Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates with P.K. Subban (76) after Josi scored a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period of Wednesday night’s game in Nashville.NASHVILLE – Miro Heiskanen scored two goals in the first playoff game of his NHL career to help the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 Wednesday night as their best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference series got underway.
Heiskanen became the eighth rookie teenage defenseman in NHL history to score a goal in his first playoff game and the first since Adam Larsson with the New Jersey Devils against the Philadelphia Flyers on May 1, 2012,, according to NHL Stats. He also became the third-youngest with a multi-goal game and the youngest in franchise history with a postseason goal at 19 years, 266 days.
Mats Zuccarello also scored to help the Stars continue their success from the regular season in Nashville, where they won twice.
Roman Josi and P.K. Subban scored for Nashville, which hosts Game 2 on Saturday night.
Subban pulled the Predators within a goal with 6:36 left in regulation, beating Ben Bishop’s glove with a wrister from the right circle. Nashville got a power play with 4:52 remaining, and coach Peter Laviolette pulled goalie Pekka Rinne with 3:13 left. The Predators couldn’t force overtime.
The Predators came in with much more playoff experience after reaching the 2017 Stanley Cup Final and going a full seven games last spring before losing in the second round. The postseason party started as usual with at least one catfish tossed onto the ice and fans who couldn’t get into the sold-out Bridgestone Arena watching outside at the park across the street.
This is the first time these Central Division rivals have met in the postseason, which is timely with Nashville scheduled to play Dallas in the Winter Classic in the Cotton Bowl next season. The Predators came into the playoffs having won five of their past six to clinch their second straight division title with a win on the final night of the regular season.
Dallas went 5-1-1 in its final six of the regular season to grab the first wild card in the West for the Stars’ first playoff berth since 2016.
The Stars went with Bishop in net after he posted a career-high seven shutouts during the regular season. He also led the NHL with a .934 save percentage and was second in the league with a 1.98 goals-against average. He made 30 saves for the win.
Josi, who led Nashville with six points in five games against the Stars during the regular season, gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with a backhander from the slot as he skated across at 12:12 of the first.
Nashville forward Brian Boyle, acquired from New Jersey in a trade Feb. 6, sent Stars center Jason Dickinson to the locker room after a collision about nine minutes into the first period. Dickinson returned in the second.
Heiskanen tied it at 12:37 of the second with the puck deflecting off the knee of Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm. Dallas nearly took the lead off a shot by Roope Hintz with Dickinson following, only to see Rinne stop the puck on the line with the back of his skate 15:00 into the second.
The rookie defenseman scored his second at 6:10 of the third with a similar long shot that beat Rinne with Alexander Radulov in front of the goalie. Zuccarello padded the lead off a rebound, beating Rinne between the legs at 10:39.