Arizona 3, Nashville 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 4, 2018
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Brad Meier
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Tony Sericolo
Attendance:
13190
By Field Level Media
Christian Fischer's goal 2:19 into overtime Thursday night capped a late comeback that gave the Arizona Coyotes a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Fischer's 11th goal of the season came off a pass from Jacob Chychrun, enabling Arizona (10-27-5) to reach double-digit victories in its first game of the season's second half. The goal survived a video review.
While the Coyotes celebrated just their third win in 13 games, Nashville (23-11-6) fell to 2-4-2 over its past eight games. The Predators lost despite controlling long stretches of play against the NHL's worst team, finishing with a 39-25 advantage in shots on goal.
Arizona forced overtime when Nick Cousins poked a rebound past Juuse Saros at 17:11 of the third period, one second before the end of a power play. Cousins was responsible for putting the Coyotes in the man advantage, drawing an interference call from Austin Watson.
Nashville scored on its last shot of the second period, then its first shot of the third period. The two goals in 17 seconds erased a 1-0 deficit.
Ryan Ellis, playing his second game since injuring his knee during Game 5 of last season's Stanley Cup Finals, scored his first goal at 19:51 of the middle period. Off a faceoff win by Colton Sissons, Ellis whipped a wrister by Antti Raanta from between the circles. It was the Predators' first shot on goal in more than 14 minutes.
Craig Smith gave Nashville its first lead just eight seconds into the third period. After taking the puck away along the right boards, Smith skated just past the right circle and roofed a wrister over Raanta for his 14th goal of the season.
Anthony Duclair's eighth goal of the season at 12:41 of the second period gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.
Raanta (6-11-2) made 37 saves, while Saros (4-3-3) stopped 22 shots.
The Predators have dried up offensively over the past five games, scoring only nine goals.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Nashville |
|
Arizona |
Ryan Ellis 1 |
Points |
Nick Cousins 1 |
Ryan Ellis 1 |
Goals |
Nick Cousins 1 |
Scott Hartnell 1 |
Assists |
Jakob Chychrun 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Nick Cousins 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Juuse Saros .880 |
Save Percentage |
Antti Raanta .949 |
Juuse Saros 22 |
Saves |
Antti Raanta 37 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Nashville
|
39 |
2 |
0-2 |
1-2 |
4 |
25 |
Arizona
|
25 |
3 |
1-2 |
2-2 |
4 |
28 |
Upcoming Games
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .250 after a loss.
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against Los Angeles. The Predators have a W/L % of .565 after a win and .588 after a loss.