Holland, Reimer lead Maple Leafs past Predators 2-1 in SO
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Peter Holland sought out some advice before his shootout attempt, only to find teammate Nick Spaling was no help at all.
An undeterred Holland still scored the only goal in a five-round tiebreaker to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
Holland beat goalie Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot high to the blocker side. The shootout victory was Toronto's first in four tries this season.
Prior to being sent out, Holland consulted Spaling, a former teammate of Rinne's with the Predators. Holland asked Spaling if he had any insight into beating the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist.
''I asked (Spaling) what his weakness was, and we both came to the conclusion that he didn't have any,'' Holland said.
It was Holland's first shootout attempt of the season. He converted on one of three tries last season.
Tyler Bozak scored in the third period for the Maple Leafs, and James Reimer turned aside all five Nashville attempts in the tiebreaker after making 21 saves in regulation and overtime.
''It's exciting; I love watching the shootout, but as far as being a part of the shootout, it's about me making a couple saves and giving your team a chance,'' Reimer said.
Shea Weber had a power-play goal for the Predators.
''I didn't think we were as competitive early as we wanted to be,'' Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. ''We got better as the game went on, so that was good for us.''
The Predators had won their first two shootouts.
Nashville took the lead early in the third. With Roman Polak serving a hooking penalty, James Neal sent a pass from below the goal line on the right side to Weber, who was coming down from the left point. The Nashville captain beat Reimer with a one-timer from the left circle at 2:40.
Weber, playing in his 700th NHL game, has five goals this season - four on the power play.
Weber's goal was the only shot on goal Nashville was credited with on the power play in the game. The Predators finished 1 for 4 on the power play, with 6:56 spent with the man advantage.
''We had a lot of looks, and we got a couple times to crank it up, but you either had to put it to the side of somebody trying to block it or maybe just miss wide,'' coach Peter Laviolette said. ''There were definitely some chances there.''
Bozak tied it at 5:52 of the third. Shawn Matthias had the puck on the left side and slid a pass to Bozak in the low slot, where he put the puck behind a diving Rinne.
Rinne made 22 saves and denied Dion Phaneuf's slap shot at the end of overtime.
''It wasn't the best game, and these are the games that you want to make sure you get the two points,'' Rinne said. ''You want to have the lead in the third period, and at the end, they scored. We got a point tonight, so that's big.''
NOTES: Predators C Calle Jarnkrok played his 100th career game. ... Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak against Nashville. ... The Predators are 8-1-1 when scoring first. ... Toronto is 3-1-0 against Central Division teams.
