NHL: Nashville 3, Florida 1

SUNRISE, Fla., March 3 (UPI) -- Nashville's Pekka Rinne notched 39 saves Saturday and the playoff-bound Predators stayed hot with a 3-1 victory over Florida.

Rinne came up with 16 saves in the third period as he improved to 20-3-3 since Dec. 28.

Andrei Kostitsyn, acquired by Nashville from Montreal in a trade-deadline deal this week, added a goal and an assist, while David Legwand and Mike Fisher each scored for the victors.

The victory was the Predators' third in four games. They hold down the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

Wojtek Wolski scored and Scott Clemmensen yielded three goals on 23 shots for Florida, which maintained its two-point lead atop the Southeast Division.