Golden Knights snap Predators' point streak in Nashville

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena, scoring the final three goals of the game to snap Nashville's four-game point streak. A crowd of 17,229 watched Nashville open a three-game homestand with a loss, and Vegas improved to 3-1 on the road this season. Read more: Golden Knights Predators recap

Nashville center Ryan O'Reilly opened the scoring 3:55 into the first period, cashing in a rebound to put the Predators ahead 1-0.

Vegas answered with two goals before the period ended to take a 2-1 lead. Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill also stopped a first-period penalty shot from Jack Drury, awarded after Nic Dowd was called for holding on a breakaway.

Hill denied Nashville forward Adam Edstrom on a partial shorthanded break minutes later, but Edstrom tracked down the rebound behind the net and tied it 2-2 at 8:45 of the second period. It was his first career shorthanded goal and his third of the season.

Vegas takes the lead back

The tie did not last. William Karlsson put the Golden Knights back ahead 3-2 before the second period ended. Vegas then got third-period goals from Connelly and Howden to pull away for good.

Hill finished with 25 saves on 27 shots, a .926 mark. Saros stopped 20 of 25 for Nashville, an .800 night that reflects how much Vegas got from its chances.

Related: Predators look to close out leads against Golden Knights

The Predators actually outshot the Golden Knights 27-25 and won 46 percent of the faceoffs to Vegas's 54. They also outhit Vegas 25-13, and still lost by three, a split that points to special teams rather than five-on-five play as the difference.

The shot and hit totals flattered Nashville more than the game did. Vegas blocked 19 shots to Nashville's 8, and the Predators gave the puck away 24 times to Vegas's 15, canceling out whatever grip the extra attempts and hits were supposed to buy.

Power play turns the game

The margin was three goals, and it turned on special teams. Nashville went 0 for 3 on the power play, and a man advantage built to be a strength instead handed Vegas the game's momentum.

Nashville coach Andrew Brunette put it plainly after the game. "It was a little self-inflicted," he said, pointing to the power play. "We're playing small margins here."

Edstrom put it more simply. "I'm just trying to stick to the basics," he said, adding that Nashville still hasn't played a complete 60 minutes this season.

Nashville was already without center Mavrik Bourque, out with an upper-body injury. The Predators also scratched defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Reid Schaefer, thinning a lineup that needed secondary scoring once the power play stalled.

The Predators host San Jose on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday to close out the three-game homestand. Those two games, both at Bridgestone Arena, will show whether Tuesday's special-teams letdown was a blip or the start of a trend.