A three-goal power play effort Saturday led to the Flyers losing 4-1 to Nashville, bringing their three-game winning streak to an end in the process.
Colin Wilson netted two goals — including an empty-netter — for his ninth and 10th goals of the season, while Filip Forsberg opened the scoring on the power play at 9:41 of the first period with his rookie-leading 14th goal of the season. Forsberg added an assist on Mike Fisher's game-winning goal as well, while Mike Ribeiro added a goal and an assist. Additionally, Roman Josi notched a two-point effort, with two assists.
Claude Giroux's 12th goal of the season – on a two-on-one oppotunity at the 6:50 mark of the second period — tied the game at 1, but Fisher's power-play tally just over seven minutes later proved to be the game-winner. Thirty-eight seconds later, Wilson's first goal of the night gave the Preds a two-goal lead, which would hold until his empty-netter at the 16:42 mark of the third period sealed the deal.
Entering the game, the Predators' power play on Bridgestone Arena ice stood at 2-for-48 on the season — an abysmal 4.3 percent. Not only did the Preds match their season-long total, they added one as well.
The Flyers' penalty kill on the road entering the game wasn't much better, standing at 29th in the league at 69.4 percent.
Ultimately, the Predators finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Flyers were goalless in four attempts on the man-advantage.
Ray Emery made 34 saves on 37 shots, while Pekka Rinne turned away 26 shots on 27 saves. Rinne earned his 23rd win of the season, which leads all NHL netminders.
The Predators improved to a magnificent 13-2-1 at home, while the Flyers fell to 6-10-3 on the road.
Saturday's game also marked Predators coach Peter Laviolette's first game against the Flyers since his firing on Oct. 7 of last year. Additionally, it was Laviolette's first game against the Flyers since Nov. 2008, and the first time since March 2000 that a Flyers-Predators tilt didn't feature Kimmo Timonen or Scott Hartnell.
The Flyers (14-15-6) next head to Arizona on Monday night, taking on the Coyotes. They next face Nashville again on Feb. 21, this time on Wells Fargo Center ice.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61.
