Tag: Arizona Coyotes

PPG for NSH; Preds bump Coyotes 5-1

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Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America

Nashville’s week-long trip West continued last night against the Arizona Coyotes, the Predators’ first trip to Glendale this season. Arizona, who has been on a three-game losing streak, is sitting in the same position in the Pacific Division as Nashville’s previous opponent, the Colorado Avalanche, are in the Central Division: sixth out of seven. With more losses than wins (10-15-3), the Coyotes need a confidence boost, and why not thwart the on-the-rise Predators? Not only is it Martin Erat’s former, former team that he needed so desperately to be out of, Arizona is also the former home of newest Nashville Predator, Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro struggled both on and off the ice while with the Coyotes, prompting the organization to cut ties with him. Nashville swooped in and snatched the center up, which raised a few eyebrows as a rather risky move. Ah, but that risky move has proven successful as Ribeiro has become a staple of the Predators lineup. Currently holding down the 6th ranking amongst players in +/-, he also holds 18th amongst players in assists and 15th amongst players in save percentages. And Martin Erat? He has had five goals this season compared to Mike Ribeiro’s eight and (his true replacement) Forsberg’s twelve. But who’s counting, right?
filip

First Period:

  • Arizona’s Antoine Vermette (7) got the ball rolling with a powerplay goal at 4:11 with assistance from Mikkel Boedker (9) and Keith Yandle (17).
  • Mike Fisher wouldn’t wait long, scoring his first goal of the season at 6:57 and a powerplay goal on top of that. A what? I don’t know what that is! Phil Housley is taking in a deep, thankful sigh right about now. Shea Weber (10) and Filip Forsberg (16) nab the assists on Fisher’s goal.
  • James Neal would push Nashville up 2-1 at 11:06 for his eleventh goal of the season. Mike Fisher (3) and Roman Josi (12) would assist in said goal.
  • At 18:30, Ryan Ellis would nab his third goal of the season, giving Nashville a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. James Neal (7) and Mike Ribeiro (17) would be awarded the assists.

Second Period:

  • Just like in Colorado, no goals were mustered during the second period.

Third Period:

  • At just 2:43 into the period, Calle Jarnkrok would tally his second goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque (2) and Filip Forsberg (17) power in with the assists.
  • Olli Jokinen would nab the GWG at 7:20, though it was a deflection off of Weber’s shot (oh well, he’ll take all the points he can get) for his second goal of the season. Colin Wilson (7) and Shea Weber (11) would be of assistance.

Another win tallied on this mini road trip as Nashville defeats the Coyotes 5-1 in Glendale. Not to jinx anything, but Nashville is now 19-7-2 on the season and is 2-0-0 on this road trip going into San Jose on Saturday. Though this should have been the game that Pekka Rinne got a much needed rest, he has still managed to keep it strong, blocking 57 of 58 shots in these past two games. Will Hutton get the start against the Sharks? Eh, though they are fourth in the Pacific Division, they are on a two-game winning streak and are 16-11-4. That’s a toughie to call, but we’ll see who gets to mind the net soon.

Ellis Goal leads to Victory in SO against Coyotes 3-2

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Image Source: Kristen Jerkins

Image Source: Kristen Jerkins

Back home in Smashville are we for a few and the first guest on the list? The former never-were-in-Phoenix-to-begin-with Arizona Coyotes! The Coyotes, coming into Nashville with a 2-2-0 record, were pretty well prepared to leave with victory in their hands. Stop for a moment – I just noticed Pekka Rinne chatting it up with former Preds goalie, Devan Dubnyk in the background of the picture above. Not that that’s special or anything, I just wanted to point that A.D.D. moment out – carry on. However, in order for Nashville to remain at the top of the Central Division standings, they’d need to pull off a win against Martin Erat & his brood.

Notable Mentions: Keith Yandle debuted in his 500th NHL Career game last night in Nashville, which is a pretty big milestone, I guess. Congrats, Yandy.

First Period:
– Coming out sluggish and uncoordinated once again, it wasn’t long before the Coyotes and Rob Klinkhammer (2) would capitalize on this Nashville weakness and light the lamp in Arizona’s favor.
– Mike Ribeiro would retaliate against his former team at 12:05 for his third goal of the season. Ryan Ellis would be the lone assistant (2) on Ribeiro’s goal.
RIBEIRO
Second Period:
– After collecting an assist, Ryan Ellis nabbed his first goal of the season at 5:12 in the second, picking up assistance from Derek Roy (4) and Seth Jones (2).
– Arizona wouldn’t give Nashville too much to celebrate for at 11:48 as Keith Yandle sends one clean past Pekka’s barrier on the powerplay.

Third Period:
– Arizona would nabbed yet another power play goal thanks to former Pred, Martin Erat at 7:42 into the third; his second goal of the season.
– James Neal couldn’t wait 19 seconds later before answering Erat’s goal with one of his own, his second of the season. Mike Ribeiro (2) and Ryan Ellis (3) would both collect two more points on the night with their assists.

Overtime:
– With three shots from Nashville and just two from Arizona, this puppy was headed to a shootout.

Shootout Summary:
Nashville – Derek Roy – Goal
Arizona – Mikkel Boedker – Save
Nashville – Craig Smith – Save
Arizona – Sam Gagner – Save
Nashville – Filip Forsberg – Save
Arizona – Antoine Vermette – Goal
Nashville – Ryan Ellis – Goal
Arizona – Martin Erat – Save
Here’s a .gif of Ellis’s game winner against Dubby:
ELLISWINNER

With a win in the shootout, Nashville remains on top of the Central Division leader board… phew! It is important to note how well both Ryan Ellis and Mike Ribeiro looked tonight (among other players) and how Craig Smith needs to take some anxiety medicine; boy needs to take a deep breath and stop with all these silly mistakes. We know he’s better than that; we’ve seen it.

Next in line to come for a visit are the Chicago Blackhawks, who will be gracing us with their presence on Thursday. Chicago is sitting behind us both in the Central Division standings and in the league. I am sure they want to get past us tomorrow night if they can.

Weekend Review: Still Undefeated in Regulation

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Image Source: Zimbio.com

Image Source: Zimbio.com

This past weekend was filled with some ups and downs if you are a follower of the Nashville Predators, but overall, it was a good weekend. The Preds took a quick road trip Northward, making pit stops in both Winnipeg and Chicago on the way home. Back-t0-back nights can be rough on any team, and Nashville is no exception… especially when you are facing a notoriously dangerous team like the Blackhawks on the second night of that back-to-back. But, as mentioned before, Nashville came back a little bruised, but certainly not beaten. Here are the quick highlights from Friday night’s escapade in Winnipeg and Saturday night’s throwdown in the Windy City.

Preds @ Jets – W 2-0
First Period:
– Mike Ribeiro got the ball rolling at 16:20 in the first period for his second goal of the season. Seth Jones (1) and Anton Volchenkov (1) picked up the assists.
Second Period:
– No goals in the second period, but Winnipeg came out swinging with ten shots on goal to Nashville’s seven.

Third Period:
– James Neal would light his first lamp in gold at 7:31 in the third with some assistance from Filip Forsberg (4) and Anton Volchenkov (2).

Three Stars of the Game:
1st Star: Pekka Rinne – First shutout of the season
2nd Star: Anton Volchenkov, two assists.
3rd Star: Ondrej Pavelec

 

Preds @ Blackhawks – L 2-1 OT
First Period:
– Johnny Oduya wasted no time drawing blood at 1:49 for his first goal of the season.
– Shea Weber would match Oduya’s goal at 11:17 with a powerplay goal, his third goal thus far of the season. Mike Ribeiro (1) and Colin Wilson (2) claimed the assists.
– Nashville came out on the sluggish end in the first period, with Carter Hutton getting his money worth with 12 shots on goal compared to Nashville’s miniscule three. However, it only took three shots to sink one for Nashville, whereas it took twelve for Chicago to slip one by Hutton. Glass half full, yes?

Second Period:
– Nada in the second period in the terms of goals, with Nashville only tallying one shot on goal during this period. Eek.

Third Period:
– Another goal-less period, but this time with Nashville ramping up the shots factor to twelve.

Overtime Hockey:
– Overtime didn’t last too long for both sides, as Jonathan Toews managed a breakaway to sink a shorthanded goal, ending the game in favor of Chicago 2-1.

 

So, one shutout against Winnipeg is in the books and one loss in overtime to Chicago. But hey – Nashville has not lost in regulation yet, thus keeping them ranked #1 in the Central Division. So, as I mentioned before, not all from this weekend was a loss and it ended up being pretty good for the Preds — minus their continuation of coming out in a sluggish, uncoordinated fashion as of late. Preds are back home this Tuesday against Martin Erat and the Phoenix Arizona Coyotes for a three-game stance (with Chicago and Pittsburgh heading this way, too).

Preds Sign Roy & Ribeiro to 1YR Deals

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PicMonkey Collage

Who knew Nashville was in need of a few Centers? Late this morning, word came trickling through the social media world that David Poile had signed two Centers to the Nashville Predators roster. Those two? Former Phoenix Arizona Coyote, Mike Ribeiro (1-year, $1.05M) and former St. Louis Blue, Derek Roy (1-year, $1M). Both veterans of their trade, Ribeiro was drafted 45th overall in the 1998 Draft by the Montreal Canadiens and Roy drafted 32nd overall in the 2001 Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. They have both put up some outstanding numbers during their tenure, but – as more athletes do – have started to decline as they’ve aged. But let’s not forget Nashville just got away with a steal of a deal. Ribeiro, Roy and Jokinen each for 1 year for a total of $4.55M? Poile, you crazy GM, you! As I type, GM David Poile is hosting a presser to address the two new signees, with Ribeiro at his side. Here are some snippets from the press conference:

What? A player actually sought out Nashville on his own accord? Take that, Spezza. So, how many Centers does Nashville have now? Let’s see: Wilson, Ribeiro, Roy, Jokinen, Cullen, Gaustad, Smith, Jarnkrok, and Fisher (though he’s down for the count). That means someone will have to “fight for their job” as Poile has stated.

Interesting information coming out of the Preds organization this afternoon! We will add more as the presser continues and as more information becomes available.