Predators 2 - 1 Sabres
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Preds top Sabres in SO

Feb 23, 2015 - 4:41 AM Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Star rookie forward Filip Forsberg scored the deciding goal in the shootout despite Michal Neuvirth's solid 37-save performance as the Nashville Predators edged the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Sunday.

Mike Ribeiro scored the Predators' lone goal while on the power play late in the third period as Nashville avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season with 16 saves from Carter Hutton.

Tyler Ennis scored Buffalo's only goal in the closing seconds of the second period, but the Sabres' attack was mostly shut down in their fifth straight home loss.

Nashville finally cashed in on its sixth power-play attempt with 4:17 left in the third. Cody Franson ripped a shot on net and the rebound kicked right out to Ribeiro at the side of the net for an easy tap-in goal.

"You cannot take so many penalties," said Neuvirth. "Way too many against a team like that."

In overtime, Hutton had to handle Buffalo's best sustained pressure of the night. The Sabres cycled the puck effectively but failed to produce the winning goal as Hutton stopped all four shots fired his way past regulation.

After Mike Santorelli put the Predators up 1-0 in the shootout, Ennis answered with a slapshot that beat Hutton. In the fourth round, Neuvirth could not stop Forsberg's backhander.

Through the first 39 minutes, Nashville dominated possession, but each netminder made a handful of difficult saves to preserve the scoreless deadlock.

"As a group, we felt pretty confident in the way we were playing tonight, and that if we kept playing that way, we'd give ourselves chances," said Franson.

Ennis put the Sabres up 1-0 with 14 seconds remaining in the second period. On a 2-on-1, Zemgus Girgensons spun to protect the puck from the defense, and his behind-the-back backhand pass set up Ennis for his 15th goal of the season.

Game Notes

Nashville reached 40 wins in just 60 games, the quickest the Predators have gotten to that milestone in team history ... The Predators improved to 3-3-2 in the second half of back-to-back sets ... Buffalo fell to 1-9-0 against Central Division opponents.






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