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McDonagh OT goal caps Predators 3 goal comeback over Coyotes

*Photo from TSN*
   Late game drama is lots of fun. Gustav Nyquist had two assists, Ryan McDonagh had a goal and an assist, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 in overtime on Saturday in Nashville.

   The Predators snapped a 3 game losing streak with the win, rallying to score 3 straight goals and win the game in the process. 4 skaters had a goal and an assist for the Predators, including McDonagh, who scored the game winning goal.

   Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said of the win that "I think we had stretches of the game where I felt really comfortable with where our game was at. The special teams in the second period kind of changed a little bit of the tempo of the game. I don’t know if it slowed it down, but that’s what happens. But I liked where we were at the whole game."

   Ryan O'Reilly started the scoring for the Predators 12:28 into the game, making it 1-0 on his 18th goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Travis Dermott tied it for the Coyotes on his second goal of the season, assisted by Alex Kerfoot and Jason Zucker. Roman Josi scored on the power play 11:39 into the second period to put Nashville ahead 2-1.

   Dylan Guenther scored on the power play with 1:29 left in the second for the Coyotes, tying the game 2-2. Juuso Valimaki put the Coyotes ahead 3-2 with his second goal of the season 1:32 into the 3rd period. Nick Schmaltz made it 4-2 later in the 3rd with assists from Zucker and Clayton Keller on his 14th goal of the season.

   Tommy Novak started the rally for the Predators when McDonagh and Luke Evangelista assisted on his power play goal. Filip Forsberg scored at the 9:59 mark of the 3rd to tie the game 4-4 and force overtime. Just 1:36 into overtime, Novak and Gustav Nyquist assisted on McDonagh's game winning goal.

   McDonagh said after the game that "Obviously, our attitude there when we get down two can go one of two ways. I just loved our attitude, our aggressiveness. We just wanted to take that game back over. Some miscues there on my part, especially on that goal against, so it felt good to have some redemption there and help the guys get a win."

   Getting the start in goal for the Predators was Juuse Saros, who was able to hang on for the win and improve to 20-19-2. Saros stopped 27 of the 31 shots he saw from the Coyotes, good for a .871 save percentage.

   It was Connor Ingram between the nets for the Coyotes against his former team. Ingram turned aside 32 out of the 37 shots on goal that the Predators had, recording a .865 save percentage. With the OT loss, Ingram's record drops to 17-12-2 in 32 starts.

   Valimaki said of the loss that "I think we just kind of got laid back and were not pressing. We were just kind of watching a little bit too much. We were kind of on our heels rather than on our toes. Obviously, penalties were a big part of today. We’ve got to stay on the ice."

   The Coyotes resume their schedule on Monday night with a road game against the Philadelphia Flyers, with Ingram expected to start. Saros is the projected Predators starter against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

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