Three-goal third period propels Panthers past Predators Reinhart hits another power play marker in win

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In Nashville, the visiting Florida Panthers scored three goals in the third period to turn a 1-1 tie with the Predators into a 4-1 win on Monday night.

Carter Verhaeghe scored with 71 seconds gone in the third to snap the tie and give the Panthers a 2-1 advantage.

“We had a good first period and came ready to play, and I think we kind of carried that throughout,” Verhaeghe said. “We got a big power-play goal. We knew it was going to be a tough one. They’re a good team. Coming in here on the road we wanted it to be kind of a grindy win, and that’s kind of what we got.”

Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves in the win.

“He was huge,” the P{anthers’ Sam Bennett said. “He made some unbelievable saves, so that gave us life and kept us in the game. That’s all you can ask from your goalie. It was fun to watch him flashing some leather tonight.”

The Panthers improved to 28-14-4.

“This was a big game for us,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “The dads are here, but we’ve also lost a few in a row. We needed a win. Some really good energy on the bench, real good focus. We made a few mistakes, but then made up for the mistakes with really good effort. And then when we couldn’t, [Stolarz] made four or five really good saves tonight.”

The Panthers napped a four-game slide with the win.

Brandon Montour hit an empty net at 18:21 of the third to give the Panthers  some breathing space at 3-1,

Matthew Tkachuk potted a second empty-net goal with 19 seconds left on the regulation clock for the 4-1 final count on then scoreboard.

Nashville dropped to 25-21-1.

“Just a tough loss against a good squad,” Nashville forward Colton Sissons said. “Obviously, we got our lunch handed to us in the first a little bit. They were dictating the pace of the game, but we certainly played a lot better in the last two frames and were right there. Obviously, the scoreboard looks a little bit lopsided in the end with a few empty netters, but we were right there. We had a chance to get points or win the game late.”

After a scoreless first period, Sam Reinhart hit off the power play at 11:19 of the middle frame form a 1-0 lead to the Panthers.

It was his 34th goal of this campaign.

“We’re missing two big pieces with [Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling] out, so we knew it was going to be a hard, grind game,” Bennett said. “Guys were stepping up and playing bigger roles and bigger minutes. That’s all you can ask from your guys.”

Jeremy Lauzon was the lone striker for the Predators, his goal came 57 seconds after the Panthers took the lead, to tie the game, 1-1.

“We were just on the road for three games, and coming in for just one is sometimes kind of a trap game,” Lauzon said. “But I think guys showed up and we worked hard. Obviously, they’re a really great team. Every chance they had, they kind of put it in the net. But I think overall we were pretty solid. Every single time we have a chance we just need to bear down a little bit more. It’s important points here coming down to the last stretch of the season, so we need to start winning here.”

Juuse Saros made 34 saves in the loss.