NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Coming off a loss and short Christmas break, the Nashville Predators bounced right back against the Philadelphia Flyers, scoring a season-high three power play goals and earning a 4-1 win.
Having more 40 straight opportunities with the man advantage before converting their second home power play goal against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 16, Nashville registered its third PP goal of the season at home from Filip Forsberg 9:41 into the first period.
"We've been struggling [on the power play] here at home," said Forsberg. "It was awesome that we could get three (power play) goals, especially the two we got on the 5-on-3."
The Predators (23-9-2) collected their fourth and fifth power play goals at home during a lengthy five-on-three advantage in the second period.
While most would contend that Nashville's special teams have been the main sore point on the season, its power play has seen better circulation and shot attempts over their past handful of games. With five goals in their last 19 attempts, their hard work could finally be paying off.
"Our main thing was to just get shots and pucks to the net," said Predators defenseman Seth Jones. "I thought we had very quick puck movement tonight. We're shooting everything. I think the main thing was our net-front guys. On Wilson's goal, [James Neal] was right in front of Emery taking his eyes away. Our other goal on the five-on-three, [Fisher] was right in front. I think that's the key that we need to keep doing."
Even though they've allowed five goals over the span of their previous five games in the middle stanza -- representing a quarter of the goals the club has allowed in the second period (20) this season -- the Predators strong defensive play is just another feather in the cap for their unexpected success this season.
"We don't have the special secret sauce we put on the second period," joked Predators head coach Peter Laviolette. "We try to play the first, second, and third really hard with good execution and good energy."
After Philadelphia's Claude Giroux's tying marker at 6:50 of the second, Nashville held the Flyers to only five shots through the remainder of the period.
"I think we're all committed to playing defense," said Jones. "In the second period, it's definitely tough to make changes sometimes. You're tired, but you have to stay out there and gut it out. All five guys [on the ice] are playing defense. Before the puck gets out of the zone, we're all playing."
Outshooting the Flyers 38-27, Nashville has now outnumbered an opponent in that realm for the fourth time in its previous five games. All four of those games were victories for the Predators. In the same respect, Nashville is the NHL's best when out-shooting an opponent with a record of 17-4-0.
The Predators are also third-best in the league when they score the games first goal and fifth-best when they carry a lead into the third period. More dominant than that is Nashville's ability to bounce back after a loss, now 11-0-0 in its next game.
"It's the guys," said Laviolette. "They're a resilient group. They want to win. Nobody was real happy with (the loss in) Boston. We didn't play great coming off that back to back."
As strong as those statistics are, Nashville's ability to pressure their opponent, earn a lead, and hold it has been staggering this season as opposed to others.
"We feel confident with the way we play," said Jones. "If we have a lead, we're going to keep putting pressure on them. We're not going to sit back and let them come back at us. That's definitely a strength of our team."
