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Ekholm showed off the offensive part of his game early in the second period, when he blasted a slap shot on the power play that went in off the crossbar. With less than a minute remaining in the game, he then picked up an assist on a Kevin Fiala goal.

The two-point night meant that Ekholm is now tied with Josi with 30 points — the most among Nashville defencemen — and is posting a plus-18 rating.

“This year has been a step up from previous years,” said Ekholm, who’s never scored more than 35 points in a season. “I think I’ve been up in the rush in the last three or four years. I’ve just been trying to do the good things by adding to the offence, which is a big part of our game. The pucks just going in for me. I’m more of an assist guy, so it’s fun for me to contribute on the offensive side.”

On Monday night, it wasn’t just Ekholm who stood out for the Predators.

Subban, who had missed 19 games this season, scored his fourth goal of the season midway through the second period on a slap shot that redirected off the stick of Toronto’s William Nylander. For the Predators, getting offence from their defence was nothing new.

The team has generated 20 goals and 95 points from the back end this season. By comparison, Toronto has produced 20 goals and 93 points. The difference is that while the Leafs’ defensive contributions have been a bonus on a team that is front-loaded, the Predators live and die by their defence.

“Mo leads the league in scoring by a defenceman — or at least he was before last game — so I don’t think he’s doing too shabby in that department,” Leafs rearguard Ron Hainsey said of teammate Morgan Rielly.

“But they have a great team. Obviously, their ‘D’ have been an exceptional top-four for a number of years now.”

And with Ekholm finding his offensive side — he has eight points in the past six games — it appears to be only getting better.

mtraikos@postmedia.com

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