Predators Can't Match the Hurricanes Intensity, Fall 2-1

The Nashville Predators traveled to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes and were looking to extend their four game winning streak. They faced a Hurricanes team that had struggled so far this season but had speed and talent.


This game had all the makings of a trap game for the Predators as their next two games would be against divisional foes St. Louis and Chicago.


It was a trap.


That speed and talent of the Hurricanes was on display in the first period as Andrej Nestrasil threw a blind pass toward the net that was redirected past Pekka Rinne to give the Canes a 1-0 lead.


The second period saw both teams trade some chances but neither could score.


The third period opened with the Predators looking to get the equalizer, but it was the Hurricanes that struck on a shot from just inside the blue line by Victor Rask that beat Rinne to make it 2-0 Hurricanes just 55 seconds into the period.


Mike Ribeiro made it a 2-1 game at 15:14 of the third period as he backhanded a shot past a sprawling Cam Ward. This was Ribeiro's 7th goal of the season and he did a good job or corralling a pass from Roman Josi to set up the goal.


The Predators got their first power play of the game with one minute remaining in regulation. With Rinne pulled, the Predators were skating 6 on 4.


Unfortunately, the power play for the Predators once again drew blanks and the Predators dropped the game by the final score of 2-1.




Some observations:

• Jeff Skinner's first period goal was amazing. One handed redirect that was impossible for Rinne to stop. Skinner continues to cause the Preds trouble. He had a hat trick in their last meeting in Nashville last season.

• The Predators had some good chances throughout the game, but it seemed that the team was looking for the perfect pass and the pretty goal. Sometimes you have to muck and grind and score from the hard areas.

• As much as the Hurricanes stymied the Predators offensively, I like the fact that the team continued to press and attack and create some scoring chances.

• Cam Ward played a very good game for the Hurricanes, stopping 32 of 33 shots and making some very good saves. The Predators had some good chances but just could not bury the tying goal.

• The Predators out shot the Hurricanes 33-25 and 15-6 in the third period.

Not much you can say about this game. The Predators were outskated for the first 40 minutes and lacked the intensity they showed in the third period. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.


The Predators need to get back to playing a full 60 minutes.


It starts Thursday night against St. Louis.


My three stars:


1. Cam Ward


2. Jeff Skinner


3. Mike Ribeiro

Predators Can't Finish, Fall to the Canes

The Nashville Predators traveled to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the concluding contest of their three game road trip. The first two games had seen the Predators fall in overtime and in the shootout.

The Predators were looking for a full 60 minute game to try to get back into the win column.

That full 60 minute effort got off to a sputtering start.

Alexander Semin gathered in a puck behind the net and shoveled the puck at Predators netminder Carter Hutton. Hutton had not gotten back to the post and the shot hit him on the backside and caromed into the net at 4:28 of the first period.

This is the kind of slow start and horrific goal that has victimized the Predators all season.

The Predators got some good scoring chances and challenged Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin but could not find the back of the net in the period. They out shot the Canes 11-9.

The Predators had a few scoring chances in the second period, as did the Hurricanes, but neither team could score. The best chance came when Eric Nystrom got behind the defense and broke in on Khubodin, but the puck rolled off his stick. The Predators out shot the Canes 12-10 in the period.

The Predators finally tied the game at 6:46 of the third period on the power play as Shea Weber blasted a shot that Khodubin got a piece of. The rebound came to Mike Fisher behind the net and he threw it back into the crease. The puck hit Patric Hornqvist and then was kicked in by Ron Hainsey. the goal was credited to Hornqvist for his 8th goal of the season.

The Hurricanes took the lead at 16:29 as they controlled the puck for a lengthy stretch in the Predators zone. Their cycle game moved the puck well and finally Jeff Skinner unleashed a shot from the face off circle that beat Hutton through the five hole.

The Predators pulled Hutton for an extra attacker but could not score, and the Predators went down to defeat 2-1.

Some observations:

• Hutton made some good saves tonight, but that first goal was brutal, and there is no way that any goalie should allow a player to score from behind the net.

• The Predators out shot the Canes 32-25, but the old bugaboo of not being able to finish scoring chances came back to once again haunt this team. They did a good job of getting shots to the net and had some good scoring chances, but could not get the puck in the net. make no mistake, Khudobin played a strong game, but the Predators had chances that they could not finish. This speaks volumes about the lack of elite offensive talent on this team.

• Viktor Stalberg started the game on the fourth line. Again this makes no sense. In the third period, he moved up on a line with Matt Cullen and Nick Spaling. Using Stalberg on the fourth line is, to me, an inexplicable waste of his offensive potential.

• Can someone please wake up David Legwand? Once again, he has reverted to invisibility mode, floating in the offensive zone and his defensive lapse left Skinner alone for the game winning goal.

The Predators return home for 5 straight games, and they desperately need to notch some wins.

My three stars:

1. Jeff Skinner

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Anton Khudobin

Predators Poor Play Continues Against the Hurricanes

At best, the Nashville Predators are an average team. Couple that reality with a stretch of bad hockey, and you have a deadly combination for the Predators playoff chances.

The Predators dropped their 4th straight game- all at home- against the Carolina Hurricanes by a 5-2 margin.

You can read the damage, uh, box score here.

It was not a pretty sight at the Bridgestone Arena.

Some observations:

• Marek Mazanec has performed admirably, but tonight was not his best effort. He gave up 4 goals on 13 shots, including the first shot of the game, which seemed to take him by surprise. Three of the goals he allowed were questionable, and he gave up a goal after Roman Josi turned the puck over leading to a 3 on 1 rush. This was not a good effort by Mazanec tonight, and those kind of games happen. Unfortunately, the team in front of him is not good enough to overcome a bad outing by our netminders.

• The Predators lost puck battles all night. this is particularly disappointing as teams have been out hustling and out working the Predators in all zones. This team has to win those battles, and win they do not, the opponent has a decided advantage in puck possession. This has been characteristic of the Predators during the losing streak.

• Puck support in the offensive zone is atrocious. Often, a Predator forward will control the puck down low and get overwhelmed by the defensive pressure. This results in turnovers and stymies the offensive attack. The consistency and cycle game in the offensive zone for the Predators has been spotty at best, and this is major contributor to this losing streak.

• The Predators actually had a lead on goals by Mike Fisher and Viktor Stalberg early in the second period. Stalberg's goal was a pure effort goal as he followed his shot, took it behind the net, and beat Justin Peters on a nice backhand. Unfortunately, that was the last of the Predators scoring for the night.

• Kevin Klein returned to the line up after missing two games and his return was much quicker than expected. He logged 18:46 of ice time tonight.

• This team is wildly inconsistent. They have struggled to play a solid 60 minute game in quite a while. The Predators do not have the talent to play such inconsistent games- they cannot overcome deficits with elite scoring. Until the team decides that they will play a full 60 minute game, they will continue to struggle to get into the win column.

• The Predators have been dominated in puck possession time in this losing streak, especially as the game goes on. They have been forced into numerous turnovers in their defensive zone and have allowed teams to cycle and control the puck for long stretches. This is not a formula for success for this team.

• This team has lost their identity. There is no grit and push back when challenged by opponents. Right now, the identity of this team is to dump the puck out of the defensive zone and try to survive the offensive push by opponents.

The Predators travel to Washington and face a big task in trying to right a rapidly sinking ship.

Fail to get back to Predator hockey and this season will be another miserable season for this team.

My three stars:

1. Jeff Skinner

2. Justin Faulk

3. Viktor Stalberg

Predators Blow the Game to the Hurricanes 4-3

The Nashville Predators, playing the second of back to back games, traveled to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The Predators welcomed their newest member of the team Andrei Kostitsyn to the active roster and paired him on a line with David Legwand and Patric Hornqvist. The Predators other acquisition at the trade deadline, Paul Gaustad, was scratched with an upper body injury.

Anders Lindback got the start in net for the Predators, while Cam Ward was between the pipes for the Hurricanes.

Lindback was looking for goal support from the team in front of him, as the Predators had been outscored 19-9 in his previous starts this season. The Predators obliged Mr. Lindback at 2:42 of the first period as the line of Matt Halischuk, Gabriel Bourque, and Craig Smith went to work in the Hurricanes zone. Halischuk battled and got control of the puck behind the Canes net and flipped the puck out front. Bourque took several whacks at the puck and Ward could not control the rebound. The puck squirted out to Smith, who gathered it in and roofed it over the fallen Ward to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

The Canes began to press the attack, but Lindback made some good stops to hold the Canes off the board. The Predators were out shot in the first period 13-8, and the period ended with the Predators on the PK with David Legwand in the box for high sticking and a 1 minute carry over of the Canes power play at the start of the second period.

The Predators had nearly killed off the Legwand penalty to open the second period when they were called for too many men on the ice, giving the Canes a 6 second 5 on 3 power play. The Predators killed off the brief two man advantage, but now had to kill off another penalty. The Predators were flirting with trouble with these penalties, bur fortunately were able to kill them off.

The Canes tied the game at 1 at 5:17 of the second as the Predators failed to clear the zone and Jamie McBain launched a shot from the blue line that beat Lindback. The puck deflected off Hal Gill and although Lindback got a piece of the shot, but it ricocheted off his arm and into the back of the net for the equalizer.

The Predators offense was non-existent in the second period, going over 10 minutes without a shot on goal. The Canes had totally dominated the Predators with shots on goal and zone possession.  That changed at 12:31 of the period when Colin Wilson and Jordin Tootoo aggressively pursued the puck on the forecheck and forced a Carolina turnover. Wilson took a shot that hit Ward on the shoulder and caromed over, landing just outside the goal line. The puck had enough momentum to trickle over the goal line to give the Predators a 2-1 lead.

That lead was short lived as the Predators once again took another penalty. With Andrei Kostitsyn in the box for hooking, the Canes quickly scored on the power play as Jeff Skinner's shot bounced off Lindback and Eric Staal was able to gather the rebound and slam it into the open net to tie the game at 2 at 13:04 of the second. It took the Canes just 12 seconds on the power play to tie the game.

Once again, the Predators took another penalty as Shea Weber was in the box for hooking. and once again, the Canes made the Predators pay. With a scramble in front of Lindback, the puck was jammed past Lindback by Tim Brent to give the Canes a 3-2 lead at 17:24 of the second. The Predators had taken five penalties to none for the Canes, and their undisciplined play had cost them two goals.

The Predators played a horrific second period, mustering only 5 shots in the period to 13 for the Hurricanes. Their undisciplined play had cost them two different leads, and they were heading into the third trailing by one. It remained to be seen whether the Predators would come out and play their brand of hockey in the third period or if they would continue their lackluster play.

The Predators fell behind 4-2 as Bryan Allen came out of the box where he had been serving the Canes first penalty of the night and Eric Staal sent him in on a breakaway and he beat Lindback five hole at 1:28 of the third.

Gabriel Bourque answered the Canes score as he took a from behind the net from Jordin Tootoo and banged the puck past an out of position Ward from the low slot at 2:18 of the third.

The Predators play was markedly better in the third period, as they got shots on net and played with more energy, but could not solve Ward or the Canes strong forecheck and neutral zone defense. The final horn sounded and the Predators saw a game and two points they pissed away.

It is easy to say that this was an Eastern Conference opponent and it didn't matter that much if they lost the game. Bull hockey. This was two precious points the Predators threw away by their lackadaisical play in the second period. Trying to keep pace with their Western Conference opponents means that every point is dear, and to waste a game like this team did tonight is unacceptable and frustrating.

This team does not play again until Saturday, and I hope this loss burns for a few days.

The time to get back to playing Predator hockey starts Saturday.

My three stars:

1. Eric Staal

2. Gabriel Bourque

3. Jeff Skinner