Shortly after revealing the All-Star Game jerseys, the NHL released the ASG roster. Without further ado, here you go:
Atlantic Division
F Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
Central Division
F Jamie Benn (DAL)
F Jaromir Jagr (FLA)
F Matt Duchene (COL)
F Leo Komarov (TOR)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Dylan Larkin (DET)
F Tyler Seguin (DAL)
F Ryan O’Reilly (BUF)
F Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F Jonathan Toews (CHI)
D Aaron Ekblad (FLA)
D Dustin Byfuglien (WPG)
D Erik Karlsson (OTT)
D Roman Josi (NSH)
D P.K. Subban (MTL)
D Shea Weber (NSH)
G Ben Bishop (TBL)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)
G Roberto Luongo (FLA)
G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
Metropolitan Division
Pacific Division
F Nicklas Backstrom (WSH)
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Taylor Hall (EDM)
F Evgeni Malkin (PIT)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Alex Ovechkin (WSH)
F Corey Perry (ANA)
F Brandon Saad (CBJ)
F John Scott (ARI)
F John Tavares (NYI)
F Daniel Sedin (VAN)
D Justin Faulk (CAR)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Kris Letang (PIT)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)
D Ryan McDonagh (NYR)
D Mark Giordano (CGY)
G Braden Holtby (WSH)
G John Gibson (ANA)
G Cory Schneider (NJD)
G Jonathan Quick (LAK)
I’ll be completely honest here (and so will a bunch of other bloggers): I honestly did not believe Nashville would get three players to the roster. Of course, it ended up between the three everyone thought had a chance. Shea Weber had a shoe-in, simply because he’s the captain and they want him in the ‘hardest shot’ contest, but Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne were toss-ups. Though Josi definitely deserves it, Rinne is more well known and money talks.
Over all though, I am definitely happy Shea Weber, Pekka Rinne, and Roman Josi will get to represent Nashville (in Nashville) for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game and weekend.
Here’s what others are saying about the roster choices:
Pekka Rinne definitely received the hometown nod. He leads NHL with 34 starts, but 16-12-6/2.43 GAA/.907 SV% doesn't scream All-Star.
Okay, so I am officially excited; I am not going to lie. Nashville is well represented and that is satisfying enough. Congratulations to Weber, Rinne, and Josi!
After a not-so stellar performance on the road, the Predators headed back home to welcome in the divisional rival Colorado Avalanche, who might be sitting at the bottom of the Central Division, but certainly not out. Last Friday night, the Avalanche whipped fellow Central Division mate, the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 and then went on to defeat the 7th team in the League (the Tampa Bay Lightning) 5-4. Again, Colorado might be down, but they aren’t out. However, Nashville is the Top Dog in the League for a reason and tonight was a night to shush the naysayers.
SCRATCHES: Taylor Beck
FIRST PERIOD:
Nathan MacKinnon (13) got the puck moving at 3:57, a lucky break as the puck deflected off of Roman Josi’s skate into the net. Ryan O’Reilly (25) and Brad Stuart (8) notched the assists.
Not fifteen seconds later, Mister “I was healthy scratched on Sunday” Calle Jarnkrok answered the call to action and netted one alone for his sixth of the season.
Around the 13-minute mark of the game, Avalanche Captain, Gabriel Landeskog took aim at Roman Josi along the boards.
As you can see, Landeskog absolutely levels Josi with the hit, prompting both Paul Gaustad and Shea Weber to come to the rescue. Though I wouldn’t want to go up against Gaustad or Weber, I think if I had to choose, I’d go with duking it out with Gaustad. Unfortunately for Landeskog, #AngryShea got to him before Gaustad did.
Both players would be given majors (5 minutes) for fighting, but somehow, Weber also received a 10-minute misconduct AND an instigator penalty, totaling his time in the box at 17 minutes.
Nashville would finish out the remainder of the first period without their Captain and notch nine SOG to Colorado’s three.
SECOND PERIOD:
Craig Smith would open the second period with his 19th goal of the season, giving Nashville the 2-1 lead at 4:32. Mike Fisher (17) collected the lone assist.
Roman Josi would punch his 11th goal of the season at 11:06 with assistance from Matt Cullen (10).
Colorado would only manage five SOG during the second compared to Nashville’s sixteen.
THIRD PERIOD:
To remind everyone he’s still here (like we’ve forgotten), Filip Forsberg gave the Predators a 4-1 lead just 52 seconds into the third period for his 21st goal of the season. Mike Ribeiro picked up the assist, his 39th of the season.
Patrick Roy, who is known for pulling his goaltenders early in the games, did just that, giving Colorado a two-man advantage (Craig Smith called for hi-sticking & Shea still in the box). Eric Nystrom (7) slapped a wrister down the length of the ice, nailing the empty net for a short-handed goal at 8:28. Roman Josi (33) grabbed the assist.
With under two minutes to go, Colorado slipped on passed Pekka Rinne for a powerplay goal by John Mitchell (7), but it was too late for the Avalanche to make a comeback run.
It is pretty evident why Shea Weber risked a lifetime in the penalty box to protect his fellow linesman. First off, he’s the leader and that’s what a great leader does; second, the memory of Steve Downie’s hit on Roman Josi, just two games into last year’s season. That hit was not investigated like it should have been and Josi was concussed for a few months. Though Downie no longer is a member of the Colorado Avalanche, that wound was reopened by Gabriel Landeskog last night.
Now 41-13-7, the Predators now sit six points ahead of the team second in the league, the Montreal Canadiens. The closest divisional rival, the St. Louis Blues, sit nine points back. Chicago? Twelve points back.
The Predators welcome in the Minnesota Wild for a special 7:30PM start time on Thursday night (airing on NBC Sports).
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 goldwhite 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.
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.
NHL rule 53.4: Misconduct or Game Misconduct Penalty – A misconduct penalty shall be imposed on a player who unintentionally or accidet (1)
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.
Colin Wilson notches the 30th 4pt night in #Preds franchise history. 29th 4pt night was also Wilson's (3/8/13 vs EDM)
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.
Lady Preds 