The sweep of Thursday’s NHL schedule starts in Nashville where the Predators defeated the New York Islanders, 4-2.
Ryan Johansen and James Neal each scored goals and each had two points in the win.
Pekka Rinne was not busy in win over Islanders – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“The last two games, [the first line has] really been feeling it,” Johansen said. “Like we all know, [Predators forward Mike Ribeiro] line has really been carrying the load offensively with the other two lines chipping in as well. For us, we’ve done well defensively but it’s nice to be back on the contributing side and getting some pucks in the net.”
Ryan Ellis and Austin Watson also scored for the Preds.
Pekka Rinne picked up the win on 20 saves.
“I don’t have the answer for why guys don’t shoot pucks,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “We’ve played pretty well against this team. We’re 3-0 in the last two years coming in. We had 30, 40 shots, I think over 45 in the first game we played them. It’s been the same theme for us. It’s the common denominator that we try to make the sexy play. We don’t want to get pucks to the net.”
Brock Nelson and Ryan Pulock scored for the Isles.
In Dallas, the Stars managed a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jamie Benn scored twice to lead the Stars’ offense as the Stars rallied for the win.
“I think we were due for one of those comeback character wins. We had a strong third period, and found a way to win the hockey game,” Benn said.
Stephen Johns and Jason Spezza also scored for Dallas.
Jamie Benn scored twice in win over Bolts – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Kari Lehtonen got the win on 17 saves.
“The guys in the room, they’re going to hold themselves accountable. We were doing everything right for two periods and then to come out and completely change the way they played, we got to do better than that,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We got to be better, it’s the bottom line.”`
The loss pushed the Bolts three points back of the Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic.
Steven Stamkos scored twice and Nikita Kucherov added a marker for Tampa Bay.
“We played like a fragile team that was scared to lose and not hungry to close out a game or hungry to win a game,” Stamkos said. “We can’t let that fear of losing creep in at this time of the year. There’s almost that feeling like we want to get to the playoffs here, but there’s still a lot of hockey left. So we’ll address that, nip that, and stay focused for these last 11 games of the season because there’s no guarantee about the playoffs until you clinch a spot.”
The Stars are now two points up on the St Louis Blues in the Central Division.
“They’re a good team (Tampa Bay). They’re battle-tested,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “They went through a Stanley Cup playoff last year and game in, game out, they know how to compete. They make a lot of good plays, and they’ve got a goaltender that’s as good as anybody in this League.”
In Glendale, the Arizona Coyotes put a dent in the San Jose Sharks run up the ladder with a 3-1 win.
Shane Doan scored the game-winner with 91 seconds on the clock in the third period.
Mike Smith made 27 saves in win over Sharks – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“I haven’t scored too many pretty ones this year. I don’t know how it went in,” said Doan, who reached 25 goals for the eighth time in his NHL career and has scored 18 in 31 home games this season. “It just landed on his pad and fell in.
“[Jordan] Martinook is adamant that I’ve only scored about 10 legitimate goals this year. I don’t really care. They don’t ask how; they ask how many.”
Antoine Vermette iced the win with an empty-netter with just under one minute left in regulation.
Michael Stone also scored for Arizona.
“It’s tough to win a game when that happens,” San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said of the two overturned goals. “We came out and I thought we did enough to earn some points tonight and we didn’t. It’s a tough one to give up the way it ended.”
Tomas Hertl was the lone goal scorer for the Sharks.
Mike Smith made 27 saves in his second start since returning from surgery that kept him out of the lineup for 40 games.
“There were still times when I felt uncomfortable and it’s a process, but I know what to expect,” said Smith, who had 44 saves in a 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. “Things are going to happen and I’m going to feel things at times (with scar tissue), but it’s getting better as we go along.
“We kept to our game plan, and [Doan] was able to get a fluky one there at the end.”
Two goals by the Sharks’ Dainius Zubrus and Chris Tierney were disallowed.
“[The first disallowed goal] was fairly clear,” DeBoer said. “The other one, I’m going to ask for an explanation because ‘distinct kicking motion’ and that replay really doesn’t jive for me. I’d like to know what their thought process was.”
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