*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Success starts and stops in the blink of an eye. Michael McCarron scored, Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-2 overtime victory on Tuesday night in Nashville.
Holding off a late rally from the Flyers, the Predators won their second straight game and 5th of 6 while ending the Flyers 4 game winning streak. Forsberg's two points made him the highest scoring Nashville skater in a tight game with the Flyers.
Nashville forward Gustav Nyquist said of the win that "We got the job done. Another battle. We’re battling out there. Obviously, we don’t seem to have maybe our best right now, but Saros was great and kept us in the game. We found a way to win again so that’s a big positive."
The only goal of the first period came from Nyquist, who scored his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Forsberg and Alexandre Carrier. McCarron doubled the Predators lead to 2-0 on his 4th goal of the season to open the second period. Sean Couturier then scored with 25 seconds left in the period to make it a 2-1 game.
When the 3rd period rolled around, the Flyers tied the game. Travis Sanheim made it 2-2 with his 4th goal of the season 6:49 into the period, assisted by Couturier and Travis Konecny. Just 18 seconds into overtime, Forsberg scored to seal the win for the Predators, scoring his 15th goal of the season with Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi assisting.
Getting the start in goal for the Predators was Juuse Saros, who won his 5th straight game as his record improved to 13-10-0 in 23 starts. Saros stopped 37 of the 39 shots the Flyers sent his way, giving him a .949 save percentage.
Nashville head coach Andrew Brunette said of Saros that "I kind of feel bad. Obviously on the coaching part we’re not too proud of the amount of shots we’re giving up. But individually for him, outstanding, kind of as expected and as advertised. I think he’s getting a little bit more comfortable in the way we play."
Starting for the Flyers on the other end of the ice was Samuel Ersson, who saw his 4 game win streak snapped. Ersson turned aside 19 out of the 22 shots on goal the Predators had, recording a .864 save percentage. His record now sits at 5-3-2 in 10 games.
Couturier said of the loss in overtime that "It's a huge point. We battled hard all night. Down two goals, to find a way to get back in the game and get a big point, it’s definitely huge. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the extra one but a lot of positives."
Up next, the Flyers host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, with Carter Hart the likely starter. The Predators hit the road to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, with Saros the projected starting goalie.
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