The Predators celebrate around Carter Hutton after a 4-3 shootout win over the Flyers. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
When the Philadelphia Flyers played the Nashville Predators in November, Steve Mason stole the show and the extra point in a shootout. This time, a former Flyers prospect helped ensure the second point would go the other way.
Carter Hutton was making the start for the Predators and made the most important saves when it counted, as Nashville outlasted the Flyers in a seven-round shootout for a 4-3 win on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers jumped on the board early as Brayden Schenn grabbed a rebound in front at just 1:26 of the first.
But Nashville would answer with a pair of goals later in the first. Eric Nystrom scored the first on a deflection. David Legwand would add a power-play goal at 16:35.
Mason held the Predators off the board in the second and that helped the Flyers grab the equalizer in the waning moments of the period. Wayne Simmonds fed Andrej Meszaros who beat Hutton for his first goal of the season with just 3.6 seconds left in the period.
The Predators added a second power-play goal at 5:10 of the third with Shea Weber firing a shot from the point past Mason. It wasn't until the final 1:24 that the Flyers would answer, with Simmonds deflecting a shot past Hutton to tie the game.
Overtime was not enough as the game headed to a shootout.
Both teams were held scoreless through the first three rounds and again in the fourth round. Brayden Schenn and Matt Cullen traded goals in the fifth round. Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis both scored in the sixth round. Simmonds was stopped in the seventh round and Roman Josi scored to give the Predators the victory.
The Flyers were outshot, 37-30, in regulation, helping fuel the win. Simmonds played a role in all three goals for the Flyers, scoring the third and assisting on the first two. Weber also had three points for Nashville.
The Flyers return to action at home for the first of back-to-back games against the New York Islanders.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
