Tag: Gabriel Bourque

Predators blank Red Wings 2-0

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Courtesy: Getty Images — And yes, this is an older photo

After a less than successful road trip to their tremendous win over the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night 7-2, Nashville hit the road again, making their first stop in the Motor City; the first time since Detroit hopped ship to the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Wings, after years of questioning their position in the West, their debut in the East hasn’t exactly been the brightest. Though a better record than Nashville at 9-5-7 (NSH – 9-9-2), the Wings have been on a downslope the last six games. That’s right; six games. Luckily for Detroit, however, 5 out of 6 of those losses have resulted in either a SO or OT, so at least a point is gained.
So, after the outstanding performance against the Blackhawks Saturday night, would the Predators extend the momentum to the Joe and hand their old foes their seventh consecutive loss? Let’s jump to the highlights:

First Period:

  • Neither team was able to collect a goal during the first period, but it was far from uneventful.
  • Both sides were given Power Play opportunities, but neither goalie was willing to give the other side any leeway.
  • Nashville outshot Detroit 10 to 7 at the end of the first period.

Second Period:

  • Plenty of penalties were had in the second period, with the Red Wings notching three and the Predators picking up one from Mike Fisher’s holding call.
  • Nashville would finally connect on a Power Play opportunity at 19:55 (yes, just five seconds left in the period) with an infamous slapshot from Shea Weber (6th overall). David Legwand notched his 14th assist on Weber’s goal.
  • Detroit would take the lead in shots-on-goal in the second, 9 to 7.

Third Period:

  • Gabriel Bourque would put Nashville up 2-0 at 7:13 with a backhander around Jimmy Howard (3rd overall). Viktor Stalberg would pick up the assist (2nd overall).

In an interesting and bizarre call, Viktor Stalberg and Mikael Samuelsson both received holding penalties, though they clearly initiated a fight. Was it because no punches were thrown? Who knows, but both we given minors for the incident.
Detroit would attempt to take the helm by outshooting Nashville 11 to 8, but it just wasn’t enough to power past the rookie goaltender.
Speaking of rookie goaltender, kudos to Marek Mazanec for his first career NHL shutout. And in the Joe, nonetheless! Mazanec is just the second Czech-born goaltender to record a shutout for the Predators.
Final shot count: Detroit 27, Nashville 25.
Screen shot 2013-11-19 at 9.42.00 PM

I’d like to believe that Nashville has shaken their slump and that the sting of 5-0 shutouts have faded from recent memory, but I won’t be setting up my lawn chair for the Stanley Cup parade on Broadway just yet… but I like the path they are on currently. A win over Chicago and Detroit are always confidence builders.

The Predators head East to Toronto to take on the 13-7-1 Maple Leafs, who Nashville has already beaten on the road once this season. So, can they do it again? We’ll find out Thursday night at 6PM.

Predators Out-Play Blackhawks 7-2

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Back-to-back games are rough on any team and after coming off a 17-day road trip, Nashville was no exception. But after losing 4-1 to Pittsburgh and turning right around to take on the 13-2-4 Chicago Blackhawks? But let us not forget the Predators way: When they should win, they lose; When they should lose, they win. Totally makes for great blood pressure, truly. Let’s jump to the highlights:

First Period:

  • Similar to last night, Nashville struck first with a wrister from Matt Cullen at 7:28, his third goal of the season. Craig Smith (6th assist) and Seth Jones (6th assist) would collect the assists.
  • Nick Spaling would put the Predators up 2-0 at 8:25 with wrister of his own for his second goal of the season. Craig Smith would notch his second assist of the game (7th overall) and Ryan Ellis would pick up an assist, too (4th overall).
  • Nashville would outshoot Chicago 10 to 7, with NHL rookie Marek Mazanec stepping up his game from last night’s punishment.

Second Period:

  • The Predators kept the momentum into the second with a Power Play tip-in goal from Patric Hornqvist (6th goal) at 9:02. Roman Josi, who was first awarded the goal, picked up his 2nd assist overall along with Shea Weber (5th overall).
  • Craig Smith (4th goal) would give Nashville a substantial 4-0 lead at 18:18 with a backhander past Corey Crawford. Matt Cullen (3rd assist) would pick up the assist.
  • Chicago would finally get on the board at 18:44 with a wrister from Patrick Kane, his 11th goal of the season.
  • Nashville would keep the Blackhawks at bay with a 4-1 at the end of the 2nd period, though this time, Chicago outshoot the Predators 18 to 13.
  • Kudos to Mazanec for blocking 17 of 18 shots during the second period, especially after being pulled after the same period the night before. Amazing what a game at home can do… even if there is way too many mustard jerseys filling said seats.

Third Period:

  • Chicago would embrace the second intermission and come out swinging in the third, collecting their second goal at just 6:14 into the second period. Brandon Pirri collected his 5th goal of the season on Chicago’s goal.
  • Viktor Stalberg would give his old team a big middle finger just fifteen seconds later with a backhander past Crawford for his second goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque (3rd assist) and David Legwand (12th assists) would help collect Nashville’s fifth goal of the night.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQHUu3XNfMw
  • At 12:19, Mike Fisher would pick up his third goal of the season with an assist from Patric Hornqvist (7th assist), putting the home team up 6-2.
  • And, at 14:07, Captain Shea Weber sealed the deal with his signature slapshot to put Nashville up 7-2. Roman Josi (3rd assist) and David Legwand (13th assist) setup Weber’s 5th goal of the season.
  • Chicago would put the extra pressure on Mazanec in the third period, outshooting Nashville a cool 16 to 7. Again, another shout out to the NHL rookie for blocking 15 of 16 shots on goal. He took a pounding, nonetheless.
  • Marek Mazanec, after being pulled after the second period the night before, collected his first NHL win tonight against the defending Stanley Cup champions. The final shot totals: Chicago 41, Nashville 30. So, doing the easy math, Mazanec blocked 39 of 41 shots on goal. Pretty spectacular for a rookie, eh?

Again, the Nashville Predators just have this uncanny way of defeating teams that just aren’t on the radar. Never, never count out the pesky Preds, my friends. Even after the whole ticket debacle, the Bridgestone Arena was still overrun with those awful red jerseys, which was not unexpected; we pissed them off. Maybe with this win, Chicago fans will have some respect when visiting Nashville and maybe, just maybe, take them down a peg or two. Did I personally hear the whole “two Cups in three years” line tonight? Yes, yes I did. As they say, “Scoreboard, son”.

Preds Fall 4-1 to Penguins

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Courtesy: Getty Images

The final stop of the 17-day road trip brought Nashville to 11-7-0 Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night. The tail end of this road trip has been brutal on the Predators, losing twice 5-0 and then scoring only one goal each in two games. Yea, the Predators have seen better days. So, would a trip to the Steel City bring the momentum Nashville so desperately desires? Well, not really.

  • Gabriel Bourque got the ball rolling early for Nashville at 2:28 with a tip-in goal with an assist from Kevin Klein’s shot.
  • Marek Mazanec was pulled after the second period, allowing two goals in the first period and two in the second. He’d come away blocking 21 of 25 shots, but Carter Hutton would block all eight taken in the third period.
  • Eric Nystrom would give the Predators a scare after coming out on the back end of his tussle with Tanner Glass. A little shaken up and sent to the locker room, Nystrom sent out this Tweet after the game:

  • Scratches of the Night: Rich Clune, Matt Hendricks & Victor Bartley

Pittsburgh would enviably overpower Nashville 4-1, putting them now at 12-7-0 overall & the Predators 8-9-2. Time to come home, boys! The Predators will welcome the ever-loved Chicago Blackhawks to town Saturday night, then return to the road Tuesday to face the old foe, the Detroit Red Wings.

Preds hand Avs Second Loss; Win 6-4

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Courtesy: Getty Images

After a tough victory in Hollywood, it was off to the Mile High City to take on the 12-1-0 Colorado Avalanche last night. If you were to go by records alone (and were a betting man), you would’ve undoubtedly placed your money on the Avalanche, for Nashville stood at just 7-5-2 coming into last night’s game. But, hockey tends to fly a little differently than other sports and, even with the best record in the league, you could still meet them on a off-night. Is that what the Predators did or are they finally getting a feel for the ice? Was it the altitude? I’d say, it was mixture of the Predators easing together and the Avs having a bad night, simply because Nashville made some horrendous, rookie-esk moves that should have cost them the game. Likewise, they also made some outstanding plays that helped propel them to the 6-4 win over the Avalanche. Very Predator-like, I’d say. Here are the highlights from last night’s game:

First Period:

  • Viktor Stalberg collected his first goal in gold white at 13:12 with a wrister past Semyon Varlamov. Colin Wilson notched his fifth assist and Mattias Ekholm collected his fourth of the season. Now that he’s finally had his first goal taste, we guesstimate Stalberg will have many more to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgRyfSJ8Uno

  • P.A. Parenteau wouldn’t wait long to tie the game, sending a wrister of his own past Carter Hutton at 15:23.
  • Nashville would end the first period on a high as Craig Smith jumped the lead to 2-1 at 19:04, his fourth goal of the season. Colin Wilson picked up his second assist of the night (6th overall) and Ryan Ellis picked up his 2nd assist overall. A few minutes after Parenteau’s goal, Jamie McGinn sent Seth Jones roughly into the boards, causing Gabriel Bourque to wail on him (understandably). Though not deemed a major, McGinn was given a double minor of Charging and Roughing. Craig Smith would capitalize on the powerplay opportunity.
  • Nashville would out-shoot Colorado 10 to 2 in the first period.

Second Period:

  • Ryan O’Reilly (y’all remember Cal, right?) would start the second period in favor of Colorado, tying the game at 2.
  • Paul Gaustad would essentially “Dikembe Mutombo” with a tip-in (3rd goal) assisted by Filip Forsberg (4th assist). It was, essentially, Forsberg’s goal as he shot it directly at the net and probably would’ve gone in (we won’t say 100%) without the slight tough of Gaustad’s stick. No matter to us, a Predators goal is a good goal.

Google images

  • Colin Wilson would collect his first goal of the night – third point of the night – at 6:47 for his second goal of the season. Ryan Ellis (3rd assist) and Roman Josi (first assist) would assist on the play.
  • Colorado would again pull within one with a wrister from Paul Stastny at 13:37 for his fifth goal of the season.
  • The second period would end with Nashville clinging to a 4-3 lead.
  • After the clock had winded down to end the second period, Erik Johnson was thrown a 10-minute misconduct for tossing his broken stick into the stands. Although it was deemed unintentional, as he was actually just tossing it behind him to get rid of it, shards did fly into the crowd. And, as the rulebook states, it’s 10 minutes of bench time.

There’s more to the rule, but you can see the jist of it above. Either way, Johnson’s accident gave Nashville the much needed upper-hand going into the third period.

Third Period:

  • Matt Duchene would tie the game early in third at 4:23 for his tenth goal of the season.
  • Colin Wilson would tally his second goal of the night shortly after at 7:34 with a backhander (3rd goal of the season). Viktor Stalberg would pick up his first assist and David Legwand would notch his 9th overall.

  • Gabriel Bourque would collect his first goal of the season with an empty-netter at 19:42 to seal the game in favor of the Predators. David Legwand collected his 10th assist on that one, too.

Defeating a team that has only lost once this season? Yea, I’d say that’s a huge momentum builder if I’ve ever seen one. At least, I hope so. Also, how about Nashville when it comes to powerplay goals? The Predators started out 0-7 but are now 11-45… that’s third in the entire NHL. Muy bueno, y’all. Also, Carter Hutton, though a little shaky here and there, improves to 4-1-1.

So, who’s next? Nashville flies North to Winnipeg – yes, they are playing Winnipeg again – to carry the momentum through that game on Friday.

Late Goal gives Preds Win over Kings 4-3

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Courtesy: Getty Images

Game 2 of the longest road-trip in Predators history and, after coming up short in Phoenix, Nashville would need to slip around the 9-5-0 L.A. Kings to keep the coal burning. The second meeting between the pair, the Kings visited the Music City back on October 17th and left with a win in a shootout, 2-1. So it was now Nashville’s turn to come into the Kings’ home and steal a victory, yes? Jump on down to the highlights:

First Period:

  • David Legwand, who apparently wants to show who’s boss here lately, collected his third goal of the season at 11:15 on the powerplay. Seth Jones picked up his 5th assist, along with Patric Hornqvist collecting his fourth.
  • Shea Weber wouldn’t be quieted for long, scoring his own powerplay goal at 19:06 with Patric Hornqvist notching his fifth assist and Mike Fisher picking up his fifth as well.
  • The Kings were going down without a fight first, with Anze Kopitar sinking a wrister past Carter Hutton just 20 seconds after Weber’s goal.
  • The Kings would out-shoot Nashville 16 to 9, so give Carter Hutton some credit that only one was able to get passed him.
  • Rich Clune, after being scratched numerous times, returned in time to receive a 10-minute misconduct due to fighting and instigating Daniel Carcillo. Don’t get upset if you see Clune scratched again in the near future; it happens when you’re an enforcer.

Second Period:

  • Eric Nystrom would being the lone star in the second period with a snap shot past Jonathan Quick at 8:41 for his fourth goal of the season. You want to talk about someone who has shown his worth after being picked up during the off season. Patric Horqnvist would continue his helpfulness with an assist, his sixth of the season and third of the game.
  • Mike Fisher left the game during the second period after sustaining a lower-body injury. He did not return for the remainder of the game.

Third Period:

  • And here’s where L.A. would come roaring back like the lions they are. Dustin Brown would collect a sneaky tip-in at 9:41 for his third of the season, putting the Kings back by one.
  • Mike Richards would then tie the game at 11:18 with a powerplay goal from a Ryan Ellis penalty. At this point, the game looked like a flashback from the Phoenix game.
  • At 16:04, David Legwand would swoop in and seal the game in Nashville’s favor with a wrister, his second goal of the night & fourth overall. Mattias Ekholm would pick up the assist (3rd assist).
  • In a game similar to the one before it, Nashville slipped out of Hollywood with the win, thanks to David Legwand. Now, we know it takes a team to collect a win, but give a hand to Mr. Legwand; he started the game and ended it.
  • The Predators are now off to the Mile High City to take on the Colorado Avalanche for the second time this season. The first match up left the Predators with a loss of 3-1… let’s hope for better this Wednesday.

SCRATCHES FOR NASHVILLE:
Victor Bartley
Gabriel Bourque
Matt Hendricks

Coyotes best Preds in SO 5-4

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Courtesy of Getty Images

The Predators headed out to sunny Arizona for their first of seven away games on this historic 17-day road trip around the league. The Preds and Coyotes have butted heads in recent years, thanks to a meeting between the two in the second round of the playoffs two years ago. This season, however, the Coyotes are sitting just a little higher than Nashville with a 8-3-2 record compared to Nashville’s 6-5-1 going into Halloween’s game. So, how did Nashville fair in the Arizona heat? Check the highlights:

First Period:

  • Matt Hendricks scored his first goal of the season & with the Predators organization nine minutes into the game with a wrister past goalie Thomas Greiss. David Legwand (7th assist) and Mattias Ekholm (2nd assist) would notch the assists.
  • Eric Nystrom would put Nashville up 2-0 at 14:12 with a backhander for his third goal of the season. David Legwand would pick up his second assist of the night (8th assist) and Patric Hornqvist would tally his 3rd of the season.
  • A late powerplay goal from David Legwand would send the Predators up 3-0 at the end of the first period, Legwand’s second goal of the season. Seth Jones (4th assist) and Shea Weber (3rd assist) would help with the assists.

Second Period:

  • The second period would rest solely in the hands of Phoenix, with both goals awarded in their favor.
  • Jordan Szwarz would notch his first goal of the season at 2:21 in the second.
  • Derek Morris then collected his fourth goal of the season with a slapshot past Carter Hutton at 9:51.
  • Phoenix would end the second period down just 2-3.
  • Though Nashville had more shots on goal (8), Phoenix was able to connect more with two of their six.

Third Period:

  • Paul Gaustad would gain momentum at 4:15 with a wrist shot for his second goal of the season. Nick Spaling would notch his second assist of the season on Gaustad’s goal.
  • The Coyotes wouldn’t hang behind too long, with a powerplay goal by Shane Doan at 6:16, putting Phoenix again within one.
  • Antoine Vermette would tie the game at 8:17, eventually sending the game into overtime.
  • Again, Nashville came out with more shots on goal at 19 to Phoenix’s 10, but the connection was just not in the favor of Nashville during the second and third periods.

Overtime:

  • No goals with Phoenix getting four SOG and Nashville just two.

SHOOTOUT:
PHOENIX – Mike Ribeiro – MISS
NASHVILLE – Craig Smith – MISS
PHOENIX – Radim Vrbata – MISSNASHVILLE – Matt Cullen – MISS
PHOENIX – Oliver Ekman-Larsson – MISS
NASHVILLE – Mike Fisher – MISS
PHOENIX – David Rundblad – MISS
NASHVILLE – Gabriel Bourque – MISS
PHOENIX – Mikkel Boedker – GOAL
NASHVILLE – David Legwand – MISS

It’s never a good feeling to have control during one period and then completely lose it the next, never regaining it the rest of the game. Nashville puttered out after the first, but at least pulled it into overtime to gain a point than a complete loss. Something to note, Viktor Stalberg made his presence known on the first line, stopping the puck from going into the net during the second period, which could have been costly for Nashville in the end.

SCRATCHES FOR NASHVILLE:
Rich CluneFilip Forsberg
Victor Bartley

Preds Fall to Kings in SO, 2-1

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pekkarinne

The Predators had arguably the best game performance of the season Thursday night, despite falling short in the shootout against the L.A. Kings. To keep this short and sweet since WordPress finally wants to work & because this game was three days ago, we’ll jump straight to the highlights:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Matt Cullen would notch his first goal as a Predator at 10:33 with wrister past Jonathan Quick. Craig Smith (4th assist) and Gabriel Bourque (2nd assist) would gain the assists on Cullen’s first goal.
  • Just before the end of the period, L.A. would tie the game with a wrister from Slava Voynov at 19:18, his second goal of the season.

SECOND, THIRD & OVERTIME PERIODS:

  • Neither teams would be able to capitalize on the many penalties tallied in the second, third & overtime periods. Jonathan Quick would lose his helmet a few times, causing some understandable frustration in both the Preds and fans.

SHOOTOUT:
Craig Smith – MISS
Mike Richards – MISS
Filip Forsberg – MISS
Jeff Carter – MISS
Matt Cullen – MISS
Anze Kopitar – GOAL

Nashville came away victorious in the shots-on-goal area, notching 35 over L.A.’s 30. Nashville’s penalty kill has been on the up-and-up, which has always been a weak spot for them. The Predators end their home stance 3-3-1.

Predators best Panthers 4-3

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Image courtesy: Frederick Breedon

After being crushed 3-0 by the L.A. Kings, the Florida Panthers were hoping to regain some ground in Nashville, but the Predators, high off their win over the Islanders on Saturday, had other ideas. Nashville didn’t have such good luck against the Panthers in the preseason, but tonight was another ballgame. Here are the highlights from tonight’s game:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Nashville sent out their claws first, with Shea Weber scoring his first goal of the season with a clean slapshot at 9:23. Mike Fisher (3rd assist) and Colin Wilson (2nd assist) picked up the assists on the captain’s goal.
  • Florida would out-shoot Nashville nine to six, but Pekka Rinne and the defense would keep the Panthers at bay during the first period.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • The Panthers would come out swinging in the second, with Jonathan Huberdeau would send a wrister past Pekka at 1:16 for his third goal of the season.
  • Mike Fisher would give the Predators the lead once again at 12:48 with his second goal of the season. Craig Smith (3rd assist) and Seth Jones (2nd assist) would help on the assist for Fisher’s goal.
  • Florida would tie it once more at 13:30 with a slapshot from former Predator, Marcel Goc for his third goal of the season.
  • Nashville would take the lead on shots-on-goal, with nine over Florida’s eight.

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Craig Smith would give Nashville another lead early in the third at 1:22 with a backhander for his first goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque would pick up his first assist and Shea Weber would nab his second on Smith’s goal.
  • Patric Hornqvist would help the Preds up 4-2 over the Panthers with a powerplay goal at 5:13 for his second goal of the season. David Legwand (2nd assist) and Filip Forsberg (1st assist) would collect the assists on Hornqvist’s goal.
  • Matt Gilroy would put the Panthers within one at 11:37 with a wrister, but it just wasn’t enough in the end to edge past the Predators for the win.
  • Nashville would again overpower Florida when it came to shots, out-shooting the Panthers fifteen to eight in the third alone.

Overall, Nashville would out-shoot Florida 30 to 25 and come out with the victory of 4-3.
Also to note, tonight was David Legwand’s 900th NHL game.

The Predators welcome the 4-3-0 L.A. Kings Thursday night, who actually lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Will that take down the Kings a peg or will that form a chip on their shoulder? Guess we’ll find out Thursday!

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 prove Victorious at Home; Silence Jackets 5-2

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Source: Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Hey! Long time, no see! We’ve been awfully quiet lately (on the blog-front, that is) and we apologize for leaving you in the dark on here, at least. We are still staying busy on Facebook and Twitter, but it’s time to give the actual blog some loving, too!

So what’s been going on since we last posted? Well, nothing to brag about, honestly. From the horrendous road trip to Sergei Kostitsyn’s lapse in judgement, there hasn’t been much to be proud of with Nashville. But the Predators dragged themselves back home, taking on Brian McGrattan and the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. Nashville has always had better luck at home and proved that fact by knocking out the same team (5-3) that pummeled them 6-3 not even a week before.

With just two points away from holding down a playoff spot, Nashville would need to come out strong against the hot-streaking Columbus – wait, what? Blue Jackets? No, that is no typo. The Blue Jackets, who is normally the weakest team of the Central Division, has found some miracle only devised by a Disney movie. Well, with whatever Peter Pan magic the Blue Jackets have come across, Nashville would need a regulation win to power back towards the playoffs. Here are the highlights from last night’s game:

KEY POINTS:

  • Scott Hannan, Ryan Ellis, and Craig Smith (who is sitting pretty in Milwaukee) landed on the Scratched List last night.
  • Taylor Beck got the ball rolling at 7:11 in the first with a straightaway wrister past Sergei Bobrovsky to collect his first career NHL goal. Beck was assisted two former teammates on the Admirals Gabriel Bourque (3rd assist) and Jonathon Blum (5th assist).
  • Less than a minute later, Shea Weber sent a snap shot into the net on the powerplay for his sixth goal of the season. Bobby Butler picked up his forth assist along with Martin Erat picking up his 13th assist.
  • Columbus would finally notch at controversial goal at 9:29 when R.J. Umberger slipped a wrister past Rinne.
  • Columbus fans weren’t given a chance to celebrate, as David Legwand put the Preds up 3-1 at 9:46 for his seventh goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque notched his fourth assist (second of the night) and Taylor Beck nabbed his first career NHL assist.
  • A goal at 10:15 by Matt Halischuk gave Nashville it’s fastest Frotsie in franchise history, his second goal of the season. Bobby Butler picked up his second assist of the night (fifth overall) and Chris Mueller (first overall).
  • Rich Clune would receive a five-minute interference major along with a game misconduct, tossing him from the game. Though not seen a t first, Clune apparently elbowed Artem Anisimov in the face when he did not have the puck. However, even with a five minute penalty and a relatively strange interference on goalkeeper call on Mike Fisher, Nashville was able to hold Columbus at bay.
  • Nashville would end the first period with a history-maker, the fastest number of goals in one period in franchise history.
  • The second period would be less intense, but one goal would be scored in favor of Columbus thanks to Artem Anisimov, his eighth goal of the season.
  • Brandon Yip and Derek MacKenzie would drop the gloves at 17:06 in the second, with no explanation of what caused the tiff. You can see the video of Yip’s domination here:
  • Similar to the second period, the third stood no contest to the first period, with the only goal scored at 19:36 by Roman Josi on an empty-netter, his fifth goal of the season. Mike Fisher picked up his eighth assist along with Martin Erat collecting his 14th overall assist.

With the way the team has played the last two games, it stands to wander “where did this team come from?” Going from one extreme to the other, Nashville definitely keeps its fans on their toes and their hearts in their throats.

Though two wins in a row relieves a little bit of stress, the Predators are still in hot water and, though a little bit closer, just aren’t as close to the shore as they need to be.

Nashville remains at home tomorrow night, welcoming in the Edmonton Oilers, who have also won their last two games. Though Edmonton is sitting in 13th, whereas Nashville is in 10th (tied with 32 points with San Jose and Columbus), the Oilers are chopping at Nashville’s tail at 29 points.

With only sixteen games left in the regular season, the room for error is getting slimmer by the minute for Nashville.