Three Moments That Defined the Predators' 3-2 Shootout Win Over Devils

The Nashville Predators earned two crucial points in the playoff standings with a 3-2 come-from-behind win in a shootout against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

With the win, the Predators moved into the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. They need just one more point to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Let's take a closer look at the three key moments that defined Nashville's gutsy win over New Jersey.

Evangelista Nets Equalizer on the Power Play

After a scoreless second period, Chris Tierney gave the Devils a 2-1 lead early in the third after a misplayed pass between Juuse Saros and Ryan McDonagh. The Predators got a chance to even things up at 10:32 when Filip Forsberg drew a tripping penalty on Kevin Bahl, but they squandered their chance on the man advantage.

Just as Bahl's penalty expired, however, New Jersey's Simon Nemec was whistled for delay of game (puck over glass), and Nashville got another chance on the man advantage. This time, the Predators capitalized; just 13 seconds into the power play, Luke Evangelista scored with a wrist shot from low in the left circle to tie the score at 2-2.

Evangelista's clutch power-play goal – arguably the biggest of his career so far – came in his 100th NHL game .

"It happened fast, honestly," Evangelista said during his postgame interview with Bally Sports South's Lyndsay Rowley . "I can't believe I'm already here [at 100 games]. It's been a ton of fun, honestly. I'm so grateful to be playing in the NHL, especially in Nashville."

Saros Makes Two Odd-Man Rush Saves in OT

Of the 23 saves Saros made between the pipes, his biggest stops came during the overtime period. First, Forsberg's botched feed to Gustav Nyquist in front of the net landed on the stick of Luke Hughes, who took the puck down the ice on the breakaway; Hughes fed the puck to his brother, Jack, but Saros denied him at the doorstep.

Forsberg drew a tripping penalty from Luke Hughes off the rush, giving way to a 4-on-3 advantage for the Predators with 30 seconds remaining in overtime. Brendan Smith got New Jersey's second breakaway chance in overtime with six seconds remaining, but Saros made another massive stop to send the game to a shootout.

Saros Stops All Three Shootout Attempts

Unsurprisingly, Nashville's netminder accounted for two of the Predators' three defining moments in the win. Facing Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes in the shootout, Saros denied all three to secure the win for the Predators.

The Predators will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win in any fashion or a loss in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets on April 9.