Panthers Blank Predators

     The Florida Panthers completed a four-game homestand with a 2-0 shutout victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday at BB&T Center. Chris Driedger compiled his second career shutout and it was against the Predators again. 

     The Panthers have won seven of their last nine contests. Patric Hornqvist participated in his 800th NHL game. 

     Neither team was able to score during the first period. The Panthers outshot the Predators 21-5 in the first 18 minutes of play. 

     Florida(20-6-4) got out to a 1-0 lead at the 9:15 mark of the second period. MacKenzie Weegar fired a wrist shot which was saved and touched by Anthony Duclair. Aleksander Barkov carried the puck across the low slot and roofed a backhand shot over Juuse Saros for his 13th goal of the season. Barkov now has seven points in his last four contests while Weegar extended his career-high point streak to seven games and tied a Panthers franchise record of consecutive games with a point by a defenseman with Keith Yandle in 2018. 

     In the third period, the Panthers scored with 14.2 seconds left to make it 2-0. Nashville(13-17-1) had an extra attacker on the ice for their pulled goalie when a pass to the blue line from the right corner went out of the zone. Duclair raced for it in the neutral zone, skated with it to the low slot and put the puck into the empty net. It was the first tally for Duclair in the last nine games.