Predators thrash Panthers, 7-3

In Nashville, the Predators posted a 7-3 win over the up and down Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in the Nashville win.

“Obviously we’re trying to put together a complete 60-minute game or close to it, and more importantly get the two points,” Nashville’s Ryan McDonagh (three assists) said. “For the majority of the game tonight, we were really clicking and didn’t have any passengers. It was great to see us offensively get rewarded in a lot of areas there, and not compensate too much on the defensive end either.”

The Predators moved to 26-21-6.

“We obviously wanted to get back into it when we were down,” Nashville coach John Hynes said. “But I thought we were playing a really solid game. I thought our response to that was better than it was the other night (a 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday). I thought all-around in general, it was a pretty strong performance for us.”

Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins were the Panthers’ strikers.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position where every single night we have to get points,” Tkachuk said. “We have to get wins. We have to win way more than the majority of our games to get in (the Stanley Cup Playoffs). We’re in a position now where every game is pretty much a playoff game for us to get in.”

The Panthers dropped 28-25-6.

“I got [Bobrovsky] out of there because I didn’t think it was going to be goaltending deciding the game,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “For us, he’s played a lot of hockey. It’s an awful lot for him, so give him a little bit of rest and give Spencer some work.”

The Preds took a 1-0 lad on Tommy Novak‘s first of two on the night, Cousins tied it, 1-1, for the Panthers.

After Tkachuk put the Panthers ahead, 2-1, the Predators replied with two goals for a 3-2 lead after the first period. Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen were the scorers.

Colton Sissons and Roman Josi scored in the middle frame to make it a 5-2 game to the Preds.

In the third, Novak and Yakov Trenin (empty net) scored around a goal from Reinhart for the 7-3 final.

“Sometimes a game off or two isn’t the worst thing for guys,” Hynes said. “They come back in, they’re energized, refreshed and ready to go. He was good. He’s a guy in particular where against Boston, he really wasn’t himself. He’s a guy that has great poise with the puck and makes plays when he has time and space. He was one guy in particular we talked with, and tonight you see the difference in his game.”