The Arizona Coyotes used timely scoring and a strong first period to end a six-game losing streak and win their second of the season over the Nashville Predators by a 4-1 final.
Brendan Perlini tallied his first goal in the NHL at 12:48 of the second to put the Coyotes ahead 3-1, and the Preds were unable to mount a comeback. Nashville’s overall record now stands at 12-11-4 and 3-9-2 on the road.
“We knew they were going to be desperate, and I think we could’ve played a lot better in the first; we should be desperate too,” defenseman Roman Josi said. “We have to get our road game right. We haven’t been winning on the road and played a bad game in Dallas, and we need to be desperate too.”
“Coming off that Dallas game [on Thursday, Arizona] should have had to have matched our intensity,” forward Austin Watson said. “We knew we were in a battle tonight, and we didn’t get the job done.”
Josi scored the lone Nashville goal in the first period, but that was all the Preds were able to get past Mike Smith, who made 44 saves on the night for the Coyotes. In total, Nashville registered 86 shot attempts on Saturday night.
“We had a lot of shots, but we didn’t have that many great chances for the amount of shots we had,” Josi said. “You’re not gonna score if you don’t tip it or there’s a screen or a rebound or dirty goal in front.”
Nashville returns home for a challenging three-game home stand that begins on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues and features three total playoffs teams from 2015-16, as the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers will also pay a visit.
“We know we have to be better, and we have to go home and continue the success we’ve had at home,” Watson said. “It’s a tough two games here on the road, but we’ve just got to look at it as an opportunity to get back on the horse here at home.”
Notes:
Petter Granberg re-entered the lineup on Saturday after sitting for Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Stars.
With an assist on Roman Josi’s goal, Viktor Arvidsson extended his point streak to three games, tying a career high.
Defenseman Yannick Weber skated in his 300th career NHL contest on Saturday night.
