Tag: Craig Smith

Predators push past Jets 2-1

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Source: Kristen Jerkins Photography

After a long road trip, making a pit stop in Nashville for a game against Edmonton, and hoping back on a plane to St. Louis, the Predators have made their way home to welcome in the Winnipeg Jets, a team the Predators are 1-1 with so far. After handing the top spot of the Central Division back to St. Louis, Nashville is in no position to be losing any games (if they want to take that position back).

First Period:
– The first period produced no goals, with both Winnipeg and Nashville shooting eight pucks on net.

Second Period:
– Nashville’s weakness caught up to them on a powerplay, as Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler notched his eighth goal of the season with a short-hander past Pekka.
– Mike Ribeiro scored on the rebound but was ultimately called a no-goal due to a high-stick by Neal (see .gif below):
y51e0D– However, on the following face-off, James Neal sends a slap shot past Ondřej Pavelec for his ninth goal of the season. Mike Ribeiro (10) picks up the assist on Neal’s retaliation.

Third Period:
– It would take a little over seventeen minutes before someone would untie the game and, lucky for us, it was Craig Smith for his sixth goal of the season. Calle Jarnkrok picked up his first assist of the season on Smith’s GWG.

A rather slow, sloppy game, but a win in regulation nonetheless; we’ll take it. Nashville is jet-setting once again and this time they are at least making two stops: one in Toronto on Tuesday and one in Ottawa on Thursday night. Saturday, the Predators return to welcome in the Florida Panthers, a team they haven’t seen since preseason.

First Period Action pushes Preds past Oilers 3-2

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Source: ESPN.com

After a six-game road trip, tallying 4-2-0, the Preds returned home last night to face the Edmonton Oilers for the second time this season (first time Nashville won 4-1). Though their record going into last night’s game was numbered at 6-8-1, the Oilers are a much stronger team than they let on. However, Nashville is on a power run and it’ll take more than being strong to knock them off their high horse.

Notable Notes:
– After suffering knee-to-knee contact with Brennan Evans of the Grand Rapids Griffins, it looks like Viktor Stalberg will be out for a 4-6 week period. Due to the injury, Evans has been suspended for four games.
– Good news for Mike Fisher fans as word has it he should be ready to return within two weeks.

First Period:
– Mike Ribeiro wasted no time getting the Predators on the board at 2:51, Nashville’s fastest goal this season. James Neal (4) and Filip Forsberg (10) picked up the assists on Ribeiro’s fourth goal of the season.
– Barely seven minutes later, Matt Cullen collect his second goal of the season with a tip-in past Viktor Fasth at 9:21. Seth Jones (4) and Craig Smith (3) would nab the assists.
– Filip Forsberg would put Nashville up 3-0 at 19:06 for his seventh goal of season and second point of the night. Mike Ribeiro (9) would collect the loan assist on Prince Filip’s goal.

Second Period:
– Edmonton would relieve Fasth of his duties and replace him with Ben Scrivens going into the second period.
– The Oilers took the first period to heart, scoring just 31 seconds into the second period with a goal from Benoit Pouliot.
– Edmonton would jump within one of Nashville with another goal at 14:42 from Nail Yakupov.

Third Period:
– No goals.

Edmonton bounced back strong in the second and third periods, but Nashville was able to hold them off and seal victory with the return home. As I mentioned, Edmonton’s record doesn’t account for how strong of a team they actually are; they just haven’t hit their stride yet (sounds super familiar). Nashville’s return was a quick one, as they jump back on plane and hop over to St. Louis to try another hand against the Blues, who are itching to push back into first in the Central Division (Nashville has 22 points, St. Louis as 21). Saturday night, Nashville returns with Winnipeg in tow (and it’s Pekka bobblehead night).

Nashville Knocks Dallas 3-2

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Source: Shannon Byrne/Pinterest

After suffering a 3-1 loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday night, Nashville cut their losses and headed South to Dallas to take on the Stars.

First Period:
– No goals for either side, but plenty of shots as Nashville takes eleven and Dallas takes ten.

Second Period:
– Craig Smith struck gold first at 4:10 with a PPG, his fifth goal of the season. Derek Roy (6) and Ryan Ellis (6) picked up the assists.
– Filip Forsberg would capitalize on his own PPG at 13:57, also for his fifth of the season. Roman Josi (3) and Mattias Ekholm (4) nab the assists on Forsberg’s goal.
– Trevor Daley would put Dallas on the board at 16:26, ending the second period 2-1 in favor of Nashville.

Third Period:
– Patrick Eaves would tie it up at 7:23 in the third, his second goal of the season.
– However, Matt Cullen would sink the game winning goal at 13:47 for his first goal of the season. Derek Roy (7) and Mattias Ekholm (5) collect the assists.

The Predators have one last stop in St. Louis before heading back to Nashville to face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. This will be the first meeting of the season with Division rival St. Louis, who are currently 9-3-1 on the season. If Nashville beats the Blues in regulation, they will return to the top of the Central Division. No pressure.

Weekend Review: Lose Some, Win Some in Canada

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Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

There’s always one team that gives Nashville trouble and we aren’t talking about Chicago or St. Louis; it is always that underdog team that your mind automatically – when going through the schedule – chalks up as a win. This year’s team that keeps knocking Nashville down a peg or two looks to be the Calgary Flames. Now, we aren’t saying Calgary is a terrible team by any means, but they aren’t a team we as fans go into thinking Nashville is going to have some trouble with… until this season. The season is still young, but losing twice to Calgary thus far (with only two meetings) and the fact that the Predators simply struggle against them could spell trouble down the road within the Western Conference. However, this weekend wasn’t a complete loss and happily, that win came in Canucklehead territory. Here are the highlights from this past weekend’s romp through Western Canada:

Friday, October 31st – Nashville @ Calgary:

First Period:
– The first period proved goal-less, with both Calgary and Nashville taking a good amount of shots (Calgary 10, Nashville 8).

Second Period:
– Calgary jumped on the board first with a PPG from Sean Monahan at 4:23 after Colin Wilson was charged with goaltender interference.
– Craig Smith would tie it at one with his fourth goal of the season at 5:30 with assistance from Ryan Ellis (5) and Mattias Ekholm (2).
craig smith– At 11:09, Nashville would gain the lead with a goal from James Neal, his sixth of the season. Mike Ribeiro (5) picked up the lone assist.
james nealThird Period:
– At 2:36, Jiri Hudler would tie the game in favor of Calgary for his third goal of the season.
– Calgary would collect a second PPG during the game with a goal from TJ Brodie at 4:23 pushing the Flames up 3-2.
– Not two minutes later at 6:37 Calgary would jump to 4-2 over Nashville with a clean goal from Johnny Gaudreau (2).
– Nashville would come back within one at 10:47 with a PPG from James Neal (7) with some assistance from Matt Cullen (2) and Filip Forsberg (7).
– Unfortunately, Calgary managed to keep Nashville at bay in time for regulation to run out, sealing the win in their favor 4-3 in the Saddledome.

Sunday, November 2nd – Nashville @ Vancouver:

First Period:
– The first period started off with a goal in favor of Vancouver, as Alexander Edler nabbed his second goal of the season on a PPG.

Second Period:
– Nashville would capitalize on the powerplay at 1:38 into the second with a goal from Filip Forsberg (2), though it was clear that former Predator, Dan Hamhuis knocked the puck in. James Neal (1) and Matt Cullen (3) would pick up the assists.
FORSBERG CANUCKSThird Period:
– Forsberg would sink one without the help of Hamhuis at 6:42 for his third goal of the season, with assistance from James Neal (2) and Mike Ribeiro (6).
FORSBERG CANUCKS 2– At 18:27, Colin Wilson would collect his first goal of the season and the GWG. Filip Forsberg (8) and Mattias Ekholm (3) picked up the assists.
COLIN– It is important to note that Vancouver was playing back-to-back games, but a regulation win is a regulation win.

Nashville is almost done with its trip around the Western Conference, with the next stop in Winnipeg to visit the Jets on Tuesday night.

Preds power past Oilers 4-1

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nhl

Source: NHL.com

Late games are killer – for me, at least. With Edmonton scheduling an eight o’clock game their time, that meant those of us on Central time would be settling in game time in our pajamas. Granted, Edmonton is only an hour behind us, but for those of us who value adequate sleep time, these West bound games can be hard to stay awake for. However, it is nice to wake up for a 4-1 victory the next morning, especially after a “late whistle blow” that would steal a goal from Nashville. We’ll discuss that in a moment, but here are the highlights from last night’s victory in O Canada:

Pre-Game Notes:
– Rich Clune cleared waivers and was sent to Nashville’s farm team, the Milwaukee Admirals. As you recall from the previous post, Viktor Stalberg was sent to the Ads for a conditioning stint.

First Period:
– Thought the boxscore will tell you there weren’t any goals in the first period, if you watched the game you know there was one in favor of Nashville. However, due to the ever-popular “intent to whistle” call, Craig Smith’s goal was waived. Intent. To. Whistle. That’s about as effective as “You should give me a goal because my intention when I shot the puck into the crowd was to score”. Here’s a .gif of the goal:
y4deDL– Despite this awful call, Nashville did come out swinging with eleven shots in the first period compared to Edmonton’s three.

Second Period:
– Craig Smith would try for another goal at 6:23 in the second period, this time without referee interference. Derek Roy (5) and Roman Josi (1) would notch the assists on Smith’s second goal of the season.
vJoRwD– Barely a minute later, Taylor Beck would collect his first goal of the season with assistance from Colin Wilson (3) and Mattias Ekholm (1), putting Nashville up 2-0 over the Oilers.
beck– At the end of the second, Nashville would connect twice with only nine shots on goal compared to Edmonton’s fifteen.

Third Period:
– Just twenty-four seconds into the third period, Captain Shea Weber would sink his fourth goal of the season with some help from Mike Ribeiro (4).
weber– Taylor Hall would eliminate the chance of a goose egg at 8:54 for his sixth goal of the season in favor of the Oilers.
– Craig Smith would return for a third second goal in the match-up at 12:24 for his third goal of the season. Matt Cullen (1) – – who just returned from the IR – and Roman Josi (2) picked up the assists on the game winning goal.
– The shots on goal tally would flip in favor of Nashville during the third with fifteen to Edmonton’s nine. Overall number of shots on goal: Predators, 35 – Oilers 27.

Three Stars of the Game:
1st Star: Craig Smith
2nd Star: Matt Cullen
3rd Star: Roman Josi

Nashville’s victory of Edmonton (ending their four-game winning streak) is a great start to a long road trip out West. Up next on the schedule is the Calgary Flames, who have already bested Nashville once this season in a 3-2 shootout win in Nashville.

Roster Movement: Clune, Cullen & Stalberg

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threeIt was only a matter of time. The Predators have finally started to click on many levels and within all of the given lines, but with Mike Fisher and Matt Cullen on the verge of returning, someone would be having to take a backseat or ship out altogether. Rich Clune has seen maybe five minutes of ice time during this season, with the remainder of that time spent on the Scratched list. Though Victor Bartley has also been sitting pretty on that list, enforcers tend to get the boot before players who don’t spend their time patrolling the ice (the same can be said for the Calle Jarnkrok argument). If you were at all a fan of former Predator, Brian McGrattan, you knew that, by seeing Clune’s name listed under scratches game after game was going to end poorly.

Cullen suffered an upper-body injury back in the pre-season against Tampa Bay, but yesterday he skated amongst the top line with Craig Smith and Derek Roy. With that, Cullen was deemed ready for activation from the IR, meaning some roster changes were needed to make the room. The first move? Placing Rich Clune on waivers, with the intent that he clears as so he can be assigned to Nashville’s farm team, the Milwaukee Admirals. The second move? Viktor Stalberg being sent down to Milwaukee on a conditioning assignment. Due to an injury caused in the pre-season and missing the first three games of the season, the organization felt Stalberg would do better getting some ice time amongst the AHL.

The Milwaukee Admirals – with the welcoming of Stalberg and potentially Clune – now has a full house, which will cause them to do a little shifting of their own. The Ads, who are currently undefeated at 6-0-0 and sitting pretty at the top of the AHL Western Conference, may have a challenge on their hands, but we’re sure they’ve got this down to a science.

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.

Preds fall to Flames 3-2 in the Shootout

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IMG_2896

Image Source: Zimbio

Ahh, the victories were short-lived, weren’t they? It is hard to argue against the fact that Nashville came out on sluggish note last night against the Calgary Flames. It was an all-around a sloppy game with too many mistakes and, although Calgary made a few of their own, they ate up every chance Nashville gave them and slipped by with the win in the shootout. But, all is not lost as the Predators did squeeze a point out of Calgary by sending it into overtime. Lest we not forget, there were some other slick moves that brightened last night’s loss that highlighted the potential within some certain players.

Scratches for Nashville: Rich Clune, Victor Bartley
Note: Sadly, Calgary scratched Brian McGrattan, a former Pred – though his time short – made a lasting impression on Nashville.

First Period:
– Unlike the first two games of the season, Nashville put a point on the board first with a goal from Filip Forsberg, his first goal of the season. Derek Roy (3) and Craig Smith (1) picked up the assists.
– Calgary didn’t give Nashville a chance to gain momentum as not even two minutes later, TJ Brodie skirted one by Pekka Rinne for his second goal of the season, tying the game.
– Nashville was given two chances on the powerplay during the first, but couldn’t garner the stability to capitalize on either one.

Second Period:
– Calgary would take the lead at 5:19, capitalizing where the Predators could not on the powerplay. The Flames took advantage of the powerplay within seventeen seconds.
– However, barely ten minutes later, Nashville would tie the game at 2 with a sheer luck tip-in from Mike Ribeiro, his first of the season and first as in Predators’ gold. Colin Wilson (1) and Craig Smith (2) garnered the assists.
– Derek Roy saved the Predators from possibly a complete loss with his ridiculous reflex skills, deflecting the puck from clearing the net while Pekka was distracted. Check out the gif below:
yxdZ1e– Toronto reviewed the play, but miraculously called it a no-goal. From the video angle in the .gif, it definitely looks like it passes that sweet red line, but if Toronto says no-goal, we’ll take their word… for once.

Third Period:
– Both the Flames and the Predators would scrap back and forth, though Calgary held onto the puck just a wee bit better. Neither team would notch a goal during the third, thus sending the game into overtime.

Overtime:
– Since this ends in a shootout, you can guess no one scored during the overtime “action”.
– Nashville took one shot on goal during overtime to Calgary’s two shots.

Shootout Summary:
Nashville – Derek Roy: Save
Calgary – Joe Colborne: Goal
Nashville – James Neal: Save
Calgary – Jiri Hudler: Save
Nashville – Olli Jokinen: Save

Three Stars of the Game:
Mark Giordano – Calgary
Karri Ramo – Calgary
Craig Smith – Nashville

Karri Ramo was on point last night and for that, we have to give him props. Any chance Nashville had where they managed to gather themselves into shot mode, Ramo was there with what we’d like to call “Pekka-like reflexes” to thwart the Preds.

A question we heard last night was, “What was up with that interference/embellishment call [on Engelland and Forsberg]?”
1377665821442Why can you not have both an interference call & an embellishment call on the same play, Susie? Because it doesn’t make sense; it’s that simple. It is almost impossible (with how NHL rules are set up) for you to call interference and embellishment on the same play. You either have one player interfere or you have the other player called for “diving/embellishment”. Sadly, it’s just one of those quirks in the NHL that no one bothers to address and still happens on occasion, much to the delight of those who enjoy yelling, “Ref, you suck” at any given moment.

No brooms for this home stretch, but Nashville has started out on the right foot this season, even with this mark on their record. We’ve seen some great potential from both our new guys and the old ones, which is a great sign for Laviolette and his staff.

The Preds head North to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets on Friday at 7PM and then catch a flight to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Saturday night. Wee.

Preds take Home Opener over Senators 3-2

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Happy Friday, everyone and boy, doesn’t it feel good to officially have hockey back in the Athens of the South? The Preds made sure you were awake last night as the narrowed passed the Ottawa Senators for a 3-2 victory in their Home Opener. So, without further ado, here is your recap from last night’s nail-biter:

Scratches/IR: Victor Bartley, Taylor Beck, Mike Fisher (IR), Matt Cullen (IR), Viktor Stalberg (IR).

Notes before the Game: Has everyone seen the awesome opening video/projector-on-ice show that the Preds outdid themselves with last night? If you haven’t, we have the YouTube link below, but if you want to see this in person, you better have or find tickets to Saturday’s game against Dallas. Jump to the 2:00 minute mark to see the projector show in action — special thanks to Jeremy K. Gover for the video.

y5XBNDPardon my language but… that was pretty. damn. cool. Again, if you missed it last night, be there tomorrow night.

First Period:
– No goals with Nashville out-shooting Ottawa 13 to 9.

Second Period:
– Ottawa would strike first on the board at 1:15 into the 2nd Period with goal from Kyle Turris. The Senators would hold Nashville at bay through the remainder of the second period.
– Nashville would remain on top of Ottawa in terms of shots, taking 10 to Ottawa’s five.
– In an “old habits die hard” moment, David Legwand – who spent an eon with the Predators and was their first ever draft pick – headed to the wrong penalty box after tripping Seth Jones. .Gif courtesy of the fine folks over at On The Forecheck.
867651466

Third Period A.K.A. Wakey-Wakey Time:
– Thanks to a penalty from Jared Cowen at 19:41 in the second period, Nashville started the third period out with a lovely power play, which Craig Smith took advantage of for his first goal of the season. Smith was assisted by Filip Forsberg (1) and Derek Roy (1).
– Less than seven minutes later, Shea Weber would give the Predators a 2-1 with a wrap around goal with some assistance from Ryan Ellis (1) and Paul Gaustad (1).
– Not to be outdone, Eric Nystrom would answer at 10:20 with his first goal of the season, pushing Nashville up 3-1 with assistance from Paul Gaustad (2) and Filip Forsberg (2).
– However, the Senators weren’t snoozing through the third. Ottawa’s Alex Chiasson would sink one past Pekka Rinne to put the Senators within one with a little under six minutes to go in regulation.

Even with Craig Smith taking a hooking penalty with less than two minutes left in regulation (and Leggy taking a holding call with under a minute left), the Predators whipped back and held the Senators at bay to win their first game of the season.

Three Stars of the Game:
First Star: Shea Weber
Second Star: Filip Forsberg
Third Star: Paul Gaustad

So, needless to say, Nashville started out on the right foot yesterday, though there definitely were some bumps in the road that need to be looked at and addressed. The Predators are back tomorrow at 7PM to take on division rivals, the Dallas Stars.

Roster – Preseason vs. Lightning

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c3c4736eda313461a153118a09e33706Earlier this afternoon, the Predators released who will be hitting the ice tomorrow night for the first preseason game on home ice.

DEFENSE:

PicMonkey Collage

On Defense: Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Johan Alm, Joe Piskula, Mattias Ekholm, and Anton Volchenkov.

FORWARDS:
PicMonkey CollageqList of Forwards: Eric Nystrom, Austin Watson, Calle Jarnkrok, Filip Forsberg, Gabriel Bourque, Kevin Fiala, Paul Gaustad, Olli Jokinen, James Neal, Taylor Beck, Vanilla Ice Mike Ribeiro, and Rich Clune.

GOALTENDERS:
PicMonkey Collage2Goalies: Pekka Rinne and Marek Mazanec.

Noticeable players taking the night off are:
– Colin Wilson, who collected an assist on Filip Forsberg’s wrister.
– Derek Roy, who assisted in Craig Smith’s goal.
– Craig Smith, who picked up a goal in yesterday’s game in Tampa Bay.