Tag: Nashville

Hutton leads Predators over Jets 3-1

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

The Predators have had some great outcomes thus far this season, but tonight it was finally time to let the Finnish phenom take a break and let the backup try his hand at a full NHL game. Insert: Carter Hutton, the confident backup for Pekka Rinne who has only had one shot at protecting an NHL basket. When was that? First game of the season when Peks was pulled in the first period against the St. Louis Blues. But hey, Pekka’s looking much better now (scared me there for a moment).

So, how did Hutton fair against Matt Halischuk and the Winnipeg Jets? Here are the highlights:

First Period:

  • No goals were tallied during the first, but Matt Cullen did collect the only penalty between both teams in the first at 15:58 with a hooking call on Matt Halischuk. Nashville was able to keep Winnipeg at bay, despite the Jets outshooting the Predators 15 to 12.

Second Period:

  • Ten seconds in, Matt Hendricks would head to the box for a tripping call, giving the Jets an early advantage in the opening of the second period.
  • Eric Nystrom didn’t mind being down a man, sending a wrister past Ondrej Pavelec for a shorthanded goal just twenty seconds in.
  • Patric Hornqvist would collect this third goal of the season at 12:07 with an unassisted snapshot.
  • Matt Cullen would pick up his second goal of the season at 14:17 with assists from Colin Wilson 4th assist) and Craig Smith (5th assist).
  • Winnipeg would lead Nashville in shots on goal with eleven to seven at the end of the second.

Third Period:

  • Evander Kane would collect his fifth goal of the season with a tip-in past Hutton, though it was simply a case of “lost puck”.
  • Carter Hutton and the Preds would hold off the Jets 3-1, despite being outshot in total 26 to 39.
  • Hutton would inevitably block 38 of those 39 shots; pretty good for his first full NHL game, right?

The NHL take notice of Hutton’s success as proven with this tweet:

Well, we had our stats wrong shots wise, but oh well.

Nashville has just one more game on the road before they head back home Thursday and, who’s that team? The Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Preds Rookie Poise 2; Canadiens 1

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The Predators started their mini road trip with the first stop in Montreal against the 5-2-0 Canadiens. Nashville didn’t fair so well against fellow Original Six Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, so how would they fair against the Habs?

Well, you’re about to find out:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Shea Weber found the net first at 12:31 with a powerplay goal due to a deflection off of Josh Gorges. David Legwand (3rd assist) and Filip Forsberg (2nd assist) picked up the assists on Weber’s wrister.
  • Eight penalties (three on Nashville, five on Montreal) would be tallied during the first period, with Weber the only one capitalizing on said chances.
  • Controversy came at 14:15 when Victor Bartley was given a goaltender interference penalty after being blatantly tripped into Carey Price. Luckily, Nashville used its penalty kill well and avoided a goal from the Habs.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • Brendan Gallagher would tie the game at 7:02 with a wrister past Pekka Rinne, his fourth goal of the season.

The game would remain tied at 1 at the end of the second period.

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Nashville would notch three penalties in the third, giving Montreal almost every possible chance to take the lead as possible, but Nashville’s penalty kill has been on point as of late.
  • At 18:33, the rookie that was picked 4th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft collected his second goal of the season (and second NHL goal overall) with a clean wrist shot past Carey Price. David Legwand (4th assist) and Colin Wilson (3rd assist) helped setup the puck for Jones’ incredible goal. See video below:

Wowza. Yep. Wowza.

The Predators would keep Montreal at bay until the final buzzer, collecting their first away game win of the season.
The Predators have no time to celebrate, though; it’s off to Winnipeg to take on Matt Halischuk and the Jets, the first meeting of the two new conference rivals this season.

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.

Leafs blank Preds 4-0

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image

Ouch. Not much stings worse than a goose egg at home.
However, out of all the goalies Nashville is faced over its 15-year span, Jonathan Bernier has to be the most despised, yet respected.
Come on! What about Luongo? Howard? Kiprusoff? Yes, those goalies have engrained themselves into a special place in every Preds fans’ mind, but none have a record against Nashville like Bernier. After the win last night, he now stands at 8-1-0 against Nashville… even when he was a backup for the Kings.
And if you watched any of the game last night, whether you were there in the arena or sitting on your couch on TV, you couldn’t miss how in control Bernier was last night. He allowed maybe one or two to ricochet, but the majority of his stops were controlled. One would have thought he put a magnet in the puck and his glove. He just couldn’t be stopped.

And this is no dog on Nashville; oh no. Yes, there were a few hiccups, but all-in-all, the Predators played hard and came out of the game on top with shots on goal, 36-26. But Bernier was on his A-Game last night and, although they tried valiantly, it just wasn’t enough to sneak one past the seasoned goalie.

Due to an unfortunate collision with former Predator Cody Franson, who went face-first into the rounded glass and cut his nose on his visor, Mike Fisher was given a major, which left the Predators with the remainder of the game in the favor of Toronto. The Maple Leafs would capitalize twice before the final buzzer, with an unfortunate knock-in goal by rookie Seth Jones.

Back to the Franson/Fisher hit, it was clear – as most people didn’t even see the accident – that is was, as Mike Fisher quoted it, “just a hockey play” and was “surprised” to have received a penalty. Fisher did make the effort to reach out to Franson after the game to make sure the former Pred was alright. As we all know, Fisher is not a malicious player and does not go out to intentionally injure opposing players. Freak accidents happen and, from the outside looking in, that’s what it appears to be. The NHL has not ruled out a supplemental discipline for Fisher’s hit, but as of 9:30AM Friday morning, no word has been announced.

Goose eggs – no, not Gaustad eggs – are an instant morale drainer. Just as Nashville was gaining confidence from Tuesday’s winner over the Wild, it was taken down a peg by a 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs. After last night’s loss, the Predators are now sitting pretty at the bottom of the newly reformed Central Division. However, don’t let that disheartening fact get you down; it’s only the fourth game of the very long season. Hey, you have to hit rock bottom to hit the top, right?

The Predators welcome in the New York Islanders Saturday night at 7PM. Tickets are still available, so get them now!

Predators notch first Win, Beat Wild 3-2

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image

The Predators made their way back to the familiarity of Bridgestone Arena Tuesday night, welcoming in the Minnesota Wild for their season home opener. The Wild, who were 0-0-2 coming into the game, had a slightly better – and we mean slightly – chance compared to Nashville’s 0-2-0 record. But there’s just something about the home crowd that instills some confidence and Nashville definitely exuded the offering. Here are some of the highlights from Tuesday’s game:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Leave it to Zach Parise to take the first strike, notching a tip-in past Pekka Rinne at 4:05 on the powerplay, brought on due to Seth Jones hi-sticking Mikko Koivu. Koivu and Ryan Suter picked up the assists.
  • Youngster Filip Forsberg would retaliate at 5:07 with a powerplay goal of his own, sending a snapshot past Backstrom. Forsberg showed some rare emotion after his goal, understandably so considering it was his first career NHL goal. Patric Hornqvist picked up his second assist and rookie Seth Jones notched an assist; his first NHL career point.
  • Less than 40 seconds later, Colin Wilson would capitalize on the powerplay with a wrister at 5:46. Matt Cullen (1) and Mike Fisher (2) picked up the assists on Wilson’s first goal of the season.
  • Eric Nystrom would be awarded a penalty shot at 11:14 after being slashed by Keith Ballard from behind. After slamming into the goal, Nystrom actually injured goalie Niklas Backstrom, who left the game just before Nystrom’s penalty shot. Nystrom, who played with the Wild during the 2010-11 season, knew just where to send the puck around backup goalie, Josh Harding. Nailing the shot, the Preds then lead the Wild 3-1.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • The Wild would attempt to gain control at 7:26 with a powerplay wrister from Jared Spurgeon. Despite six penalties, Spurgeon was the only player to capitalize on said penalties in the second period.

THIRD PERIOD:

  • No goals were gained in the third, but there were a few penalties to be had.
  • Zach Parise was called for holding against Patric Hornqvist, who in turn was called for embellishment (diving) on the penalty. Personally, we don’t believe you can call both at the same time, but you can’t reverse the call and it didn’t hurt Nashville any.

With their first win of the season under their belt, Nashville gained some much needed confidence and morale. Not that the Predators are deemed unworthy of a decent season, they are still technically in a rebuilding stage. Shea Weber just hasn’t found his paired connection since Suter left for the North, despite he and Josi doing well together. However, with Roman out with a concussion, he has now been paired with the youngster that is Seth Jones. We’ll be honest; the pairing looks good, but it needs some work. But we all know that, in order to be the best, you have to work towards greatness. There are no shortcuts.

The Predators welcome the 3-1-0 Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night to Smashville. This will be only the fifth time Toronto has played in Nashville and Jonathan Bernier has his eyes set on continuing his outstanding record against the Preds.

Rich Clune asks for Your Help

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20130719-105024.jpg

Rich Clune is an outgoing, one-of-a-kind character who makes his presence known on and off the ice. But behind that charismatic smile and sarcastic (and somewhat dark) sense of humor, the 26-year-old left winger from Toronto has seen his share of downfalls and heartbreaks. Drug and alcohol addiction is a nasty battle to overcome, but despite these tribulations, Rich Clune fought back against his demons and has continued on the winning side of said battle. The Predators and its fans are no stranger to welcoming players who have battled addictions; Jordin Tootoo and Brian McGrattan were very open with their hardships and were not afraid to ask for help when needed. Rich Clune is no exception.

And with that, Preds fans, we ask you to help Rich Clune and a program that is near and dear to his heart. With the help of Renascent and his mother Anne Marie, Rich was able to overcome his demons and be able to continue his professional career as the hockey player and goon we have all come to know and love.

Both Rich and his mother are nearing their goal of raising $10,000 for the cause and they need your help!
Please visit here to make a donation. Any amount helps for this great cause.

Matt Halischuk signs with Jets

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No more happy Halischuk in Nashville…

While we were writing the Jonathon Blum post, we completely missed the announcement of now former Nashville Predator, Matt Halischuk signing with the Winnipeg Jets.

Like we mentioned in the Blum post, Halischuk is a diamond in the rough; he has potential, but he had a difficult time finding his niche while with the Preds. The Right Winger signed a one-year, two-way deal with Winnipeg this afternoon, which will pay him $650,000 on the NHL level and $250,000 on the AHL level.

But don’t be sad, Hally-faithfuls. With the new realignment, Halischuk won’t be going very far and you’ll see him more often than not as Winnipeg is sitting pretty in Conference B.

We wish you well, Halischuk!

Jonathon Blum to Minnesota?

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Bye, bye Blummer?

Is Jonathon Blum headed North? Well, those are the rumors swirling this afternoon as the young defenseman who has been with Nashville his entire career begins seeking ice time elsewhere.

Blum has been iffy for Nashville, bouncing between the Predators and the Admirals in Milwaukee since being drafted by Nashville in the 2007 NHL Draft. There’s no surprise as to why Nashville did not extend an offer to Blum; he struggled while younger, thirstier players took charge, tossing Blum in the funk he eventually settled in. With only one goal and six assists in the 2012-13 season, Blum’s future amongst the rising defensemen in Nashville looked bleak.

But don’t count him out just yet. Although he has struggled with the Preds, Blum isn’t a terrible, get-out-of-the-NHL defenseman. Similiar to Halischuk, Jonathon Blum is a diamond in the rough that, unfortunately, just couldn’t quite shine here in the Music City.

The rumors state Blum is expected to sign a contract with the Minnesota Wild as early as tomorrow, but other teams, including the Flyers, have shown interest in him, as well. No matter who Blum chooses to sign with eventually, that said team will get a bargain and a potential goal-scorer. We suspect Blum will do well elsewhere, we are just disappointed it wasn’t here in Nashville.

We will let you know as soon as we hear word as to where Jonathon Blum eventually signs.

UPDATE:
As we expected, Jonathon Blum signed a one-year, two-way contract this morning with the Minnesota Wild. Like Halischuk, you will still get your Blummer fix. The Wild are in the same conference as the Nashville Predators.

Good luck, Blum!