Predators Whip the Wild 5-1

Watching the Minnesota Wild play hockey is akin to watching mildew grow in your bathroom: ugly and difficult to get out. Tonight at the Bridgestone Arena, the Nashville Predators faced the Minnesota Mildew Wild, and for two periods, it appeared as if the Wild would be the fungus that would frustrate the home team with their grind it out, trapping style of play. The third period, however, was all Predators, as they whipped the Wild 5-1 for their 6th straight victory.

It was obvious that the Wild were going to trap all night and attempt to force turnovers by the Predators. That strategy worked for much of the first period as the Wild kept the Predators bottled up in their own end of the ice. Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne was called upon early to make some big saves to hold the Wild off the board.

Playing against a team like the Wild takes patience and persistence. Keep chipping the puck out of the zone and work it into the offensive zone and generate chances s the formula for success against the trap that the Wild employ.

That formula would pay dividends for the Predators at 7:03 of the first period as Marek Svatos entered the zone with speed. He slipped a nice pass to David Legwand, who was driving the net with speed. Legwand got his stick on the puck and re-directed the pass between the pads of Wild goaltender Jose Theodore for a 1-0 Predators lead. This was Legwand's second goal in as many games and his 4th goal of the year.

That lead would last for nine minutes, when the Wild tied it on an even strength goal by Mikko Koivu as a Predator Pk had just ended. Koivu drove to the net and split two defenders and lifted a backhand that beat Rinne at 16:05.

The Wild outshot the Predators 9-6 in the first period, but controlled the puck for lengthy stretches at a time, as their trap thwarted the Predators offensive effort. At the end of one, it had the feel of a game that could be decided by one mistake by either team.

That mistake would occur at 1:02 of the second period, as Joel Ward gathered in a rebound of a Kevin Klein shot and backhanded the puck under the glove of a sprawling Theodore to give the Predators a 2-1 advantage. On the play, Ward was patient with the puck, settling it down and getting off a good shot that beat the Wild netminder.

The remainder of the second period was a back and forth affair with both teams generating some chances and both goalies being equal to the task. Minnesota continued to trap and slow the Predators through the neutral zone, at times totally frustrating the offensive efforts of the Predators.

In the defensive zone, the Predators did a good job of keeping the Wild to the outside and on the boards, rarely giving the Mildew Wild quality scoring chances.

Minnesota outshot the Predators 12-10 in the second period.

Going into the third period, the game was in the balance, and it would go to the team that could exert their will.

That team would be the Predators.

The Predators would extend their lead to 3-1 at 4:18 of the third as Nick Spaling would launch a shot toward the net with traffic in front. The puck sailed cleaning through the mass of bodies in front of Theodore, who never saw the puck, and found the back of the net for his third goal of the year.

It would be Spals out again as he crashed the net on a Shea Weber shot. Spaling would jam at the puck several times, and would wedge home the shot with Theodore out of position and s Wild defender trying to hug the post. His persistence paid off with his second goal of the game at 10:39 of the third.

This goal was enough to cause Wild coach Todd Richards to pull Theodore and insert backup Anton Khudobin. Khudobin was welcomed to the contest with a Marcel Goc goal off a horrible Wild turnover that left Goc alone in the low slot. He buried a nice wrister over the shoulder of Khudobin for a 5-1 Predator lead and his 8th goal of the year.

The Predators began their winning streak with a win in Minnesota on December 31. That win was big for the Predators because it snapped a 5 game losing streak.

The win tonight was big for the Predators because they were just 3 points in front of Wild coming into this contest. This win extends their lead over the Wild to 5 points and keeps the Predators in fourth place in the West with 52 points, one ahead of Phoenix at 51.

The win tonight was characterized by players who don't score often coming through for the Predators. The line of Spaling, Ward, and Smithson was the best line on the ice tonight for the Predators. They played with jump, created chances, and more importantly, finished those chances.

The PK continued its stellar play, killing off all three Wild man advantage chances.

For this team to win, they have to have solid contributions from all lines. Tonight, they got those contributions. Successful teams have several lines that can play good two way hockey. If the third and fourth lines can contribute like tonight, this team will be dangerous in the second half of the season.

My three stars:

1. Nick Spaling

2. Joel Ward

3. Pekka Rinne

LA Lashed by the Predators 5-2

In their two previous contests, the L.A. Kings have owned the Nashville Predators, winning the first two contests of the season by a combined score of 10-2 in games where the Predators never mustered much in the way of offense. Tonight, at the Staples Center,the Predators turned the tables on the Kings with a decisive 5-2 victory.

The first period opened with both teams showing some good jump and generating some quality scoring chances. Anders Lindback and Jonathan Bernier were both challenged and both were equal to the task.

L.A. opened the contest trying to take the body and exert their physical will. Unlike the two previous tilts, the Predators answered the physical challenge and did a good job of skating hard and establishing a good forecheck. That effort resulted in some good scoring chances, but the Predators were unable to solve Bernier.

Anders Lindback fended off some good scoring chances by the Kings, holding off all 12 of the Kings shots. Bernier stopped all 11 shots he faced from the Predators.

Kyle Clifford tallied for the Kings at 2:16 of the second period as J.P. Dumont absorbed a thunderous hit and was struggling to get to the bench, effectively leaving the Predators a man down. Marco Sturm shot the puck off the wing, and Lindback made the initial save but gave up a big rebound that Clifford buried into an open net.

The Predators had a glorious scoring opportunity as Patric Hornqvist found Kevin Klein sneaking down the off wing and hit him with a perfect pass. Bernier managed to slide across the net and get a piece of the shot for a great save five minutes into the period.

The injury bug continued to bite the Predators as the lost Nick Spaling to an upper body injury in the early going of the second period.

Jarrett Stoll scored on the power play at 7:57 of the second with Francis Buillon in the box for interference. Stoll launched a bomb from the blue line that beat Lindback high over his glove side. Lindback had lost his goal stick, but it was not a factor in the play as the shot beat Lindback cleanly.

The Predators answered on a power play of their own at 9:57. Ryan Suter wound up for what appeared to be a slap shot, but instead delivered a nice slap pass to Colin Wilson who was alone at the side of the net. Wilson re-directed the pass past Bernier for his 10th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.

This goal was critical for the Predators to stave off the momentum of the Kings and keep themselves in the contest.

Marek Svatos would tally his first goal as a Predator at 10:19 as Colin Wilson took a shot coming down the wing that Bernier kicked out off his pads. The rebound came to Svatos, who was driving the net and was able to put the rebound past an out of position Bernier.

The Predators had taken a punch from the Kings. In their previous contests, they did not answer. Tonight, they answered.

The Predators went back to the power play with Matt Greene in the box for interference and made the Kings pay for their transgression. Colin Wilson walked in off the half boards and cranked a shot low along the ice. Patric Hornqvist was camped- where else- at the top of the crease and re-directed the shot past Bernier for his 12th goal of the season at 14:28.

After back and forth play, including a fight between Francis Buillon and Wayne Simmonds that left Buillon with a broken nose, the period ended with the Predators on top 3-2.

The third period opened with more of the back and forth play between the teams, with each team looking for the other to break. The Kings were the first to crack under the pressure as Sergei Kostitsyn whistled a wrist shot toward Bernier. Bernier got a piece of the shot but not enough to stop it, and the puck slid in the net just inside the far post to extend the Predators lead to 4-2 at 9:10 of the third period. This was Kostitsyn's 10th goal of the season.

That off season signing of Kostitsyn by GM David Poile looks mighty good right now.

Patric Hornqvist tallied his second goal at 15:33 of the third period as he buried a rebound given up by Bernier off a shot by Sergei Kostitsyn. After being down 2-0, the Predators had scored five unanswered goals.

That 5-2 margin would be the final score of the game as the Predators played a complete game, being physical, aggressively forechecking to create offensive opportunities, and playing solid defense. These are the hockey characteristics that were vital to the Predators win.

The aspect of this game that doesn't show in the score sheet is the heart that the Predators displayed in winning this game. Down 2-0 to a team that had dominated them this season, it would have been easy to fold under the pressure. Instead, this team manned up and came back in the face of definite adversity.

Heart will be critical to continuing the winning streak and piling up points.

This team is built around heart and character. Continue to play like this, and this team will continue to win and lash future opponents.

My three stars:

1. Colin Wilson

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Sergei Kostitsyn

Losing Streak Over, Predators Tame the Wild 4-1

With every loss, the burden of the Predators five game losing streak weighed heavier. Despite playing with good jump and effort, the Preds just could not break through to the win column. Attempting to break the streak at the Xcel Energy Center against the Wild did not bode well for the Predators. Earlier this season, the Wild had embarrassed the Predators in this same venue by a score of 5-2.

The tables would turn in the re-match between these two teams as the Predators stifled the Wild offense and found the net four times to notch a 4-1 win.

The Predators opened the game with good offensive zone pressure, and it paid early dividends. Minnesota was called for a delayed penalty and the Predators got the extra attacker on the ice. Shane O'Brien did a great job at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone. He made a pass back to Cody Franson at the blue line, and he let a quick wrist shot go to the net. With lots of traffic in front, Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom did not see the shot and Franson found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season, coming at 4:32 of the first period.

The Predators would extend their lead to 2-0 at 10:28 of the second period as Shea Weber let a shot go from the point. Patric Hornqvist was in front of the net but was shielded by a defender. Hornqvist reached around the Wild player and deflected the puck five hole on Backstrom.

The Wild did have some chances in the first two periods as Martin Havlat hit a post, and the wild had moments of offensive zone pressure. Pekka Rinne was outstanding, shutting down any of the Wild scoring chances. The real story of the game was the Predators defense, however, as they thwarted the Wild's attempts to come through the neutral zone with speed. In the defensive zone, the Predators did a good job of clearing the front of the net and limiting second chance scoring opportunities.

 I do not have the final stats for zone time, but one of the impressive aspects of this game by the Predators was the offensive zone time they had in this game. They spent a lot of time in the Minnesota zone, forcing the Wild to expend energy playing defense rather than getting their offense in rhythm.

Minnesota would finally solve Pekka Rinne at 18:06 of the third period as Chuck Kobesew would deflect a shot from Martin Havlat .

Minnesota pulled Backstrom and the pressure was coming on the Nashville defense. The Predators thwarted the Wild offensive effort with two empty net goals, the first by Joel Ward at 18:53 and then Sergei Kostitsyn at 19:53.

Losing streak over. The weight off the slumping shoulders of the Predators. And a collective sigh of relief.

During this streak, the Predators have battled numerous injuries. One of those injured, David Legwand, made his way back to the ice tonight and logged 15:50 and recorded two assists.

The Predators welcomed newcomer Marek Svatos to the lineup, and although he did not score, I like his game. Svatos drives hard to the net, and more importantly, is not afraid to shoot the puck. He is not completely in NHL game shape, but did log 9:59 in ice time and recorded three shots on net.

While this losing streak has been painful to endure, the team is still in the thick of the playoff hunt in the ultra competitive Western Conference. Now it is time to get a win streak going and make up some ground.

This is a great way to end the year. Obviously the points are important, but as much as anything, it allows the players to relax and relieves them of the negative energy associated with the streak.

A new year, a new beginning, and a renewed sense of energy await for 2011.

My three stars:

1. Cody Franson

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Patric Hornqvist