Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists, and Justus Annunen made 25 saves as the Nashville Predators defeated the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Thursday night in a key matchup between Western Conference wild-card contenders.
Ryan Ufko and Ryan O’Reilly also scored for Nashville, which has now won back-to-back games.
Frederick Gaudreau provided the lone goal for Seattle, while Joey Daccord stopped 24 shots. The Kraken have struggled recently, losing six of their last eight contests.
With the win, the Predators pulled level with Seattle at 71 points, leaving both teams just outside the playoff picture.
Nashville turned to Annunen after starting goaltender Juuse Saros was ruled out with an upper-body injury shortly before the game. Saros had participated in the morning skate but was listed as day-to-day. The Predators recalled Matt Murray from AHL Milwaukee as an emergency backup, and he arrived during the game, taking a seat on the bench at the start of the third period.
Annunen improved to 3-0-0 in his career against Seattle.
Ufko opened the scoring at 6:14 of the first period, finishing a one-timer from the left side off a pass from Brady Skjei, whose assist marked the 300th point of his career.
Gaudreau, facing his former team, tied the game late in the opening period.
O’Reilly restored Nashville’s lead midway through the second with a power-play goal, battling through traffic in front to convert after a shot from Steven Stamkos.
Forsberg sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes.
Up Next
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Kraken: Visit Columbus on Saturday.
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Predators: Host Vegas on Saturday.
