After coming up short the last few games, the Predators took the risk of switching up the lines in order to compete with the dog-eat-dog season at hand.

Colin Wilson was placed on the first line, knocking Sergei Kostitsyn down to the third line. Maybe this was the change both Colin and Sergei needed. With his creativity with puck handling, Colin could create some much needed offense. Being set back, Sergei may push himself to regain his position alongside Erat and Fisher, possibly taking a few shots rather than pass.

A game you should be a little nervous about would be against the defending Stanley Cup champs, but the Preds came out on cue, a surprise to most of us who were wincing at this late night game (heck, we’re writing this now because we fell asleep). Here are the highlights from last night’s win:

KEY POINTS:

– Jonathon Blum and Brian McGrattan continue to warm the scratched list, with Patric Hörnqvist still on the mend.
– The Predators were definitely awake for the first period, with Brandon Yip sending a snap shot past Johnathan Quick with just 58 seconds on the clock, his second goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque picked up his second assist and Legwand picked up his first assist.
– The Predators would hold the lead until 13:08 with a wrister off the glass from Dustin Brown on a powerplay, his first goal of the season.
– The second and third periods would produce no goals, with the first period holding all of the excitement (this is when we fell asleep). Overtime would be just as quiet, thus sending the game into a shootout, Nashville’s worst nightmare.

SHOOTOUT SUMMARY:
1. LOS ANGELES – Jeff Carter – SAVE
2. NASHVILLE – David Legwand – GOAL
3. LOS ANGELES – Mike Richards – GOAL
4. NASHVILLE – Craig Smith – GOAL
5. LOS ANGELES – Dustin Brown – GOAL
6. NASHVILLE – Martin Erat – SAVE
7. LOS ANGELES – Drew Doughty – SAVE
8. NASHVILLE – Colin Wilson – SAVE
9. LOS ANGELES – Jarret Stoll – SAVE
10. NASHVILLE – Brandon Yip – SAVE
11. LOS ANGELES – Anze Kopitar – GOAL
12. NASHVILLE – Gabriel Bourque – GOAL
13. LOS ANGELES – Justin Williams – SAVE
14. NASHVILLE – Roman Josi – SAVE
15. LOS ANGELES – Simon Gagne – SAVE
16. NASHVILLE – Sergei Kostitsyn – GOAL

If that isn’t a a clue that if and when Sergei shoots, he’s awfully accurate, we don’t know what is. The Predators definitely put forth more of an effort last night, though they ended up being outshot 24 to 14 overall. Pekka Rinne had a much better game, taking ten more shots on goal than Quick. Though he allowed more than we wanted in the shootout, the rest of the team came through and picked up the two points.

The Predators stay in the Golden State, taking on the Sharks on Saturday. Wait, where are the penalties, you ask? We’ll add those later – only have an hour for lunch…

Until then,
GO PREDS