Predators Clinch Playoff Spot With 4-3 Win Over the Capitals, and Scenes From the Road

The Nashville Predators were looking to continue their winning ways going into their game with the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center.

The task was going to be a bit more difficult as Shea Weber was out of the line up and called day to day with the dreaded "lower body injury".

The Predators proved they were up to the task, scoring 3 first period goals on the way to a 4-3 victory.

Moments after killing off a 55 second 5 on 3 advantage for the Caps, Mattias Ekholm, who was one of the Preds in the box, took a puck that was muffed by Curtis Glencross at the Capitals blue line and beat Braden Holtby with a sweet backhand shot to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

Mike Fisher made it 2-0 with a wrist shot through traffic.

The Capitals former first round pick, Filip Forsberg drilled a wrist shot past Holtby for a 3-0 first period lead and that ended the afternoon for Holtby. He was lifted for Justin Peters after giving up 3 goals on 13 shots.

The Caps scored just 19 seconds into the second period as the Predators got scrambly in their end and Troy Brouwer lifted a puck over a fallen Pekka Rinne.

Brouwer would score a short handed goal as Forsberg made a blind drop pass in the neutral zone that Brower picked off and beat Rinne low to the stick side.

Mike Ribeiro gave the Predators a 4-2 lead after Forsberg won a battle on the wall and passed to Ribeiro in the low slot. He redirected it past Peters to give the Predators some breathing room.

That goal was the game winner because the Caps stormed out and scored just 20 seconds into the third period to make it 4-3. Mike Green scored from the blue line through traffic to cut the lead to 1 and increase exponentially the pucker factor of every Preds fan.

Rinne and the defense were able to shut the door on the Caps to secure the win and a playoff spot. The Predators have now won 4 straight games, including 3 over Eastern Conference playoff contenders (Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Washington).

Some observations:

• With Weber out of the line up, the defensive pairings were: roman Josi and Seth Jones; Mattias Ekholm and Cody Franson; and Anton Volchenkov and Ryan Ellis. The blueliners were very good today, and I have to give kudos to Volchenkov and Ellis in particular. They got caught several times with Ovechkin's line on the ice and handled themselves very well. And what can you say about Roman Josi? He handled some tough minutes and continues to impress with his poise, solid play, and ability to move the puck.
• I also really like the play of Mattias Ekholm. He is playing with confidence and has shown some offensive flair. His goal was a beauty, completely fooling Holtby with a quick backhand.
• I saw Weber in the hotel before the game and spoke with him. He did not appear to be in pain and was moving well. Hopefully he returns to the line up quickly.
• Filip Forsberg picked up a goal and 2 assists (thank you former Caps GM George McPhee!). But the play that really stood out to me was his work on the wall the win the puck and get it to Ribeiro for the game winning goal. One of the underrated aspects of his game is the strength that he has and his ability to use that strength to win puck battles. That goal was a direct result of his strong effort on the boards.
• Pekka Rinne was once again solid in net. He stopped 23 of 26 shots and picked up his 41st win of the season. Rinne looks confident and smooth in the net, and there is no doubt the team feeds on that condidence that he brings.
• The Predators held Alex Ovechkin without a goal. He had 2 goals in their contest against the Predators in Nashville. Ovi has now gone 7 straight games without a goal.
• The Caps had 45 hits to the Predators 17. That is an indication of how the Predators possessed the puck and forced the Caps to chase.
• Once again, the penalty kill was excellent, killing off all 5 of the Capitals power plays, including 55 seconds of a 5 on 3. The Caps have a potent offense and power play and the Predators did a good job of foiling their entries into the zone and disrupting their offensive flow.
• Likewise, the Caps did the same thing to the Predators power play. The Predators even managed to give up a short handed goal off a bone headed drop pass to no one by Forsberg. This unit has got to start performing at a higher level quickly. Please!

This was a very big win by the team, not only for clinching a playoff spot but for meeting the challenge of playing a quality playoff contender and taking care of business in a hostile environment.

Now they have to keep it rolling. Going into the playoffs on a roll is certainly preferable to limping into the postseason.

My three stars:

1. Filip Forsberg

2. Troy Brouwer

3. Mike Ribeiro

Here are some scenes from DC:

The Verizon Center is right in the middle of downtown. The 20 year old barn is a nice facility, but inside is starting to show its age a bit. While Verizon has the naming rights on the facility, notice the big T-Mobil LED ad on the corner of the building.

A view of the arena before the game.

The ladies just can't resist sharp dressed men wearing gold.

My hockey pal and traveling companion Mark Blake on the right and Pete Weber. We had an opportunity to tour the historic National Press Club and have dinner there on Friday night. The history in that facility and some of the exhibits there were amazing.

Predators Blow Away the Hurricanes 5-2

The Nashville Predators played one of their most complete games of the season, dominating the Carolina Hurricanes by a 5-2 margin. The Predators power play, which had gone 0-14 in their recent games, exploded for a 4 for 4 performance to lead the Predators in the win.

The Hurricanes were playing the second of back to back games, and since starting netminder Cam Ward had played the night before, Justin Peters got the start. The Predators went with their workhorse and stalwart, Pekka Rinne.

There is no doubt that the Hurricanes have struggled, but new Head Coach Kirk Mueller, recently of the Milwaukee Admirals, has his team competing hard every night. Tonight was no different.

Carolina opened the contest with good jump and controlled the puck early in the Predators zone. The Predators defense did a good job of keeping the Canes to the outside and limiting quality scoring chances.

It took a few minutes, but the Predators started to establish control of the puck and gained a territorial advantage by winning neutral zone battles and getting good breakouts into the Canes offensive zone.

The Predators got on the board at 9:14 of the first period as Shea Weber took a pass from Marty Erat and unleashed a blast from the blue line that cleanly beat Peters. To get an idea of the velocity of that shot, consider that Peters was unscreened and had a good look at the shot and was still beaten over his shoulder by the rocket from the Captain for a 1-0 lead.

Craig Smith extended the lead to 2-0 at 13:16 of the first with the Predators on the power play. Smith took a cross ice pass from David Legwand and uncorked a blistering one timer that beat Peters between his shoulder and the near post. It was good to see Smith get on the board as he had gone 25 games without a goal. For Smith, it was his 9th goal of the season.

In the second period, the Predators were on the power play with Alex Ponikarovsky in the box for tripping. Mike Fisher took a shot from the slot that was tipped through the five hole of Peters by Patric Hornqvist at 17:04. This was Hornqvist's 10th goal of the season.

Rinne made a fantastic glove save to keep the Canes off the board. The puck was bouncing around and  skittered to Rinne's right side. A Hurricane player slapped the puck at what appeared to be an open net, but Rinne dove across the ice and the puck landed in his glove for a remarkable save.

Hornqvist notched his second goal of the game at 6:56 of the third period, this another power play tally. Hornqvist was battling in front of the net and was able to find the puck after a shot by Marty Erat. Peters could not control the rebound, and Hornqvist was able to slam home the puck to give the Predators a 4-0 lead.

Jay Harrison scored for the Canes at 8:35 at even strength to make it 4-1.

Hornqvist appeared to have a t hat trick as he was sprawling on the ice and jammed the puck home. As the hats flew on the ice, the goal was reviewed and was inexplicably waved off as it was deemed that Hornqvist had kicked the puck into the net. A questionable decision at best.

The Predators got that 5th goal, once again on the power play, as Ryan Ellis launched a slap shot that beat Peters stick side to make it 5-1 at 14:28 of the third period. Ellis played a solid game, and it was good to see him rewarded with his first NHL goal.

The Canes Jay Harrison struck again on the power play at 17:56 of the third period. Harrison's shot from inside the blue line was going wide of the net, but hit defenseman Ryan Ellis in the butt and caromed past Rinne for the score.

The Predators controlled the play in the waning minutes of the contest and did not give the Canes any quality chances, and as the clock wound down, the 8th straight sellout crowd cheered the Predators 5-2 win.

For the night, the Predators out shot the Hurricanes 36-29. More importantly, a number of their shots were from close in, the quality scoring areas. They crashed the net and generated numerous second chances and they were rewarded for their effort tonight.

On the defensive end of the ice, the Predators did a very good job of keeping the Hurricanes to the outside and not letting them get many shots from close in. Kudos to the Predators defense for their effort tonight.

The concern for the Predators coming out of this game is the health of Francis Buillon. He took a high stick to the mouth that chipped several teeth and required six stitches. He will have a root canal tomorrow and will be evaluated as to his ability to play on Tuesday at Colorado.

This was a solid win by the Predators, and it was due to playing Predator hockey. Shooting the puck and going strong to the net yielded positive results for this team tonight, and this is the way they have to continue to play.

Play like this, and they will continue to blow away opponents.

My three stars:

1. Patric Hornqvist

2. Mike Fisher

3. Ryan Ellis