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Preds skirt 'Canes thanks to Josi

Jan 7, 2015 - 5:36 AM Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Roman Josi's game winner was the last of three goals in the third period, and Nashville claimed a 3-2 victory over Carolina at Bridgestone Arena.

Ryan Ellis and Mike Fisher also lit the lamp in the final 20 minutes for the Predators, who have reeled off seven wins in their last 10 outings.

"We didn't come out strong...but we kept getting better," Fisher said.

Pekka Rinne made 23 saves to back the Central Division front-runners.

Eric Staal and Justin Faulk scored once each for the Hurricanes, while Cam Ward stopped 23 pucks in defeat.

Nashville assumed its first lead of the contest with 4:43 to play, on a rocket shot from the bottom of the left circle from Josi.

The hosts' Paul Gaustad was booked for tripping with 1:26 to play and Ward was sent to the bench to make it 6-on-4. A Jordan Staal minor less than a minute later negated the advantage and Rinne was not required to make difficult saves for the duration.

"We were battling hard out front," Jordan Staal said of his costly penalty. "(The referee) decided to called me for (a slash). I'm not sure why. It is what it is."

Eric Staal's power-play goal with 2:35 left in the first period put the visitors on the board.

Ellis evened things for the Preds at 4:43 of the third when he beat Ward on a sharp-angle try from the right wing near the goal line, then Faulk's power-play marker with 8:14 elapsed put Carolina back on top.

Fisher struck again just over two minutes later, when he cleaned up a Colin Wilson rebound atop the Carolina crease.

Game Notes

Preds rookie Filip Forsberg set a new franchise single-season record for points in one season (38) with a secondary assist on Fisher's tally ... Staal's goal was his 300th career marker, and only Ron Francis is ahead of him on the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise list at 382.