NASHVILLE, Tenn. Gary Neal Jersey . - The Nashville Predators brought Peter Laviolette in to rev up their offence, and the second coach in franchise history already is paying off.Craig Smith, Shea Weber and Eric Nystrom all scored in the third period, and the Predators beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 Thursday night, giving Laviolette a win in his Nashville debut. It was an immediate change for a team that went 3-28-4 last season when trailing after two periods.I think its important for a team to establish that they can win in the third period, Laviolette said. That was probably the most important thing. They battled back, they didnt surrender. They just kept pushing through, and you have to give them a lot of credit. They just kept their foot on the gas.Smith tied it at 1 with his power-play goal 1:36 into the third of the season opener for both teams. Then Weber, the three-time Norris Trophy finalist, skated around the net before flipping a backhander over a diving Craig Anderson for the lead. Nystrom scored at 10:20, and Filip Forsberg and Paul Gaustad each had two assists.Kyle Turris and Alex Chiasson each scored for Ottawa. Chiassons power-play goal gave the Senators a chance to rally within the final two minutes. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped a flurry in front of the net with about 30 seconds left to preserve the victory.Overall, its a just a good start, Rinne said. I thought it wasnt a fluky win. I thought we deserved it. We played really well.The Predators let coach Barry Trotz go after missing the playoffs in April for a second straight season, and general manager David Poile hired Laviolette as the second coach in the franchises history. The Predators also brought in James Neal, Mike Ribeiro, Olli Jokinen and Derek Roy to help in the rugged Western Conference.Nashville outshot Ottawa 37-20 overall and 23-14 through two periods. But the Predators remained scoreless until Roy helped get the Predators started with an assist on Smiths goal to get the sellout crowd going.Its a lot of fun, Nystrom said. Its good to get the building to erupt, and its a good start at home.Fans even gave David Legwand a€” the first draft pick in Nashville history a€” a standing ovation when a video honouring his Predators career played in the first period. Traded to Detroit late last season, Legwand now is with the Senators and was preparing to take the faceoff when the video played. But he skated to the wrong penalty box in the second period.Its tough going to one for 15 years, and then youve got to go to the other one, Legwand said. Its over and done with. Im happy that its over and done with and I move forward.The Senators are used to opening on the road with this their fourth straight season away from Ottawa at the start, and this is the first of a three-game road swing.Anderson stopped 23 shots through the first two periods and was protecting a 1-0 lead into the third before giving up the quick goals to Weber and Nystrom.I thought we were just in a little bit too much of a hurry to get going in the offensive side of it until we had things under control on the defensive side of it, Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said.The Predators opened the third finishing a power play, and Forsberg found Smith at the left post with a cross-ice pass. Smith tapped the puck past Anderson to tie it up.Webers goal is an example of Laviolette giving defenceman permission to join the rush, but the coach credited the defencemans instincts on his goal as well.There was a look there that he saw and took it and ended up coming out the other way and finding its way in, Laviolette said. But certainly our defencemen they can push from the backside.The Senators had a final chance when Smith went to the penalty box with 1:57 left for hooking. They just couldnt beat Rinne, the two-time Vezina Trophy finalist who played only 24 games last season because of an infected hip.NOTES: The Predators improved to 8-7-1 in season openers. ... Weber now has 107 goals since the start of the 2008-09 season. ... Both games between these teams went to extra time last season. The Predators now are 4-4-1 in Nashville against Ottawa. ... Roy now has eight points in nine season openers (3 goals, 5 assists). Custom San Antonio Spurs Jerseys . 9 Baylor Bears just needed some time to get on track in their first game after the Christmas break. Vinny Del Negro Jersey . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night. https://www.cheapspurs.com/716j-cadillac-anderson-jersey-spurs.html . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday.VAIL, Colo. -- Lindsey Vonn remains unsure just what effect her latest knee injury will have on her Sochi Olympic hopes. Asked in an interview on NBCs "Today" show Wednesday whether she can put the kind of pressure on the knee she will need to train and make it to Sochi in February, Vonn replied: "To be honest, I dont know." The reigning Olympic downhill champion crashed during a downhill training run in Copper Mountain last week and partially tore a reconstructed ligament in her right knee. Vonn said her immediate plan is to resume training in Vail to test out the knee. She elected to skip the races this weekend in nearby Beaver Creek to give her knee more time to rest. The 29-year-old Vonn hasnt ruled out a possible return to competition in Lake Louise, Alberta, on Dec. 6. "If things go well, you know, Ill be racing next week," Vonn said. "If they dont, then Im going to have to reassess and kind of see where I stand and if I can make a comeback for this season." The four-time overall World Cup champion tore ligaments in her right knee in a high-speed accident at the world championships in February. Shes been well ahead of schedule in her return, but doesnt believe she was pushing too hard to make it back to the slopes. Donnie Freeman Jersey. "I was skiing really fast. I was skiing confident. I was very strong," Vonn said. "It just was unfortunately a fluke accident. Thats the risk you take when youre going 80, 90 mph down a mountain. Thats just part of the job. But I picked myself back up and Im trying as hard as I can to keep going. "Im just fingers-crossed that I can be racing next week, because Ive worked so hard all summer to get back to this point and I just want to get back in the starting gate." In her crash last week, Vonn said she caught an edge, flipped over her skis and "went head-first into the fence." She said the knee wasnt the cause of the spill. "The fall caused my knee to give out," Vonn said. "If I hadnt have had my brace on, I definitely would not have had anything left in my knee. It was one of those fluky things that sometimes happen. "Unfortunately, it was really bad timing for me. Im still confident. I still feel like I have a lot left to achieve this season. ... I still have time before Sochi." ' ' '