Ryan O’Reilly scored two goals in regulation and Roman Josi tallied the game-winner in the fourth round of a shootout as the Nashville Predators extended their winning streak to seven games with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday in Las Vegas.
Josi snapped a wrist shot past the glove side of Vegas goalie Adin Hill.
Rookie Trevor Connelly scored in the second round of the tiebreaker to put the Golden Knights ahead, but Filip Forsberg leveled it in the third round, setting the stage for Josi’s winner.
Juuse Saros finished with 40 saves for Nashville, which tied defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina for the longest win streak of the season.
Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Andersson each scored goals for Vegas, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Hill finished with 30 saves as the Golden Knights got at least a point for the sixth consecutive contest (4-0-2).
Nashville, coming off a back-to-back at Los Angeles and Anaheim on Tuesday and Wednesday to kick off its five-game Western road trip, took a 1-0 lead at the 7:56 mark of the first period when O’Reilly chipped in a Steven Stamkos pass from the front of the net.
It was O’Reilly’s 17th career goal against Vegas, breaking a tie with Anze Kopitar for the most ever against the Golden Knights.
Vegas tied it midway through the period when Olofsson, falling to the ice, slapped in a rebound of an Ivan Barbashev shot that was spinning behind Saros in the middle of the blue ice.
The Golden Knights took their first lead midway through the second period when Andersson, left wide open at the right top of the slot, snapped a wrist shot past Saros off a diagonal pass from Mitch Marner.
O’Reilly tied it 2-2 at the 9:44 mark of the third period, skating along above the right goal line and then spinning and firing a wrist shot over Hill’s left shoulder.
Vegas nearly won the game in overtime, but Olofsson’s close-in shot caromed off the right post.
–Field Level Media
