"It is understandable that Ryan Miller and his Buffalo Sabres teammates – and maybe even the referees – were a little sensitive.

The goalie, after all, missed eight games with a head injury before he was activated from injured reserve on Friday. He was hurt in a collision with Boston's Milan Lucic.

So the last thing he expected – or wanted – on Saturday likely was for Jordin Tootoo – at full speed – to crash into him. That's exactly what happened with 4:06 to play in the second period, though, as Tootoo drove the left wing, turned the corner on defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and quickly ran out of room.

Oddly, the incident opened up what had been a tight, defensive contest, at least for the Predators. Nashville had a 14-9 edge in shots on goal at the time and finished with a 34-14 advantage but did not solve Miller until it was too late.

A pair of third-period goals only cut two-goal deficits in half and the Predators fell 3-2 before a sellout crowd at Bridgestone Arena.

"I was skating hard I dropped my shoulder in toward the net and it's clear I tried to jump put of the way," Tootoo said. "There was no intent to charge at him. That's all I can say."

Miller not only took the worst of the contact, he also took exception. The instant he and Tootoo crashed to the ice he started to throw punches and touched off a melee, which turned out worse for the Predators."