In Sunrise, the Nashville Predators scored twice in the first period for a 2-0 lead, and held off the Panthers for a 2-1 win on Thursday night. 
Matt Duchene scored his 19th of the campaign to give the Preds a 1-0 lead.
“The last three games for sure, we’ve played with some swagger in our game, which is nice to see,” Nashville coach John Hynes said. “I think guys are making some good plays and feeling confident with the puck, which is important. I think we’re playing really fast and the thing that drives all of it is throughout the lineup, the competitive level and work ethic is at the standard it needs to be to give yourself a chance to win every night.”
Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in the Predators win.
Nashville improved to 30-23-6.
“Got in late [Wednesday] night, didn’t have my gear for [the] skate this morning, so it came in a little late,” newly acquired Predators forward Tyson Barrie said. “But taking everything in stride, and the guys have been great. You can tell they’re loose and having a lot of fun. You can see how hard they’re working, and it’s a good young group.”
John Leonard, called up from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, scored in the opening period to give the Preds the 2-0 lead.
“It felt awesome to play tonight,” Leonard said. “It was a quick last 24 hours, and everything happened quick, but the guys were great helping me out. It was awesome being able to find a way to win tonight with big saves and a lot of shot blocks as well. It was a full team effort, and it was a lot of fun.”
The Panthers dropped to 29-24-6.
“In the second period especially, [our team] went as hard as they could,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “[We] had lots of opportunities to put pucks to the net, but that didn’t happen. I think we were victimized by how we put the puck in the offensive zone early in the third [period]. We didn’t get the sustained pressure we had in the second.”
Brandon Montour scored for Florida in the second period to close the gap.
“Obviously, guys care in this room,” Florida forward Ryan Lomberg said. “We want to win every game, especially this time of year when we’re pushing for a [Stanley Cup Playoff] spot. I don’t know if it’s [feeling] frustrated, but we all want to win, so we’re definitely upset with the result.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves in the Panthers loss.
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