Nashville Predators top Columbus as point streak grows to 11, Kiefer Sherwood scores first goal in home state

Kiefer Sherwood scored a memorable goal in his return home, Luke Evangelista continued his strong play on the road, and the Nashville Predators extended their point streak to 11 games with a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Sherwood — who is from Columbus, Ohio — scored at the 12:19 mark of the first period, making it the first time he's scored an NHL goal in his home state. He grew up playing hockey only 15 minutes from Nationwide Arena, and played college hockey at Miami University in Miami, Ohio.

"You always have a little extra juice when you're playing against your hometown," Sherwood said at the first intermission with Bally Sports. "But at the end of the day, it's two points on the line. We're excited to keep things rolling."

Evangelista scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, putting the puck past goaltender Daniil Tarasov at the 4:16 mark. It was Evangelista's 13th goal of the season, his ninth scored on the road.

Newcomers Anthony Beauvillier and Jason Zucker played in their first games for Nashville, mostly on a line together with Colton Sissons. Beauvillier finished with three shots in 14:31, while Zucker had three shots in 14:16.

Kevin Lankinen played well in net, making 33 saves, including 12 in the third period.

The Predators (37-25-3) are 10-0-1 in their last 11 games. They have 77 points and sit in seventh place in the Western Conference in the first Wild Card position. The Blue Jackets (22-32-10) remain in last place in the Eastern Conference with 54 points.

Nashville heads to Minnesota for their final season game against the Wild on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators top Blue Jackets, extend point streak to 11 games