Predators 3, Coyotes 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With a sudden, surprising scoring burst in the third period, Nashville handed Phoenix a rare February loss.
Gabriel Bourque and Nick Spaling broke a scoreless tie with goals just under seven minutes apart Thursday night as the Predators defeated their recent nemesis 3-0 at Bridgestone Arena.
Pekka Rinne continued his excellent early season play, rejecting 19 shots for his second straight shutout and his third of the year.
Nashville (7-3-4) moved into a tie for third in the Western Conference with Vancouver.
The Coyotes (6-6-2) fell for just the second time in 19 February games, dating to last season, when they went 11-0-1 on their way to the Pacific Division title and a berth in the conference finals.
Phoenix was 8-3-2 in its last 13 matchups against the Predators and eliminated them from the playoffs last year in five games, largely behind the brilliant work of goalkeeper Mike Smith.
Smith was outstanding for two periods, stopping 14 second-period shots. He stoned Bourque and Mike Fisher on point-blank chances in the final minute, extending Nashville's recent stretch of goal-scoring futility to one goal in 12 periods.
But the Predators found the net's back at 2:40 of the third period with Mikkel Boedker off for hooking as Bourque deflected Martin Erat's shot from the left side just inside the right post for his third goal of the year.
Spaling tacked on insurance at 9:38, wristing Matt Halischuk's pass over Smith's glove hand for his third of the season.
Mike Fisher added his second goal of the year at 18:16, a wrist shot from almost the same spot as Spaling's at the right faceoff circle.
Nashville outshot the Coyotes 29-19 in the game and 23-12 in the final two periods.
NOTES: Erat played in his 700th game with the team, making him the second man in franchise history to reach that milestone. The first was center David Legwand, who has spent his entire 13-year career with the Predators. ... Phoenix left winger Steve Sullivan was honored by the Predators with a video tribute during a TV timeout in the first period. Sullivan played six years in Nashville, scoring 100 goals in 317 games. ... Coyotes coach Dave Tippett has 412 wins since the 2002-03 season, second only to Detroit's Mike Babcock. Nashville's Barry Trotz is fourth on that list with 387. ... Phoenix center Antoine Vermette played his 277th straight game, the league's seventh-longest active streak. Teammate Keith Yandle is right behind at 269.
