Elias Pettersson Nets Penalty Shot as Canucks Beat Predators

Elias Pettersson scored on his first NHL penalty shot and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 Thursday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Rookie sensation Elias Pettersson scored on his first NHL penalty shot and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 Thursday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Pettersson was awarded the penalty shot with 1:11 left in the second period after being hauled down on a breakaway by Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm. Pettersson weaved his way around the ice and then tucked the puck past goaltender Pekka Rinne's toe for a 4-1 lead.

The 20-year-old Swede, picked fifth overall in the 2017 draft, leads all rookies with 14 goals and 25 points.

Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen each had a goal and assist for the Canucks, who have just two wins in their last 14 games (2-10-2).

Alex Edler, on the power play, and Loui Eriksson also scored for Vancouver (12-16-3). Antoine Roussel had two assists. Nikolay Goldobin, a healthy scratch in Vancouver's 3-2 loss Tuesday to Minnesota, assisted on Edler's goal to give him a team-leading 13 helpers.

Ryan Hartman, Colton Sissons and Matt Irwin scored for Nashville (19-9-1), which won its previous two games. Rinne, making his sixth straight start, had 21 saves before being replaced to start the third period by Juuse Saros. He stopped four shots.

Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 shots.

Eriksson made it 5-1 early in the third period, scoring his fifth of the season one second after Nashville killed off a penalty. It was Eriksson's first point in 11 games.

Hartman scored Nashville's first goal at 7:21 of the second when he deflected Yannick Weber's shot past Markstrom. The Canucks argued the goal came off a high stick, but after a video review the play stood.

Virtanen restored the two-goal lead on a 2-on-1 break at 8:51. Roussel carried the puck into the Nashville end, then slid a pass past defenseman Ryan Ellis that Virtanen fired by Rinne.

The Canucks showed some jump in the first period, building a 2-0 lead while outshooting the Predators 14-9. It was the first time this season Vancouver led 2-0.

It took the Canucks just 19 seconds to score on the game's first power play after Austin Watson was called for holding. Edler took Goldobin's pass and let go a shot from just inside the blue line that traveled through traffic and sailed past Rinne's glove.

Horvat scored with 26 seconds left in the period, taking a feed from Virtanen and rifling a shot under the crossbar.

NOTES: In a span of 1:40 during the first period, Edler scored a goal, flattened Weber with a big hit and was called for a penalty. . The Canucks went 0 for 12 on the power play in their previous four games. . D Michael Del Zotto was a healthy scratch for the first time since an eight-game stretch in October. . The Predators played without forwards Kyle Turris, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson, and defenseman P.K. Subban - all due to injury.