Nashville Predators defeat Edmonton Oilers 4-2, Poile becomes winningest GM

Clarksville, TN – The Nashville Predators continue to claim the monicor “comeback kids” with another come from behind win tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.  Trailing 2-0 after the first period, the Predators came storming back to claim the victory, 4-2.

With the win, Nashville’s General Manager David Poile becomes the winningest GM in the history of the NHL.

Nashville has been making it a habit to fall behind early, but have clearly shown they don’t get rattled and keep their game under control to forge the wins.

Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid started the scoring for the Oilers at 11:01 of the first period, beating Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne for the 1-0 lead.  McDavid was assisted on the goal by Anton Slepyshev and Matt Benning.

Leon Draisaitl would put the Oilers ahead 2-0 at 19:07 of the first period on a wicked snapshot just before the period ended.  Draisaitl was assisted by McDavid and Ryan Strome.

The second period was going nowhere for the Predators until the 16:28 mark when Scott Hartnell finally put Nashville on the board, scoring past Oilers goalie, Cam Talbot and the score was 2-1.  Hartnell was assisted on the goal by Nick Bonino and Calle Jarnkrok.

Viktor Arvidsson would score his 23rd goal of the season at 19:50 of the second period on a wrist shot and the game was tied, 2-2 at the end of the period.  Arvidsson was assisted by Filip Forsberg. 

During the third period, Edmonton turned up the heat on Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne as the Oilers continued their assault on the Nashville net.  Rinne stood firm for the Predators when they needed him most.  A familiar theme this season.

At 14:52 of the third period, Viktor Arvidsson broke through once again, picking up his 24th goal of the season, giving Nashville a 3-2 lead, with just over five minutes left in regulation.

Austin Watson would give us the final score when he scored at 16:50 on a snap shot from the slot for the 4-2 final.

The victory not only gave the Predators the two points, and puts them six points ahead of their nearest rival, the Winnipeg Jets, but also gave their general manager David Poile his 1,320th victory as an NHL general manager.  In the 100 year history of the league, no other general manager has won more games.

Poile is credited with building a team that won the Western Conference and played in the Stanley Cup finals last season.

The Predators don’t have much time to rest after tonight’s win as they travel to Vancouver for a Friday night match against the Canucks.

Puck drops at 9:00pm central.