Josi's Four-Point Night Leads Preds to Victory Over Coyotes

Roman Josi scored twice and recorded four points overall as the Nashville Predators defeated the Arizona Coyotes by a 4-1 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds wins in three-straight outings and victories in eight of their last 10 games overall.
Josi's four-point night (2g-2a) was the fourth of his career, Matt Duchene extended his goal streak to three games and Juuse Saros made 22 saves for his seventh win of the campaign.

Midway through the first frame, Duchene tallied his fourth goal in his past three games when he beat Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka from the left circle, and Josi extended the lead by two with a power-play goal late in the period.
Mikael Granlund gave the Preds a 3-0 advantage through 40 minutes when he potted his third of the season with a snap shot from the right dot just as another man advantage had expired.

Josi's second of the night came as he was sprung on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box in the final frame, and although his first shot was stopped by Vejmelka, Nashville's captain followed up the rebound and banked a shot in off the goaltender from behind the goal line for the fourth and final tally of the night for the Preds.
Arizona spoiled the shutout bid with a power-play goal late in the game, but that was as close as the visitors came to mounting a comeback on Hockey Fights Cancer night in Nashville.

Saturday Storyline:

Saturday night wasn't Roman Josi's first four-point outing in the NHL - he's had a few of those already in his illustrious career - but he's never had two of them in the same season.
He does now, however - and a pair in just 15 games, nonetheless - a nod to the Captain's offensive ability when he's playing at the elite level not many others can attain.
And just have a look at what Eeli Tolvanen had to offer on Josi following the 4-1 win.
"I wouldn't want to have to play defense against him," Tolvanen said in part.
Yes, he wouldn't want to play defense - against a defenseman. But that's what Josi can do when he's on, and Saturday was one of those nights.

"He's obviously a creative offensive player, and it's nice to see him be able to get rewarded for a lot of the effort that he's been putting in," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of Josi. "He's a difficult guy, and he can beat you in so many ways. He's a great skater, he's got great puck skills, he's got a fantastic shot, got great instincts and he's one of those guys in the League that when the puck is on his stick, he sees plays that sometimes other people don't, or he can make plays that most guys can't. That's what makes him a special player."
Josi received the majority of accolades on Saturday, but the Predators - as a collective group - won their third-straight game, a feat that was especially welcome considering the circumstances after returning home from a six-game trip.
"I really liked the effort and the way that we prepared for the game," Hynes said. "Mentally and physically, we were ready to play. Coming off a six-game road trip and then home for one, sometimes you are a little bit leery of the guys coming in and are we going to be really checked in to be able to play - and I thought we worked tonight… I'm really proud of the guys. To be on the road for six, come home for one and then go back on the road, the way that we were prepared to play is a credit to the leadership group and the guys in the locker room."

"First of all, it was good to be back home," Josi said. "We've been on the road a lot, and Saturday nights in Smashville are always a lot of fun. So, we were excited to be back home, and it was a good game. I thought we played really well in the first, got off to a lead obviously, had some penalty trouble and just didn't really play that well in the second, but I thought we played really well in the third and found a way to win."
Nashville's leader had plenty to do with that final result, and if he continues to play the way he has throughout the first juncture of the campaign, he may keep adding to that four-point game total, too.
"I feel good this year," Josi said. "I think it's been going well, and obviously it's always hard to compare years to years, but I definitely feel good. I think last year, I've said it before, I wasn't too happy with my year. I knew I kind of had another level, and it's been a good start. But yeah, like I said, I definitely feel better about my game than last year for sure."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Josi on his second goal of the night - a bank shot off the Arizona netminder:
"It was a lot of time for a breakaway. You normally don't get a break that early from the red line, so I had a little too much time to think about what to do. Then, obviously after I shot it or hit his glove, it went wide and I just tried to bank it off him. [It was] kind of a lucky goal."

Notes:

Preds defenseman Alexandre Carrier missed his second-consecutive game with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Predators recalled forward Cole Smith from Milwaukee and assigned forward Rocco Grimaldi to the Admirals. Smith was scratched for Nashville on Saturday along with defenseman Ben Harpur.
Per NHLPR, Josi recorded the 107th multi-point game of his career, behind only David Legwand (120) and Martin Erat (110) for the most in Predators history. He has the most by a defenseman in franchise history, with Shea Weber (90) being the next closest.
Per NHLPR, Matt Duchene now has 16 points on the season - only three players in Predators history have recorded more points in their first 15 games of a campaign: Steve Sullivan (6-14-20 in 2006-07 & 8-9-17 in 2005-06), Filip Forsberg (7-10-17 in 2014-15) and J-P Dumont (2-15-17 in 2008-09).
With a single stop at home now complete, the Predators will head back on the road with a swing through Eastern Canada starting Tuesday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.