Jeannot scores late, Predators gain in Central with win against Flyers

NASHVILLE --Tanner Jeannot scored with 1:19 remaining in the third period to give the Nashville Predators a 5-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.

Yakov Trenin scored twice, and Roman Josi, Mikael Granlund and Alexandre Carrier each had two assists for the Predators (38-24-4), who moved one point ahead of the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division. The Blues have played two fewer games.
"It wasn't so much that this was a must-win game, but this was a must-get back to our identity game," Jeannot said. "And we [had] to leave the rink tonight, regardless of the end result, feeling good about how we're working, how we're playing, how we're contributing, what our identity is and getting our culture back on track. Tonight, I thought the guys played a real solid game. I thought we deserved to win the game, and it's nice to see.

"It was a great response game for us. We got back to our identity, how we want to play. … That's what we want to keep doing. We want to keep building on it and keep getting wins."
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist, and Martin Jones made 30 saves for the Flyers (21-34-11), who led 3-1 but lost for the third time in four games.
"Guys are finding a way to get pucks in the back of the net," Philadelphia forward Joel Farabee said. "That's something we struggled with earlier in the season. At the same time, the best offense is a good defense, so you've got to play defense first. At the end of the day, I think defense is what lost us this game tonight."

Jeannot gave Nashville a 5-4 lead when he redirected Josi's pass from the left point. The goal completed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick; Jeannot also had two assists and fought forward Hayden Hodgson early in the third.
"He does it all," Josi said of Jeannot. I don't know how many hits he had (three). He had a fight in the third, he scores a goal and he gets an assist. That's just kind of his season. He just does it all for us, and I think we can't talk about him enough. He's unbelievable. He's one of those guys who does it all, and he's a great player for us, so very happy for him."
Jeannot missed a 6-1 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights last Thursday. His wife, Keely, gave birth to their son, Jayce, the following day.
"They were motivation for me, I guess," Jeannot said. "I just tried to do the same thing. ... I wanted to do everything I could to help the team win; (I) just had that little bit of extra motivation, and it was obviously a special night."

Travis Sanheim scored at 2:15 of the first period with a shot from the slot to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead, and Farabee scored on a rebound at 17:27 to make it 2-0.
"Especially in the first, I thought we cleared the front of the net, we were strong in front of the net," Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo said. "After that, we weren't doing a very good job as far as finding lanes and they were able to get pucks through and as far as getting sticks on pucks."

Trenin scored 41 seconds into the second period on a redirection of Josi's wrist shot from the point to make it 2-1, but Max Willman extended Philadelphia's lead to 3-1 on a breakaway at 2:23.
However, the Predators tied it with two goals in 46 seconds. Trenin cut it to 3-2 on a 2-on-1 at 7:26, and Luke Kunin tied it 3-3 on a rebound at 8:12. It was Kunin's first goal in 16 games.
Filip Forsberg gave Nashville a 4-3 lead on a redirection of Carrier's shot at 18:13 before van Riemsdyk tied it 4-4 at 19:12.
"I think it's just important for us to have a good game and play a good game," Josi said. "I think the last [three games], even the win in Anaheim (a 6-3 victory at the Anaheim Ducks last Monday), I felt like we didn't play (well); we kind of won that game on the power play. So, just getting back to your game. Obviously this time of year, you need to get points. But just being back, playing our style, was huge today."
NOTES: Josi extended his point streak to an NHL career high 13 games (four goals, 24 assists). It's the longest current streak in the NHL. … Forsberg's goal was his 65th point this season, an NHL career high (37 goals, 28 assists). He scored 64 points twice (2015-16, 2017-18). … Predators defenseman Matt Benning returned after missing six games because of an upper-body injury. He had one shot, one hit and was minus-3 in 12:07 of ice time. … Flyers forward Travis Konecny had an assist in 19:31 after missing a 6-3 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Friday because of a lower-body injury … Farabee extended his point streak to five games (three goals, four assists).