Marchessault has 3 points, Predators defeat Hurricanes

NASHVILLE -- Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a 5-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

Marchessault extended his goal streak to four games and his point streak to seven games (11 points; seven goals, four assists).

“Just helping my team win a hockey game,” Marchessault said. “That’s my mindset every night, just trying to work. Right now it’s going a little better than at the start [of the season], so it’s good. Definitely excited for the break. Come back full of energy on the 27th.”

Filip Forsberg had three assists, and Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Predators (11-17-7), who have won four of six (4-1-1). Juuse Saros made 25 saves.

“I think the issue was finding our identity,” O’Reilly said. “I think that’s something we missed a lot throughout the year. Over these last games it’s something we’ve relied on. We’re being hard to play against and making this building a difficult place to play in. That’s important. That’s the main thing for us is you’ve got to have that as a foundation and build it from there.”

Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (21-12-1), who have lost two of their past three games. Dustin Tokarski made 20 saves.

“They got up by four. We played hard after that, but that was too late,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It was 2-0. We didn’t do anything for two periods. It was lucky to be two.”

Stamkos gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 13:34 of the first period on a shot from below the goal line after he got the rebound of his own wraparound attempt.

“Obviously, we’re skilled guys up front,” Stamkos said of his line with Forsberg and Marchessault. “[Forsberg] has got a combination of that size and skill. He’s great on the forecheck. [Marchessault] just has a high hockey IQ. He knows where to go. He knows where to be. It’s been nice to see some goals go in for us, but I think just playing both ends of the ice, too. That’s something that is big. We take pride in that.”

Marchessault gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 11:45 of the second period on a redirection of a pass from Tommy Novak from the slot.

O’Reilly gave the Predators a 3-0 lead 30 seconds into the third period on a shot from the slot. It was a tic-tac-toe passing play from Marchessault to Forsberg to O’Reilly.

Jankowski gave the Predators a 4-0 lead at 2:52 on a wrist shot from the right circle on a pass from Colton Sissons.

Staal scored for the Hurricanes to make it 4-1 at 4:37 on a pass from behind the net from Jordan Martinook.

“I think we started out good at the start of the season,” Brind’Amour said. “I think we came out of the gate with 20 guys going good, and then we’ve kind of tailed off a little. We’ve got a few guys that just their game is not there, and we need them, especially on nights like this where we need everyone to contribute. And we’re just missing some pieces here.”

Aho scored for the Hurricanes to make it 4-2 at 5:17 on a pass from Seth Jarvis on a 2-on-1 rush. Aho kicked the puck from his right skate to his stick and beat Saros.

Marchessault scored an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final at 16:48.

“Kind of a waste of an effort there at the end,” Aho said. “I mean the third period was fine. We got to our game, finally, but honestly it wasn’t a good enough first 40. They kind of dictated the game the first two periods, and we’ve got to be better to get to our game quicker.”

NOTES: Aho finished with two shots on goal and won 10 of his 15 face-off attempts in 17:11 of ice time. … Predators defenseman Justin Barron made his debut with Nashville after being traded from the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 18. He had with three shot attempts in 13:03 of ice time. … Predators forward Michael McCarron left the game in the third period after Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov’s shot hit him in the face. There was no update on his status after the game.