Tag: Dallas Stars

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.
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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.

Hornqvist & Spaling to Pens for James Neal

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JamesNealTrade

By now, you already know about the trade between Nashville and Pittsburgh involving the exchange of Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for Right Winger, James Neal. Has it had time to sink in yet? Nick Spaling was on the radar to take flight, but Hornqvist came as a surprise to just about everyone.

James Neal, first drafted in the second round in the 2005 Draft by the Dallas Stars, was a goal collector from the get-go. Scoring no less than 20-goals a season, in the 2011-12 season, Neal topped the charts with 40 goals — as a Preds fan, could you imagine forty goals from one player, not a multitude of several together? Since the 2011-12 season, he has lost some steam, but in Predators terms, he’s still on fire (again, no less than twenty goals since).

Though the loss of Hornqvist tears deeply at the heartstrings — the price of being a fan — now that the dust has settled from yesterday’s trade, you’ll be able to see with clearer eyes that, in order for the Predators to make the move towards the ultimate prize, sacrifices must be made. Unfortunately, Hornqvist was that sacrifice (sorry, Spals). This is a great sign from the leaders of this organization that good things are on the horizon. Moves like these are (for Nashville’s sake) what it is going to take for Nashville to get back in the playoff chase and make a legitimate run towards the Stanley Cup.

Here’s an exchange between the media, James Neal and Evgeni Malkin:
james
malkin

That was a good little .gif set to find, right? Neal wants t he puck. He wants to shoot. For a defensive team like Nashville, this is the exact exchange we want to hear from former teammates. Shooting leads to goals. Goals leads to winning. Winning leads to playoffs. Playoffs lead to Cup. Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

https://twitter.com/richcluneshow/status/482690204407300096

hey

Seek Change or Bent on Tradition: Nashville’s Fan Base

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IMG_1367
Though the odds were slim (miniscule, even), coming into last night’s game against Dallas, Nashville still had a shot at squeezing into a playoff spot. And, in a fashion fit for a Hallmark movie, the deciding factor came down to a shootout; an area Nashville has struggled with this season and in the past. The Predators, in order to keep that playoff hope alive, needed the full two-points of a win over the Dallas Stars. Did last night’s game have a happy ending?

No.

Gabriel Bourque’s two goals kept the game tied to send it into overtime and inevitably into a shootout; Roman Josi’s shootout goal pushed Nashville to another round, but it was with the leadership of Captain Jamie Benn that snuffed the light on Nashville’s playoff hopes; and possibly a few positions as well.

No one likes missing the playoffs and, every season that is cut short, doesn’t mean heads should roll as a consequence. But for Nashville, struggle to make it to the playoffs, let alone contend, has been a multi-year occurrence. It may finally be time to put the focus on the coaching staff and their guidance. Now, before you accuse me of hating on Barry Trotz, let’s get this straight: Barry Trotz is an amazing leader on and off the ice. As Patten Fuqua so nicely put it:
https://twitter.com/smashville/status/453909920945950720

The same goes for David Poile. Some times, it’s just better to take a step back, re-evaluate the situation, and move on. Both Trotz and Poile have been at the helm of the Nashville Predators organization for fifteen years, but when you continuously hit a rut every season in just about the same area (i.e. no playoffs – second round), it’s time to make changes (and not necessarily on the player-front). Though committed wholly to this organization, many players have begun expressing their frustration; some have even asked to be traded. Will we see players ask to be traded over this upcoming off-season? Maybe, maybe not, but we wouldn’t blame them.

It’s easy for fans to turn on each other at this point; you have two dividing sides: Those seeking a major change and those bent on tradition.
Neither side is more of a “loyal fan” than the other, but at times, it gets down right vicious. But honestly, what doesn’t tempt vicious behavior on Social Media?
Everyone’s opinion is different and everyone’s view on how the team and organization can benefit varies, but let’s be honest here: Nothing proceeds without change. The game is changing and the Predators need reflect those changes before the organization winds up somewhere in Canada. I’m not saying the Predators need to throw everything out and start from scratch, but some hard-hitting decisions and changes need to be made and first and foremost is to re-evaluate the coaching staff.

So what if Trotz and Poile are booted in the off-season? Does that mean Nashville will be in the Stanley Cup finals during the 2014-15 season? No, not it doesn’t (though that’d be pretty nice). What it does mean, however, is that the organization has taken responsibility for its continuous issues and has taken what it thinks are the necessary steps in order to push forward. It also shows that the organization realizes that relying solely on a goaltender and putting the blame on his absence is complete nonsense and asinine. Mind you, the team won 27 games without Rinne, so please, put that ideology to rest, will ya?

I could dive into the details, the stats, what have you regarding why the Predators need a major change, but I will leave that to the other bloggers (they have a little bit more time and resources than I do). I can see both sides of the fan base debate, but the point of this post is to get both sides thinking. Do you want to see this organization prosper? Do you want the team you canonize to hoist the Stanley Cup? Then take a step back, re-evaluate your perspective, and allow some sort of change to happen.

Carter Hutton named NHL’s Third Star of the Week

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KristenJ-Hutton

Image Courtesy of Kristen Jerkins

After Marek Mazanec was awarded the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for November, could Nashville pick up more notoriety? Absolutely and with a goalie, no doubt.

Carter Hutton, who had a horrendous month in November (hence as to why Mazanec took the reins and stuck RotM under his belt), made it known he wasn’t born a benchwarmer and, after taking over for Mazanec as the starting goalie against the Rangers, he hasn’t looked back since.

This is the NHL’s reasoning for giving him the Third Star of the Week:

“Hutton compiled a 3-0-0 record with a 1.33 goals-against average and .960 save percentage to lead the Predators (16-14-3, 35 points) to their second three-game winning streak of the season (also Nov. 16-21). He allowed one goal in both a 4-1 triumph over the New York Rangers Dec. 10 (28 saves) and a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars Dec. 12 (33 saves). Hutton then posted 36 saves, his second-highest total of the season, in a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks Dec. 14. The 27-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont., native has appeared in 14 games this season, posting a 7-3-1 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.”

But let’s all be honest with each other here. When you’re under the supervision of the great Mitch Korn, of course you’re going to have some eyes shift in your direction. Here’s to hoping this notoriety doesn’t go to his head and that he’ll be prepared for tomorrow’s game against the leader of the Western Conference and Central Division; yea, those pesky Blackhawks. But in all seriousness, Carter Hutton doesn’t come off as a guy that let’s that sort of stuff go to his head. I think he’ll be just fine.

https://twitter.com/CarterHutton/status/412743001719701504
Congrats, Hutty.

Extra goodies: Enjoy this Public Service Announcement about Texting & Driving, brought to you by Carter Hutton and the Illinois State Police.

Wishful Thinking: Nashville in the Eastern Conference

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Image Source: Getty Images

After a dominating win of 4-1 over the Rangers in New York last Tuesday, the Predators have relocated their proverbial “groove” through the last three games, defeating the likes of new divisional rival, the Dallas Stars 3-1. Before regaining the taste of victory, the Predators had fallen five times in a row, spawning some much needed criticizism from the peanut gallery.

With the win over San Jose (20-6-6) last night, Nashville’s standings are now at 16-14-3, placing the Predators 11th out of 14th in the Western Conference and 6th in the Central Division, just two points ahead of Winnipeg (who is at rockbottom).

Okay, that’s a bit disheartening, isn’t it? Well, how about this: Where would Nashville stand in other divisions and the Eastern Conference? Let’s find out:

  • If Nashville was in the Metropolitan Division, which consists of Pittsburgh, Washington, Carolina, New Jersey, Columbus, Islanders, Rangers & Philadelphia), the Predators would hold 3rd place over the Carolina Hurricanes. Wishing the Predators were in the Eastern Conference now, huh?
  • If Nashville was in the Atlantic Division, they would be sitting in 6th out of 8th place, just surpassing the Ottawa Senators by three points. Not nearly as good as the Metropolitan Division, but with two teams sitting behind you instead of one, it subconsciously makes things better, right?
  • So, overall, where would Nashville stand as of Sunday, December 15th in the Eastern Conference? Carolina would be pushed aside once again and the Predators would snag 8th out of the 16 teams. Significantly better than sitting in 11th of the 14 teams in the West, right?

Well, wishing is wishing and, unfortunately, the Predators cannot hop into the Eastern Conference just because their standings would be better there. Also, a good question is, does that mean the Eastern Conference is weaker than the Western? Eh, not necessarily. Although it is clear by the numbers that Chicago (who leads the Western Conference with 51 points) would overpower the Pittsburgh Penguins (leader of the Eastern Conference with 47 points), hockey is not defined by numbers alone. That is one of the bittersweet joys of the sport of hockey; nothing is written in stone until the final sound of the buzzer. So, even though Nashville’s record would technically be better in the Eastern Conference, things could flip upside down in the matter of the 60 minutes it takes to complete an NHL game.

But, let’s stop looking at the what-ifs and take a look at the right-nows:

  • The Predators are now 9th in the league when it comes to power plays at 20.0%.
  • Carter Hutton is now 3-0-0 in the month of December, despite having a relatively awful November.
  • Carter Hutton has only allowed four goals thus far in the month of December.
  • Nashville is 13-1-2 when they score the first goal.

Stats from us, what?! Yea, we usually leave those details to the guys with credentials, but sometimes, we like to surprise the masses. But we needed to remind the masses at large that, although Nashville is sitting at the bottom of the Central Division and the Western Conference, not all the stats are bad. So keep that in mind the next time the Predators hit a snag and take a loss. It may not be all rainbows and sunshines, but it sure isn’t grey skies all the time.
Oh, and Kevin Klein got in a fight last night; so did Rich Clune, but we are more impressed by Klein.

Preds top Islanders; Jones nabs first NHL Goal

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sethjonesSaturday was wedding day for us, but for all the other Preds fans out there, it was a day to celebrate. After a crushing 0-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, the Predators knew something had to change in order to not make that mistake again. And Nashville did not disappoint against the 2-1-1 New York Islanders. Here are the highlights from Saturdays game:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Though no goals were collected for either side, Nashville took the reins and notched nine shots on goal to the Islanders’ four. However, similar to Nashville’s attempt on Toronto’s Bernier, Evgeni Nabokov just wasn’t letting the puck in the net.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • Thanks to a boarding penalty given to Casey Cizikas against Eric Nystrom 51 seconds into the period, rookie Seth Jones was able to collect his first career NHL goal at 1:03 with a slapshot assisted by veterans David Legwand (1st assist) and Shea Weber (1st assist). You can watch the goal here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xaik3y_qA
  • The Islanders would respond at 12:39 with a snap shot past Pekka Rinne from Frederik Nielsen for his second goal of the season.
  • New York would jump ahead of the Predators at 15:28 with a wrist shot from John Tavares, his third goal of the season. For those interested, Tavares is also an amateur dentist. On Friday night, he didn’t even hesitate to yank out his own tooth after taking a puck to the face. Here’s a lovely .gif, if you don’t believe me (you may have to click on it to get it to go, but fair warning):

toothYea, we couldn’t help but put that in here.

  • Late in the second period, at 19:07, Patric Hornqvist tied up the game with a wrister for his first goal of the season. Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis picked up the assist.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMZN-Bi0shs

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Ryan Ellis would seal the deal for Nashville at 3:23 with his first goal of the season. Matt Cullen (2nd assist) and Craig Smith (2nd assist) would pick up the assists on the game winning goal.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1P5kqws1qA

Was it because Viktor Stalberg jumped off the IR so quickly or maybe Gabriel Bourque’s return that boosted some Preds pride? We aren’t sure, but Stalberg’s offensive presence may have played a deciding factor in Saturday’s game. Both teams were given two powerplay chances, but surprisingly, Seth Jones was the only one able to capitalize on the opportunity (which is good for Nashville anytime).

The Predators welcome in the 2-4-0 Florida Panthers tomorrow, who are a little down in the dumps after getting shutout by the L.A. Kings 3-0 yesterday. But remember, the Predators lost to the Panthers during two of their preseason games (6 to 3, then 3 to 2 in OT).

But, let’s leave this post on an interesting side (wait, the Tavares tooth pull wasn’t good enough?); how about Ryan Ellis taking on new Predator, Eric Nystrom? Yes, little Ryan Ellis put up his dukes against Eric Nystrom, who was then with the Dallas Stars. Here’s the video:

We are sure there isn’t any bad blood left.

Preds vs. the 2013 Draft

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The much anticipated 2013 NHL Draft is just around the corner on June 30th, and rumors of who will nab who are floating around the Internets, clogging our Twitter feeds and Facebook walls.
So, say you’re new to this whole “draft” thing. You just started following hockey within the last few seasons or are just now getting interested in more than just the gameday routine. Well, here’s a background on the 2013 Draft in a nutshell:

Hockey players born between January 1, 1993 and September 15, 1995 are eligible for selection in this year’s draft. Along with those players, any un-drafted players over the age of 20 are also eligible for the draft on June 30th, as long as they are not from North America. And, last but not least, any players who were drafted in the 2011 Draft but were not signed by an NHL team who were born after June 30, 1993 are eligible to re-enter this year’s draft.

The NHL hosts a “Draft Lottery” every year to determine who will get the first overall pick in the Draft. All fourteen teams that did not qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs were given “weighted” chances towards the first pick, with the Colorado Avalanche winning the coveted first choice.

The Draft order ranks as follows (Top 10):
Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nashville Predators
Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils
Dallas Stars

We’d go through all 30 teams, but that would make this an extremely long post and would stray from the original point. Anywho, as you can see, our tried and true Predators have the No. 4 pick, which is a relatively relieving position to be in… IF the organization chooses wisely.
Wait- How can Nashville possible go wrong? A chance at any of the top four picks in the draft; there’s no way. Oh, with Nashville’s history of choosing “defensively”, so to say, there’s a definite way, alright. But let’s give our guys a break and put some faith behind them, shall we? Here are the top 5 prospects in this year’s Draft:

NORTH AMERICAN
Seth Jones (D)
Nathan MacKinnon (C)
Jonathan Drouin (LW)
Darnell Nurse (D)
Sean Monahan (C)

EUROPEAN:
Alexander Barkov, Jr. (C)
Valeri Nichushkin (RW)
Elias Lindholm (C)
Rasmus Ristolainen (D)
Alexander Wennberg (C)

Now, you would assume that Colorado would go for Seth Jones, the prospected No. 1 pick, right? Well, in the last few days, Colorado has began to back away from the young defenseman, claiming that their options are “open” to any of the top prospect, not just Jones. Though the chances of him, if Colorado passes him up, ending up within Nashville’s grasp are slim, the possibility is still there. Thus leads to this blog post that you are reading.

Without dreaming of Seth Jones, Nashville’s most realistic draftee would be Alexander Barkov, a young Finnish-Russian who collected 21 goals in the 2012-13 season with Tappara in the SM-liiga, along with 27 assists. And you are thinking, “How could Nashville pass this kid up? Forget Jones! Let’s get a goal scorer!” Reviewing his stats with SM-liiga, it’s easy to g0al-hungry forget the fact that, although it is an utterly annoying cliche, NHL-style hockey is a whole new ballgame. Though he did extremely well in Europe doesn’t guarantee he’ll do well on NHL ice or under an NHL coach… especially one that does not take risky, unorganized plans very well (ex. Colin Wilson and Craig Smith, foresee the future of Filip Forsberg). However, despite that risk, in Nashville’s case, a Center with a positive goal and assist history is something to jump on if given the chance.

So with that, you wonder why Nashville would even go for a defenseman like Seth Jones. Well, remember, it is Nashville we are talking about; the team that loves to known for their defensive abilities. While being known as one of the top defensive teams in the league is great, one excelled attribute doesn’t win the ultimate goal. You have to find the right mixture of defense and offense and, for the Predators, that has been awfully difficult. This may be considered tacky, but let’s use this as an example: Everyone played the Sims (don’t you dare deny it). Whether you played to live our your fantasy life with a crush or just enjoyed setting your Sims on fire, you had to design your Sim person before you could start anything. If you actually played more than just to burn the house down, you had to create a Sim with a good, even mixture of personality. Be too “outgoing” and you’d come off as annoying to other Sims; not enough “neat” and your trash would be piling up all over the house. Again, terrible and silly comparison, but you have to admit; it’s true.

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You remember this…

While Nashville had the defensive powerhouse that was Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, the rest of the team was neglected, thus leaving the Predators to come up short time and time again in the playoffs (this year, not even making them). Sadly, this theory can be thrown at the team over and over, but action has to be taken in order to see the fruits on one’s labor.

The Preds tend to stay in the “safe zone” when it comes to drafting or trading, and that goes for any time of the season. More than likely, the same will happen June 30th. If Seth Jones is still available by the fourth pick, Nashville will undoubtedly snatch him up. You can’t blame them, of course. Ranked the best upcoming defenseman? Sure, he’s an outstanding choice that Nashville would be nuts not to pick up. However, it is a fact that Seth Jones would be much better for other teams, but I assume it would be okay to greedy… until he grew to big for his britches and he would either ask to be traded or would take an offer elsewhere when given the chance.

Speculation is all that is.

As much as either Seth Jones or Alexander Barkov would make Nashville a happier organization, no pick is set in stone. Colorado could be lying and grab Jones with their first pick, or they could go off the wall and draft someone further down the line. Tampa Bay could tell Nashville to kiss their butts and draft Barkov or Jones before Nashville gets the reins. Luckily, the Predators have landed in a good spot, no matter who they end up drafting. Personally, we pray it is NOT a defenseman but hey, all we can do is put faith in our fellow man and pray they spice it up a bit with an offensive player.

Western Conference Standings Update

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I hope that photographer didn’t like that camera.

The standings are in from the last games of March, riding on the heels of the last month of regular season hockey. And, from the looks of it, Nashville is going to be fighting all the way through the month of April. Here is a snapshot from NHL.com of the current standings going into April:

Image Source: NHL.com

Image Source: NHL.com

The last post was written before all the games were over today, thus the standings are a tad bit different if you read it or have read it. With Columbus’s win over Anaheim, the Blue Jackets buzz past Nashville, Edmonton, and Dallas to take the elusive 8th spot, knocking St. Louis into 9th. Nashville is now in 12th of 15, just two points behind Columbus. But Dallas, Edmonton, and St. Louis stand in their way, all of who are fighting for that last playoff spot as well.

Check out the post below about what all Nashville faces going into the month of April. By the looks of tonight’s outcomes, it’s looking like it’s going to be an even rougher final month of hockey.

 

A Shutout leads to a Shootout in Nashville: Oilers & Wild Recap

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Rich Clune takes on Mike Brown, while SK74 tries to derail Ryan Suter.

Rich Clune takes on Mike Brown, while SK74 tries to derail Ryan Suter.

After being completely manhandled by the L.A. Kings on Monday, the Predators took a much needed four-day rest, hoping to regenerate some sort of game plan to make it through the rest of the season. The Predators have proven they do slightly better at home this season, but back-to-back games? Let’s highlight the recaps of both games against the Edmonton Oilers and the Minnesota Wild:

FRIDAY – EDMONTON OILERS

  • Patric Hornqvist picked up his first goal since returning from the IR, sending a wrist shot past Devan Dubnyk at 6:07. Colin Wilson picked up his 11th assist and Mike Fisher picked up his 5th assist.
  • Rich Clune and Mike Brown dropped gloves shortly after Hornqvist’s goal. Here is the video of the punch fest:
  • David Legwand would end the 1st period 2-0 with a strange wrist shot from the centerline that Dubnyk just didn’t seem to know what to do with. Legwand was first noted as unassisted on his fourth goal, but Colin Wilson was awarded his 12th assist on the goal. Here’s the video of this head shaking goal:
  • At 51 seconds into the second period, Rich Clune picked up his second NHL career goal, assisted by Paul Gaustad (3rd assist) and Sergei Kostitsyn (8th assist). Made up for that five for fighting, right?
  • One of the new B’s (all three actually were in the lineup as expected), Zach Boychuk made his presence known at 18:22 with his first goal of the season and first as part of the Nashville organization. His tip-in goal was assisted by Shea Weber (7th assist) and Martin Erat (10th assist).
  • Colin Wilson would lead the Predators up 5-0 at 4:43 into the 3rd with a backhander for his sixth goal of the season. Mike Fisher picked up his sixth assist along with Shea Weber picking up his 8th assist.
  • Colin would then again nab his second goal of the night at 16:39 on the powerplay, his seventh overall. Shea Weber would collect his ninth assist, along with Craig Smith obtaining his third assist. This was Wilson’s first career 4-point game.
  • Although Nashville put a pounding on  their first meeting with Edmonton, the Oilers ultimately sent Patric Hornqvist back out of the lineup. Suffering from an upper body injury, Hornqvist missed ice time against the Minnesota Wild and will be out against Dallas for tomorrow’s game.

SATURDAY – MINNESOTA WILD

  • Ouch. Although they were shown for the likes of Steve Sullivan and Jordin Tootoo, Ryan Suter did not receive a tribute video for his contributions while with the Predators. As you heard from the video above, Nashville hadn’t forgotten Suter’s “sneaky” ways around signing with the Minnesota Wild. A video was indeed made, but after the reaction the fans would give every time Suter hit the ice, the video was canned.
  • Minnesota would strike first at 9:01 in the second with a powerplay goal by Zach Parise for his ninth goal of the season. Ryan Suter would pick up his 15th assist along with Mikko Koivu (15th assist).
  • David Legwand would tie the game at 6:28 in the third period, his fifth of the season. Sergei Kostitsyn would collect his ninth assist and Shea Weber would collect his 10th assist.

SHOOTOUT:

MINNESOTA – Zach Parise – MISS
NASHVILLE – Gabriel Bourque – MISS
MINNESOTA – Mikko Koivu – GOAL
NASHVILLE – Craig Smith – GOAL
MINNESOTA – Matt Cullen – GOAL
NASHVILLE – David Legwand – MISS

  • Though not exactly the 6-0 shutout from the night before, Nashville still managed to grab a point instead being demolished by Parise and Suter. However, Colin Wilson did leave the game with an upper body injury, similar to Hornqvist’s the night before.

Nashville is currently sitting in fourth in the Central Division, with Columbus just two points behind (26, 24). However, the are sitting in an ugly 11th in the Western Conference, tied with Dallas at 10th and just two points behind St. Louis who sits in 8th. While we are at it, let’s just go ahead and tell you were Nashville sits league-wise: 20th. With less than a month left in the regular season, Nashville will have to make some major adjustments, which (in a way) they have with the Three B’s, if they want to see an extended season. Or, maybe they are just ready for an early golf season?

UPDATES:

  • Patric Hornqvist and Colin Wilson have now been placed on the IR, which means they will both at least be out for a week. Brandon Yip, on the other hand, has made his way off the IR, practicing with the team this morning. Hal Gill is on the mend, but is still day-to-day.
  • Matt Halischuk has returned to Nashville early, due in part to both Colin and Patric’s injuries. Though we don’t believe he was on the same track initially as Brian McGrattan, Colin and Patric’s injuries may have bought Halischuk some time. Who knows. We could be completely wrong. There is still much to be seen with the Nashville Predators.

The OT Champs: Preds comeback against Stars 5-4

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Source: Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Overtime seems to be the way of the world for the Nashville Predators this season. The NHL season is just barely a month old and the Predators have already seen ten overtime periods (and six shootouts) in just twenty games. I am no math wizard, but anyone can do the equation on that one. I remember getting excited when games would go into overtime and it was a treat to see a shootout; now, it’s just part of the normal routine as a Nashville Predators fan.

But what about the team? Do they enjoy the uncertainty of overtime and/or shootout? You can’t say it’s for the worst – overtime and shootouts, no matter the outcome, get both teams at least one point, which is better than nothing with a loss in regulation. But with only four regulation wins out of twenty games, is Nashville banking on non-regulation points to power them into the playoffs and does said technique even work during that critical time period?

Monday night’s game of high blood pressure. The tension was high from the get-go with Nashville opting for “God Bless America” over the traditional national anthem (Stars fans tend to get a little rowdy during particular points in the song). After defeating the San Jose Sharks three to one on Saturday night, Dallas was flying high as they entered Music City. Nashville, on the other hand, were a bit bruised and beaten after suffering two shutouts back-to-back against Vancouver on Friday and Detroit on Saturday. Would the Stars’ momentum power them past the ailing Predators? Here are the highlights from last night’s game:

FIRST PERIOD

  • The first period remained relatively quiet, with both teams taking their share of shots at their respective nets. The Predators did manage to out-shoot Dallas eight to six at the end of the period.
  • Craig Smith relieved fans from the possibility of a shutout at 13:43 of the first period with a snap shot passed Cristopher Nilstrop for his second goal of the season. Rich Clune picked up his first assist of the season and Sergei Kostitsyn picked up his sixth.

SECOND PERIOD

  • Apparently something snapped between the two teams during the first intermission, for the second period turned the tides on a new game. Dallas wasted no time tying the game at 1:20 into the 2nd period with a slap shot past Rinne by Matt Fraser for his first NHL career goal.
  • Fifteen seconds later, Reilly Smith would pick up his third goal of the season with a tip-in goal, nudging the Stars over the Predators 2-1.
  • Roman Josi would collect his second goal of the season at 3:05 with a slap shot assisted by David Legwand (4th assist) and Patric Hornqvist (5th assist).
  • Mike Fisher would pick up a double minor for a high-sticking penalty at 7:29, giving former Pred, Vernon Fiddler his first goal of the season with a slap shot, thus beginning the onslaught of tension between the teams.
  • Brandon Yip and Eric Nystrom would drop the gloves at 11:45. Yippers isn’t one to back down from a fight, but he isn’t the first to start a scrum, either. Here’s the video in case you haven’t seen it:
  • Loui Eriksson would push the Stars up 4 to 2 with a powerplay tip-in past Pekka Rinne at 9:21 for his fifth goal of the season.
  • Mike Fisher and Vernon Fiddler would jabber back and forth, a typical trait of Fiddler that works very well against his opponents. It wasn’t until after Shea Weber was high-sticked in the face (and would eventually need stitches) that things started to turn in favor of Nashville. It’s amazing what an Angry Shea will do to motivate a team.
  • Patric Horqnvist would rally back for the Predators at 13:43 with a powerplay backhander, his second goal of the season. Martin Erat would pick up his eighth assist and Roman Josi would pick up his third of the season, second point of the night.
  • The Stars would hold the lead 4-3 at the end of the 2nd period, with them out-shooting Nashville thirteen to ten. After a few scrums around the net and a couple dirty swings, both teams were ready to seal the win in the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

  • Still working with the momentum from the second period, both teams kept both goaltenders on their toes, but it would be Mike Fisher who would find the sweet spot, backhanding a goal through Nilstrop’s five hole. Fisher’s game tying goal was his fourth of the season, with an assist from Colin Wilson (10th assist) and Roman Josi (4th assist, 3rd point of the night).

OVERTIME

  • It took Roman Josi just 28 seconds into overtime to collect his third goal of the season for the GWG. Sergei Kostitsyn picked up his seventh assist with Shea Weber picking up his fifth assist.

 

MUSINGS:

  • Roman Josi not only sealed the game winning goal in favor of Nashville, he also hit a career milestone. Josi collected four points overall during last night’s game, a career high in his young professional career.
  • Speaking of milestones, Mike Fisher’s GTG was his official 200th career goal.
  • And yet another milestone to talk about, last night’s game was Shea Weber’s official 500th professional game, all noted as a Nashville Predator.
  • Hal Gill, Paul Gaustad, and Brian McGrattan were all scratched for the night, with Gaustad expected to return Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks. Gill, who is suffering from an upper-body injury, is still deemed day-to-day.

 

Although regulation wins are cleaner and a bit less stressful, points are points and, in the race for the Stanley Cup, one point is better than no point, right? Either way, overtimes and shootouts are becoming part of the norm for the Nashville Predators, so as long as they can get the two points out of them, a win’s a win.

UNTIL THEN,
GO PREDS