Nashville Predators get back to .500 with 4-2 win over Dallas

Despite falling behind 1-0 and 2-1, the Nashville Predators opened up with three goals in the third period to defeat the Dallas Stars and get back to .500, with a 6-6-1 record for the month of October.

Dan Hamhuis and J.P. Dumont had two-assist nights, while four different Predators scored goals; Shea Weber on the power play, Steve Sullivan, Patric Hornqvist with the game-winner, and Kevin Klein with an insurance goal. Pekka Rinne had another strong game in net, stopping 27 of 29 Dallas shots.

After the jump, the video highlights and statistical breakdown...

While the Shots On Goal favored Nashville by a narrow 33-29 margin, the Total Shots were more impressive at 60-49; the Predators were able to respond to a talented group of Dallas forwards by generating a good combination of aggressive battles at the front of the net, along with plays designed to set defensemen up for one-timers (which led to the Weber & Klein goals).

As for how the even-strength play broke down, check out the table below:

Take a look at the column on the far right - every player in the Nashville lineup came out tonight with a positive Corsi rating, meaning that when they were on the ice at even strength, the Preds fired more shots than Dallas did. Normally you hope that your top two lines end up positive, and your depth guys come close to breaking even, but this was an outstanding effort by the entire team tonight.

Besides the solid play at even strength, we saw the Nashville power play strike again, once in 3 chances, while the penalty killers fought off 4 of 5 Dallas PP's, including a dangerous 5-on-3 situation in the second period, when Dallas threatened to extend its lead.

All in all, that 6-6-1 record is not a bad showing for a team that has had several key players injured at various points, and played 8 out of 13 games on the road to open the season. Prior to the opener, I thought 12 points in 13 games would be a decent result for the month, and here they stand with 13. Granted, some of the losses along the way were truly horrifying, but the team's play has improved considerably in almost all areas, and they can now take a three-game winning streak into a road trip that begins on Thursday in Anaheim.