Florida had their nine-game home winning streak snapped and are now 23-4-0 in Sunrise. The Cats had not lost a home game since December 16 against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Panthers had not lost a contest leading by two goals this season. The last time it happened was when the Panthers lost to the Predators in February 2021.
Florida(35-11-5) scored on the power play to take a 1-0 lead at the 6:45 mark of the first period. Anthony Duclair sent a cross-ice pass from the right wing. Jonathan Huberdeau angled a pass from the left wing down to Sam Reinhart on the end wall. He brought the puck above the goal line and snapped a shot from the left of the crease for his 18th goal this season. Reinhart was able to extend his point streak to seven games.
Nashville(29-18-4) bounced back to tie it 1-1 with 7:54 left in the first. Alexandre Carrier raced for the puck at the top left circle and centered it. Filip Forsberg took an initial backhand shot from the low slot was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky. Matt Duchene pushed the rebound from the top of the crease and Forsberg swept it in from the blue paint for his 26th goal of the season.
The Panthers regained the lead 2-1 at 1:54 of the second period. Reinhart won the faceoff in the right circle. Radko Gudas carried the puck from the right point to the top of the zone and fired a wrist shot past David Rittich. It was the first tally for Gudas this year and his first goal in the last 57 games going back to last season. Gudas has compiled only three goals with Florida in the past two seasons.
The Cats increased it to 3-1 at the 9:42 mark. Aaron Ekblad caught the puck at his own blue line, skated with it through the neutral zone and scored on a snap shot from the inner right circle for his 14th goal of the campaign. Ekblad tied a Panthers franchise record for defensemen with a goal in his fourth consecutive game. Jay Boumeester did the same thing back in the 2008-09 season.
The Predators evened it up 3-3 with two goals in a 37-second span later in the period. Roman Josi blasted a one-time slap shot from above the right circle on a feed by Duchene in the high slot with 9:16 remaining. Josi found the net for the 14th time this season. Forsberg was credited with a secondary assist on the play. Yakov Trenin added his 12th goal this year with 8:39 left.
In the third period, Florida moved ahead 4-3 at the 8:11 mark. Sam Bennett poked in the puck from the left of the crease and picked up his 22nd goal of the season. Huberdeau because the NHL points leader as he got his 72nd point of the regular season passing Connor McDavid.
Nashville pulled off a shorthanded goal with 9:19 to go in the third to tie it 4-4. Tanner Jeannot went on a breakaway through the middle of the ice and placed in a backhand shot for his 16th goal.
The Predators took a 5-4 lead on the power play with 5:31 left in the period. Mikael Gradlund put in a shot from close range following a save by Bobrovsky on a Forsberg shot. It became a two-goal margin for the Preds 6-4 when Jeannot got his second goal of the contest as he scored an empty-net goal from the red line with 1:32 remaining.
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