National Hockey League
Philadelphia 6, Nashville 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 4, 2016
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 17113

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Last week was All-Star week.

This week has been Buzzkill week for the Nashville Predators.

Fresh off a four-game winning streak right before the break, and then successfully hosting the event and its new 3-on-3 format for the first time, Nashville's post-event glow has been replaced by a return of frustrating, inconsistent play.

Suffering from a combination of bad luck and crippling defensive errors, the Predators parlayed a 40-19 advantage in shots on goal into a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.

After absorbing a 1-0 loss Tuesday night to St. Louis on right winger Troy Brouwer's goal with 65 seconds left, Nashville (24-20-8) never led in this one despite decided advantages in shots and power-play time.

"We talk about our urgency and our will to win being at the level it needs to be," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said, "and I don't think it was there in the first period."

Shortly after Philadelphia (23-18-8) killed off a four-minute power play, Nashville defensemen Ryan Ellis and Barret Jackman collided with a Flyers' skater at the blue line while right winger Matt Read skated in all alone for a breakaway goal at 13:51 of the first period.

Center Brayden Schenn benefited from an apparent blown coverage at 15:49, standing all alone at the left post and tapping in a centering pass by center Sean Couturier to give the Flyers goals on consecutive shots.

It marked the continuation of a recent trend for Philadelphia, belying its standing as the league's second-lowest scoring team. The Flyers have 14 goals in their last three games, all wins.

"I felt all along we just weren't getting breaks at the start of the season," right winger Wayne Simmonds said.

After Predators center Ryan Johansen got his team on the board at 4:23 of the second period with his 10th goal, Simmonds literally took advantage of a break -- the stick of defenseman Shea Weber.

As Weber skated to his bench for a new stick, center Scott Laughton hit Simmonds on a breakout pass. Goalie Pekka Rinne stopped the initial shot, but Simmonds fit the rebound between Rinne's pad and the right post for a 3-1 lead at 8:10.

"Just keep shooting pucks at the net," said Simmonds when asked about extending his scoring streak to five games.

Center Claude Giroux made it 4-1 at 16:15 of the second with a wrister from the high slot, but Nashville started pouring pucks on the net and worked its way back into contention.

Center Calle Jarnkrok's rebound tally at 16:40 cut the deficit to two. Weber ripped one of his patented slappers 12 seconds into the Predators' sixth power play of the night at 10:03 of the third period, pulling them within 4-3.

But Simmonds and Giroux applied silencers 70 seconds apart. Allowed to stand at the right post without opposition, Simmonds tipped a power-play slapper by defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere for his sixth goal in the last five games at 12:01, followed by Giroux's one-timer to seal matters.

"We played in our own end too much," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said, "but credit the guys for being able to take advantage of the opportunities we had."

Flyers goalie Steve Mason (12-12-6) deserved plaudits as well, turning away 37 shots. Included was a spectacular post-to-post slide from left to right, denying center Mike Ribeiro a potential power-play marker early in the third period that would have made it a 4-3 game.

Rinne (19-17-7), who had yielded only one goal in each of his last four starts, came up with just 13 saves. Laviolette was quick to absolve Rinne of blame, though, adding that he gave no thought to pulling him for backup Carter Hutton.

"It's hard to fault him," Laviolette said of Rinne. "We had two unfortunate breaks and those were about the only plays where we didn't make a bad defensive mistake. I thought we played poorly in front of him."

NOTES: Philadelphia's 4-2 win Tuesday night over Montreal marked just its second game in the last 12 that the margin of victory/defeat wasn't one goal. ... Nashville's 16 shots in Tuesday night's 1-0 loss to St. Louis represented a season low. ... For the second straight game, Flyers scratches were C R.J. Umberger, C Jordan Weal and D Brandon Manning. ... D Petter Granberg was the only Predator scratch after playing in the last five games. Anthony Bitetto drew back into the lineup in Granberg's spot.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Nashville
Claude Giroux 3 Points Ryan Johansen 2
Claude Giroux 2 Goals Ryan Johansen 1
Scott Laughton 2 Assists Roman Josi 2
Wayne Simmonds 1 Power Play Goals Shea Weber 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Steve Mason .925 Save Percentage Pekka Rinne .684
Steve Mason 37 Saves Pekka Rinne 13
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 19 6 1-3 6-7 14 23
Nashville 40 3 1-7 2-3 6 34
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Predators have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .536 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Flyers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .444 after a loss.