Roman Josi scored two goals and added an assist and Matt Duchene and Tommy Novak each had a goal and two assists to lead the Nashville Predators to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday in Tempe, Ariz.
Yakov Trenin and Cody Glass each added a goal and an assist and Mikael Granlund chipped in two assists for Nashville, which won its third straight game and closed to within six points of Seattle for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Juuse Saros finished with 25 saves.
Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored a goal for Arizona. Connor Ingram, claimed by the Coyotes off waivers from Nashville on Oct. 10, stopped 28 of 34 shots.
Arizona jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 5:55 mark of the first period on a short-handed goal by Gostisbehere. It was the defenseman’s 10th goal of the season and his 300th career point.
Nashville tied it midway through the period on Trenin’s ninth goal of the season, which caromed off his skate and then the skate of Arizona defenseman Troy Stecher before reaching the net.
The Predators took a 2-1 lead at the 13:48 mark on a sharp-angle shot below the right circle by Duchene. It hit the near post and then bounced in off Ingram’s back for his 18th goal of the season.
Nashville extended its lead to 3-1 early in the second period when Josi fired a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle inside the left post.
Arizona cut it to 3-2 at the 7:27 mark when Schmaltz beat Saros with a wrist shot around a screen from the slot for his 17th goal of the season and 10th in the last 12 games.
Nashville then broke the game open with two goals in the span of 2:34 at the start of the third period. Novak got the first when he tucked in a rebound of Mikael Granlund’s shot for his ninth goal of the season. Josi followed with his 17th goal of the season, one-timing a shot from the middle of the ice just inside the blue line during a power play.
Glass added a power-play goal with 1:43 remaining to finish the scoring.
Forward Tanner Jeannot, who warmed up with Nashville before the game, was a late scratch for what the team announced was for trade-related reasons.
–Field Level Media