm took the puck away from McDavid on a dangerous 1-on-1 rush at 9:50 of the second period.

#

Highlight of the game

Lucic tipped a pass from Draisaitl past Rinne to tie the game at 2-2.

#

They said it

"Austin knows that he shouldn't do that. I had a conversation with him on the bench. He played so well for us. Even tonight he had such a strong game and you want him to learn from it. Then it's not about what happens at that point, but what are you going to do the rest of the game? How are you going to finish this game? He's been so strong for us and so accountable for us, he'll learn from that." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on Austin Watson's retaliation penalty that led to the tying goal
"It's always disappointing when you lose in a shootout like that. You never want to give up any points, especially now when you want to be separating yourself from the teams below you and catching the teams ahead of us." -- Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot
"We're trying to play as hard as we can, play smart. We got great goaltending efforts, they are making key saves and it seems like everyone is chipping in at the right time. I think we're playing a really solid team game." -- Predators captain Mike Fisher

#

Need to know

Fisher took 38 faceoffs in a game that had 88 faceoffs. ... Hendricks scored for the first time in 14 games against Nashville, where played before being traded to Edmonton. ... The Oilers are 13-4-8 in one-goal games this season.

#

What's next

Predators: At the Minnesota Wild on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; FS-WI, FS-N+, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Oilers: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, NHL.TV)