Arvidsson scores twice, Predators defeat Lightning

NASHVILLE -- Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a 7-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Arvidsson has scored five goals in his past four games.
"I think I've played fast a lot this year," the forward said. "I think I've made better reads so I can get loose, getting behind the [defense] sometimes and making reads that my [defensemen] are able to make the plays. I think the speed has been there. It's just trusting my [defensemen] and trusting my reads."
Roman Josi scored three points (one goal, two assists), and Tanner Jeannot scored his first NHL goal for the Predators (24-19-1), who have won 13 of their past 16 games. Juuse Saros made 21 saves.
"We started really well," Josi said. "We got a couple of goals, [and] obviously that helps. I thought they made a push in the second and were the better team for most of the second, but [Saros] was great. He made a lot of huge saves. I liked our response in the third. It's a big win for us against a really good team."
Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (28-12-2), and Curtis McElhinney made 15 saves.
Nashville scored three goals in the first period and in the third.
"I don't care who is in net, ever," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You can bring back Dominik Hasek or Marty Brodeur or Patrick Roy, nobody is stopping the chances we gave up tonight."
David Savard made his debut with Tampa Bay being traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. The defenseman, who was paired with Victor Hedman, was minus-4 in 19:23 of ice time.
Colton Sissons gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 6:38 of the first period with a wrist shot from the left circle. Josi made it 2-0 lead at 8:31 with a wrist shot from the right circle.
"I think confidence a lot of times is earned through hard work," Josi said. "You've got to put in the work, and that's when you get the bounces and that's when the confidence gets bigger and bigger. I thought we did that in the last little while here. I think our work ethic is the biggest part. That's how we're getting bounces and that's how we're gaining confidence."
Arvidsson gave Nashville a 3-0 lead at 13:50 of the first on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Johansen.

Point scored 41 seconds into the second period on a redirection of a shot by Hedman to cut it to 3-1.
Rocco Grimaldi gave the Predators a 4-1 lead at 8:09 off a rebound of Johansen's shot.
Arvidsson made it 5-1 at 9:59 of the third period on a breakaway for his 10th goal of the season.
"If we want to get to where we want to be, we've got to put in the work here and get back to playing in sync," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "And at least starting with good effort, or halfway-decent effort. That was not even close."
Yanni Gourde cut it to 5-2 at 11:28.
Jeannot scored on a rebound for his first NHL goal at 14:34 to give the Predators a 6-2 lead.
The 23-year-old forward was not drafted and played for Florida in the ECHL earlier this season. It was his third NHL game.
"It's something I'm going to remember the rest of my life, for sure," Jeannot said. "But bigger and more importantly, we got the win tonight against a really good team. I thought it was a really good team effort all the way around.
"They had some pushback in the second period there, but everyone answered the bell. We had a good answer, good game in the end, and we got the win."

Mikael Granlund scored at 18:34 for the 7-2 final.
NOTES: Arvidsson, Grimaldi and Johansen were each plus-4. … Predators forward Rem Pitlick scored his first NHL point with an assist on Sissons' goal. He finished with two assists and was plus-2 in 12:11 of ice time in his ninth NHL game. … Lightning forward Steven Stamkos missed his second game because of an undisclosed injury. He is unlikely to play against the Florida Panthers on Thursday but will be considered day to day after that. … The Predators have scored seven goals three times in their past 11 games.