In Nashville, the visiting Florida Panthers decided not to play from behind in a Saturday afternoon contest with the Predators. 
Carter Verhaeghe scored the opening goal for the Panthers in a 4-1 win.
“We needed more tonight,” Predators Coach John Hynes said. “I thought we played the game, but I didn’t think our competitive level was where it needed to be. I didn’t think our pace and speed was what it needed to be. I thought our execution with the puck needed to be better. If we’re going to come out and win these types of games we have to play better than we did tonight.”
“We did have a lot of chances,” the Preds’ Jeremy Lauzon said. “We just needed to capitalize on them moving forward. We knew Florida was a machine offensively, and I think our penalty kill was solid and gave us a chance to win the game. But we had a lot of chances. We just needed to capitalize on them like we have before.”
“We had some looks, but I think overall… [Florida] played the game that they needed to play to win the game,” Hynes said. “Tonight I expected more from our team in general. I thought the pace which we played with, the competitive level that we played with and our execution with the puck needed to be better. I thought we were just average, and we’re not a team that can play average and win.”
Ryan Johansen had the lone strike for Nashville, his goal tied the game, 1-1, in the first period.
Anton Lundell put Florida ahead to stay in the middle frame.
Spencer Knight made 24 saves in the Panthers win.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Gustav Forsling scored late in the third period for the 4-1 final, both goals came on empty-net strikes.
Forsling scored from long range, near Memphis on his goal.
Juuse Saros made 21 saves in the Preds loss.
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