Predators 3, Stars 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Only 45 seconds of power-play time was required for the Nashville Predators to carve out a lead they held for the game's remainder.
Right wing Patric Hornqvist and center David Legwand scored in the first period's final minute Thursday night after the Dallas Stars took two penalties seven seconds apart, and Nashville earned a 3-1 win at Bridgestone Arena.
Goaltender Carter Hutton (6-3-1) recorded 33 saves for the Predators (15-14-3), who won their second consecutive game after losing five straight. Dallas (14-11-5) lost for the third time in its past four games.
Left wing Erik Cole gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 18:07 of the first period on his fifth goal, a backhander that went over Hutton's right shoulder.
Dallas center Shawn Horcoff went to the penalty box for high-sticking at 18:45, and Stars defenseman Brenden Dillon shot the puck over the glass from his defensive zone for a delay-of-game call seven seconds later.
Ten seconds into a 5-on-3 power play, Nashville tied it. Legwand fed Hornqvist in the slot for a one-timer, Hornqvist's seventh tally of the season.
Legwand gave the Predators the lead for good at 19:30, pouncing on the rebound of defenseman Roman Josi's slap shot off goalie Kari Lehtonen and banking it home off the left goal post for his sixth goal.
Nashville center Paul Gaustad potted the game's final goal at 9:14 of the second period, maneuvering around Lehtonen and burying a wrist shot into an open net for his fifth goal of the season and second in as many games.
Lehtonen (11-7-5) finished with 27 saves for Dallas, which fell for just the fourth time in its past 12 road games.
NOTES: Nashville C Craig Smith missed his third straight game after playing in the first 29. A healthy scratch for Saturday night's loss in Washington, Smith has been sidelined for the last two games by flu-like symptoms. ... Dallas C Vernon Fiddler, a former Predator, sat out his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury. ... Nashville entered the game ranked second in the NHL in faceoff win percentage at .542. C Paul Gaustad was the NHL individual leader at 60.5 percent. ... The Stars and Predators were meeting for the first time this season. It was the latest in Dallas team history that it faced a division rival for the first time. The teams meet four more times in 2013-14, with three of the games in Dallas.
