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Fisher, Rinne lead Predators over Coyotes

Dec 12, 2014 - 7:19 AM Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Fisher had a goal and an assist in Nashville's 5-1 win over Arizona Thursday.

Fisher, who missed nearly the first two months of the season due to an Achilles injury, netted his first goal of the campaign that ended a long power-play drought for the Predators.

Pekka Rinne made 28 saves in Nashville's second straight win.

James Neal also tallied a goal and an assist, while Shea Weber and Filip Forsberg each had a pair of assists. Ryan Ellis, Olli Jokinen and Calle Jarnkrok all tallied goals for the Preds.

"It was a hard-fought game and we just got timely goals," said Rinne.

Mike Smith allowed five goals on 38 shots in the Coyotes' fourth straight loss.

"It's important for us to stick to our game regardless of what's going on and continue to push forward," said Coyotes forward Sam Gagner.

Antoine Vermette scored the lone Arizona goal.

Two minutes after Vermette gave Arizona a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal, the Predators got a chance with the man advantage themselves. After going scoreless on their previous 28 attempts, the power play finally came through when Fisher redirected a Weber shot by Smith to tie the game.

Seconds after its second power play expired, Nashville went ahead 2-1. Smith allowed a huge rebound off a shot by Fisher, then Neal knocked the puck by Smith to give the Predators the lead.

With 1:30 remaining in the first period, the Predators extended their lead when Neal puck-handled around three Arizona defenders through the neutral zone and made a cross-ice pass to Ellis crashing the net at the opposite post. Ellis was able to tap the puck in for the 3-1 lead.

After a scoreless second period, Arizona returned to the ice putting pressure on Nashville. The Predators called timeout and not even 20 seconds later, Jarnkrok poked the puck by Smith in a scramble in front to extend Nashville's lead to 4-1.

Jokinen added a goal five minutes later to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Arizona is 0-12-0 when trailing after two periods ... The Predators were 1- of-5 on the power play, and the Coyotes were 1-of-3 ... Nashville's Roman Josi played in his 200th NHL game.