Nashville Turns Panthers Into Prey 3-0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CBS4/AP) -- Anders Lindback made 22 saves in his first NHL shutout, and Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators beat the Florida Panthers 3-0 Saturday night.
Nashville has won five of six and has earned at least one point in seven straight games. Florida's three-game winning streak was snapped.
Lindback, a rookie goalie from Sweden who earned the start over injured No. 1 netminder Pekka Rinne, improved 6-1-2.
Team captain Shea Weber and Joel Ward had the other goals for the Predators.
Suter gave Nashville a 1-0 lead 1:14 in when he connected on a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Martin Erat. Sergei Kostitsyn also assisted on Suter's goal, extending his point streak to a season-high five games.
Weber doubled the Predators lead at 16:49 of the first period.
Suter carried the puck behind the Florida net and found his defensive partner at the top of the right circle. Weber scored with a one-timer over the glove of goalie Tomas Vokoun.
Vokoun spent eight seasons with the Predators before being traded to the Panthers in June 2007. He holds the Nashville franchise record for wins, shutouts, and games played by a goalie.
Ward made it 3-0 with an empty-net, power-play goal in the final minute.
Notes: This was Suter's first two-point game this season. ... The Predators are 5-1-4 against the Eastern Conference this season and 4-0-2 against the Southeast Division. ... Florida will play only one of their remaining 54 games outside of the Eastern time zone -- March 23 at Chicago. Florida D Bryan Allen missed a ninth game because of a foot injury.
