Keller has 2 goals, 2 assists as Utah beats Predators 7-3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists, and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 on Monday night.
Logan Cooley had a goal and two assists, Michael Kesselring had a goal and an assist, and Nick Schmaltz, Nick Bjugstad and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Utah. Alexander Kerfoot had two assists and Matt Villalta finished with 27 saves to get his first career win in his second NHL start.
Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Evangelista and Michael Bunting scored for Nashville, and Juuse Saros had 29 saves.
O’Reilly gave the Predators a 1-0 lead 6:10 into the game as he got the puck in the right circle, skated up and fired it into the top right corner over Villalta’s glove just as a power play was expiring. It was his 20th.
Kesselring tied it with 7:30 remaining in the first, and Bjugstad put Utah up 2-1 with 1:39 left in the period.
Cooley made it a two-goal lead with his third goal in four games at 3:03 of the second for his 25th, and Schmaltz made it 4-1 just 1:10 later.
Evangelista scored on a rebound with just under 9 minutes left in the second, and Bunting knocked in the rebound of Matthew Wood’s hard shot that hit off the right post and fell behind Villalta in the crease with 5:40 remaining in the period to pull the Predators within one.
Keller, playing in his 600th game, scored with 7:55 left to give Utah some cushion, and then added an empty-netter for his 29th with 1:47 remaining. Stenlund capped the scoring in the final minute.
Takeaways
Utah: Utah is 6-1-1 over its last eight games and will finish the season no more than seven points out of a playoff spot.
Predators: Nashville has lost eight of the last 10 — all the losses in regulation — and will likely finish nearly 30 points out of the playoffs.
Key moment
Schmaltz’s power-play goal made it 4-1 at 4:13 of the second period. It was Schmaltz’s 20th goal of the season.
Key stat
Keller reached 60 assists for the first time. His previous career high was 49 assists during the 2022-23 season.
Up next
Utah visits St. Louis for its season finale on Tuesday night. Nashville closes out its schedule when it hosts Dallas on Wednesday night.
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