Ryan O’Reilly scored two goals in his return from injury, helping the Nashville Predators end their eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Justus Annunen made 35 saves for Nashville.
O’Reilly, who had missed the previous three games due to a lower-body injury, wasted no time making an impact by scoring twice in a three-goal second period. The Predators had been struggling with an 0-5-3 record in their last eight games.
Tommy Novak also scored in the second period for Nashville, which ended a six-game road losing streak.
Annunen, making his second start since being traded from Colorado on Nov. 30, was excellent, particularly in the third period when the Stars outshot the Predators 16-6 but could only manage Lian Bichsel’s first career goal. Annunen made five big saves in the first three minutes of the third.
Dallas lost for the third time in four games, falling to 11-3-0 at home. Jake Oettinger made 22 saves but suffered his first home loss in 11 starts this season.
Nashville controlled play in the first period, outshooting the Stars 8-5. The Predators thought they had taken the lead late in the period when Adam Wilsby scored, but it was ruled offside after Dallas challenged.
Wilsby did get his first NHL point in the second period. During a 4-on-4 situation, Jonathan Marchessault got the rebound of Wilsby’s shot and passed it to O’Reilly, who scored.
Less than two minutes later, Marchessault set up Novak, who faked out Oettinger to score. O’Reilly extended the lead to 3-0 at 14:39, redirecting Kevin Gravel’s shot from the point.
After Bichsel’s goal at 9:26 in the third, Nashville thought they had made it 4-1 when Nick Blankenburg scored, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference after a successful Dallas challenge.
Zach L’Heureux sealed the win with an empty-net goal to give Nashville a 4-1 lead.
The Predators played without captain Roman Josi, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
