Nashville center Ryan Johansen scores the winner against New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid during the Predators’ shootout victory Saturday night in Nashville.NASHVILLE – Ryan Johansen hasn’t been happy with his performance in shootouts, so he was thrilled one went in Saturday night.
Johansen got the winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Johansen took a slow approach before slipping a quick wrister past Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid. Prior to that, Johansen had converted just one of nine shootout attempts in his time with Nashville.
“I’ve been struggling for a long time,” Johansen said. “I was hot there for a while early in my career, and (since) then I’ve been struggling big time. Just kind of the basics for me. It was really nice to get one in there.”
Frederick Gaudreau scored in regulation, and Juuse Saros made 33 saves through overtime to help the Predators win their third straight. Saros earned his first win since Nov. 10.