The Nashville Predators extended their point streak to 15 games Monday night with a 4-0 win over the Sabres in Buffalo.
Pekka Rinne made 35 saves to get the win as the Preds improved to 14-0-1 in those 15 games.
“He’s been the best goaltender in the League,” defenseman P.K. Subban said. “There’s a lot of great goaltenders in the League, but I don’t think you have to look into his game much to see he’s been the best at that position all season. We’ve got a great team, we play great team defense, but when he needs to make the big saves, he does. He’s there and he’s there every night for us.”
Mike Fisher, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Hartman provided the offense for Nashville.
“I think we were fortunate in the second period,” Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette said. “The scoreboard went our way, but everything else went Buffalo’s way in the second period. So, we’re fortunate, we take it, and we move on and try to get better, which I thought we did.”
Nashville is clear of second place Winnipeg Jets by 10 points in the Central Division.
For Rinne, it was 40th win of the season and eight shutout of the campaign.
“He’s just so motivated, he’s such a professional, and he’s so motivated on this team and he’s the reason we’re where we’re at in the standings,” Johansen said. “He’s been phenomenal for us all year; he’s a man on a mission right now and he’s really enjoying it and having fun. Every day, he’s the leader in our room and he leads by example, and no one competes as hard as him on a daily basis. It’s great to be his teammate and watch him play and have success this year.”
The loss dropped the Sabres to 23-37-12.
“Really happy with the way we played against the best team in the League at this point,” Sabres head coach Phil Housley said. “Exactly the way we want to play. I thought we were fast. We were aggressive. … We didn’t seize our opportunities, but I can’t fault the way our guys played.”
[WATCH: All Predators vs. Sabres highlights]
Linus Ullmark made 28 saves in taking the loss.
“In the first couple periods, we played pretty solid. We got pucks behind them, had some looks behind them defending hard. But they stick to what they do and that’s why they’ve had success for so many years,” the Sabres’ Jason Pominville said after the loss. “Gave them a couple looks in the third, they put them away, but they didn’t deviate from their plan. That’s why they’ve been getting results. … The first two periods were really good for us.”
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