Saros propels Predators past Devils

NASHVILLE -- Juuse Saros made 33 saves, and Ryan Johansen scored in the sixth round of the shootout in a 2-1 win for the Nashville Predators against the New Jersey Devils at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Saros made four saves in the shootout for the Predators (22-10-1), who have won three consecutive games, five of their past seven, and lead the Western Conference with 45 points.
"It feels good," Saros said. "It was a nice game from a goalie's standpoint. I saw a lot of pucks and a lot of shots from outside, so I felt good."
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Predators highlights]
Brian Boyle scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves for New Jersey (11-13-7), which is 3-11-3 on the road.
"Keith played really well," Devils coach John Hynes said. "I think this was a game where we got good goaltending but we felt we were the better team. I mean we had a lot of chances. I thought we carried the play, we were defensively sound. When we needed saves Keith was fantastic, and that's what you need.
"We don't feel like we stole a point. We feel like we didn't get the second [point], and that's the difference. Sometimes you can get outplayed and you can steal a point. Tonight we didn't steal a point. Tonight we didn't get the second one."
Boyle tied the game 1-1 with 1:31 remaining in the third period on a rebound in the slot. Marcus Johansson took the original shot, and Boyle scored on the rebound for his ninth goal.

Frederick Gaudreau gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 18:43 of the first period on a rebound. Miikka Salomaki took the original shot, and Gaudreau scored his second goal.
"I think it's just our ability to go there and want to make a difference," Gaudreau said. "[Salomaki] and [Rocco Grimaldi] are so fast, and I think that helps us just creating opportunities, creating turnovers and just putting pressure deep down their zone. I think that's what we're trying to do."

They said it

"I thought today was one of our better road games. It was disappointing we didn't get two points. We felt as though we were the better team tonight so we've got to find a way to put one more in the net, but I thought our defensive structure throughout the game was real strong. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find the back of the net as much as we need to, but we'll move on." -- Devils coach John Hynes
"I've been struggling for a long time. I was hot there for a while early in my [NHL] career, and then I was struggling big-time so I just went kind of back to the basics for me, and it was really nice to get one in there." -- Predators forward Ryan Johansen on his shootout goal

Need to know

New Jersey forward Taylor Hall missed his second consecutive game with lower body soreness. … Johansen was 1-for-9 in shootout attempts with the Predators prior to his goal. … Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm has four assists in a four-game point streak. … The Predators are 10-0-0 against the Eastern Conference this season.

What's next

Devils: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Predators: At the Ottawa Senators on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-TN, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)