reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. On The Block? Ac

NASHVILLE -- Facing an early deficit, Nashville turned the game around with its power play. Patric Hornqvist scored with the man-advantage at 13:56 of the third period to lift the Predators to a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Matt Cullen and Roman Josi also scored power-play goals to help Nashville snap a three-game losing streak. The three man-advantage goals were a season high for the Predators. Nashville entered Thursday with the NHLs seventh-best power play. "The power play was really huge, but our 5-on-5 play was strong," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We gave up seven shots in the last two periods and that includes a couple of power plays that they had." Martin St. Louis had both goals for the Lightning, losers of three of their last four. With time winding down in the final period, Hornqvist collected the rebound of Mike Fishers shot and slipped it by Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop. "It hit the heel of my stick, and then I dont know if I got a whack on it on the rebound, too," Hornqvist said. "Its nice to see that it finally went in. Thats how I have to play every single night to be effective." St. Louis opened the scoring at 5:26 of the first period. Ondrej Palat carried the puck from the left boards into the slot, where he sent a backhand off the left post. St. Louis was parked in front of the Nashville goal to tap home the rebound. Less than four minutes later, St. Louis struck again. With the Lightning on a power play, St. Louis wrist shot from the right faceoff dot hit Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton in the chest, fell to the ice, and trickled across the goal line. Hutton is 7-2-2 in his last 11 games. Since scoring a career-best four times in Tampa Bays Jan. 18 game against San Jose, St. Louis had not scored a goal, a stretch of nine games. He also was pointless in five games for Team Canada in their gold medal-winning performance at the Sochi Olympic Games. "Our 5-on-5 play was horrendous," St. Louis said. "Our battle level was very low. Youve got to grind it out in this league, and we didnt do that." After getting nine shots on goal in the first, Tampa Bay managed just four in the second and three in the third. "It was disgracefully embarrassing, thats what that game was," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Two periods, really, really disappointed. Seven shots in the last two periods?" Cullen struck at 12:05 of the second. Ryan Ellis skated the puck into the right circle, where he faked a shot and found Cullen at the back door for an easy tap-in. Josi tied the game 1:11 later on another power-play goal when the Swiss Olympian ripped a slap shot from the left faceoff dot over Bishops left shoulder. "The first period, we didnt manage the puck that well," Josi said. "We actually didnt play a bad period in the first, but they got up 2-0. After that, we just worked their defence and our forwards did a great job down low." NOTES: Palat has points in three-straight games. ... Cullen had not scored a goal since Nov. 27, breaking a stretch of 29 games without a goal. ... Nashville is 7-21-5 when its opponents score first. . The game was the first of five consecutive home games for Nashville coming out of the Olympic break. Buy Shoes Black Friday . After falling 5-0 on home ice in a game that could have tied them for second in the wild card standings, Washington head coach Adam Oates had some strong words for Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Fake Shoes Black Friday . Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. Discount Shoes Black Friday . That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. Nowitzki had 21 points Tuesday night to pass Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBAs career scoring list, leading the Mavs to a 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz.With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are already heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. On The Block? According to thefourthperiod.com, the Carolina Hurricanes are looking to trade goaltender Cam Ward, who has a no-trade clause and must approve any deal. Ward has two years remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $6.3 million, although he will earn $6.7 million next season and $6.8 million in the final year. The Hurricanes have re-signed goaltender p;Anton Khudobin, who started games late in the year, and are looking to re-sign Justin Peters.dddddddddddd. On The Way Out? According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Ryan Malone may be on his way out with the Lightning, which has a compliance buyout remaining. The buyout period begins Sunday and ends June 30. A buyout would save the team a $4.5 million cap hit by spreading two-thirds of his $2.5 million salary ($1.67 million) over two years. Malone faces charges of cocaine possession and driving under the influence. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled for an arraignment on Monday. ' ' '