Luke Evangelista broke a tie at 9:18 of the third period to help the Nashville Predators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Saturday night

NASHVILLE -- Luke Evangelista scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Luke Evangelista scored the go-ahead goal for the Predators against the Maple Leafs on Dec. 20. Here's what he said during his emotional celebration.

After a deflating 5-3 loss to Nashville, it seemed more difficult than ever for Toronto to keep the darkness at bay.

The Nashville winger recorded one of the more impressive goals in recent memory as he helped his club to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena. The result gets the Preds back in the win column and gives them a split of the season series against the Leafs.

One area that Toronto has struggled with all season long is on the man-advantage. The Maple Leafs are operating at a 14.1 percent success rate on the man advantage this season, ahead of only the Calgary Flames in the league, whose power play has a 14 percent success rate.

The embattled Toronto Maple Leafs will look for a sorely needed morale boost when they visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.