Trocheck, Ekblad lead Panthers to 4-2 win over Predators

Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad each had a goal and an assist to lead the visiting Florida Panthers to a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Frank Vatrano and Jared McCann also scored, and Colton Sceviour notched two assists for the Panthers. The win was the 800th in Florida franchise history. Nick Bonino and Austin Watson each had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who lost their second straight and fell to 1-3-1 in the past five. James Reimer stopped 37 shots for Florida, while Juuse Saros made 26 saves for Nashville.

The Predators played without Ryan Johansen, who began serving a two-game suspension. The top-line center gave a nasty slash to the head of Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele in the Jets' 5-1 win on Thursday. Florida's second power-play unit scored first at 4:05 of the first period. Ekblad blasted in his ninth goal from up high. The tally by Ekblad was the 62nd of his career, breaking Robert Svehla's franchise record for goals by a defenseman. Vatrano sniped in his career-high 15th goal at 13:16 for a 2-0 lead. Trocheck scored for the first time since a 27-game absence for a broken ankle. In his second game back, the second-line center deked and beat Saros on a breakaway for his fourth goal at 2:59 of the second period to make it 3-0.

Reimer stopped all 20 Nashville shots in the period, including a prime one-on-one chance by Craig Smith with 1:11 remaining after finding himself alone in the low slot. The Predators put themselves right back in it when their second line scored goals 38 seconds apart in the first 3:23 of the third period. Bonino tucked in his 12th, and Watson scored his seventh as the crowd came to life with the deficit sliced to 3-2. However, Florida's fourth line took some air out of the arena when McCann tapped in a pass from Sceviour for his eighth goal. Linemate Jayce Hawryluk recorded his first NHL assist on the tally, and the Panthers held Nashville scoreless the rest of the way.

(With inputs from agencies.)