Blues Pound the Predators 4-1

The Nashville Predators have not beaten the St. Louis Blues this season.

Given the breathtaking talent gap between the two teams, the Predators may not neat the Blues for a long time.

The Blues came into Bridgestone Arena and owned the Predators in a 4-1 victory.

Patrick Bergland scored twice; Vladamir Tarasenko scored off a flukey play; and Alexander Steen finished the Blues scoring. Eric Nystrom scored for the Predators.

Pekka Rinne started the second game of a back to back, having won in Chicago last night, and was under siege all night long. Ryan Miller got the start for the Blues and the was rarely challenged by the Predators.

Not much to say about this game except the Predators were dominated all night and had very little push back against the talented Blues.

Some observations:

• Several years ago, when the Predators were regularly beating the Blues, only a handful of their fans would show up at the Bridge for a game against the Predators. Tonight, the crowd may have been about 40% Blues fans. I have heard some say that they have a bunch of bandwagon fans. I say good on them. That is what winning does. It attracts new fans. Yes, there are some asshats among the Blues fans, but every team has those. The fact is that the Blues are winning and they have energized their fans, both long time fans and newcomers. The Predators need to take note, because playing boring, dump and chase .500 hockey is not going to energize any of your fans.

• Speaking of dump and chase, the Predators seem to have that as their only option offensively. While that can be an effective strategy, it cannot be the only strategy. Especially when the team is losing the majority of those puck battles while employing that strategy.

• Of course, if you do not have the talent to do anything other than dump and chase, the odds that you are going to win a majority of your games are not good.

• It should tell Predator fans where this team is going when Rich Clune and Eric Nystrom are your best forwards on the ice. The disappearance of Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque, Nick Spaling and others does not portend good times for the Predators.

• I still don't understand the Viktor Stalberg on the 4th line logic. He did move up in the third period, but from my view that is a gross waste of talent.

Not much else to say about this game.

Wait...

Yes there is.

The Blues have done an excellent job of drafting and developing talented players that have elevated their game to the upper echelons of the League.

The Predators have not.

And until they do, they will continue to struggle mightily in the highly competitive Western Conference.

My three stars:

1. Patrick Bergland

2. Ryan Miller

3. Vladamir Tarasenko

Predators Fail to Show Up in 3-0 Loss to the Blues

The Nashville Predators traveled to ScottTrade Center to face off with the St. Louis Blues for the second time in 5 days. The first meeting between these two teams resulted in a 4-3 Blues shoot out win in Nashville, and the Predators were looking to keep pace with their Central Division rival.

Pekka Rinne was in net for the Predators and Jaroslav Halak, who was pulled in the first game between these teams, was in net for the Blues.

The game opened like a mirror image of the game in Nashville with the Blues holding a dominant territorial advantage, out shooting the Predators 4-1 early in the contest. The Blues would tally first on their second power play of the period as Mike Fisher was in the box. A shot to the net was not handled cleanly by Rinne, who let the puck hit the blue ice in front of him. T.J. Oshie crashed the net and was able to shovel the puck past Rinne for a 1-0 lead at 12:59.

The Predators had a difficult time getting through the neutral zone and establishing offensive zone presence in the first period. Rinne made a great save on T.J. Oshie  late in the period to keep the Blues lead at 1. If the Predators were going to make a game of it, they were going to have to be stronger on the puck and establish their offense, which was virtually non-existent in the first period.

At the end of the first period, the Blues held a 9-3 shot advantage.

The second period opened with the Blues continuing to dominate in puck possession and the Predators unable to establish offensive presence. If the Predators were going to make a game of it, their offense was going to have to control the puck and generate some chances.

That was not happening for the Predators. The Blues controlled the puck, choked off the Predators entry into the zone, and did not let the offense get established. The Predators did not record their first shot on the Blues goal until 12:21 had elapsed in the period.

The Predators defense was caught asleep as Patrick Bergland broke in alone on Rinne and was hooked by Mike Fisher. Bergland was awarded a penalty shot and he beat Rinne stick side to give the Blues a 2-0 lead. As bad as the Predators offense was tonight, that lead looked to be insurmountable for the Predators.

The remainder of the period was scoreless, but the Predators never seriously challenged the Blues net and the offense was throttled by the Blues defense. In the second period, the Predators were out shot 11-4. If the Predators were going to get back in this game, they were going to have to commit to getting the puck in the zone and getting shots on net, something they had not done during the first 40 minutes.

The final 20 minutes were going to be a test of the heart and will of the Predators.

The Predators opened the third period with 1:30 of power play time, but had difficulty even entering the zone. The power play expired with no serious scoring threats. Another power play shortly thereafter yielded a few shots but again no serious scoring threats.

Vladamir Tarasenko made it 3-0 at 9:04 as he was left all alone on the left side of the ice after jumping off the bench on a change. Alex Steen found Tarasenko gliding toward the net and slipped a pass to the wide open winger and he roofed a shot over Rinne to give the Blues a lead that the Predators were not going to threaten the way they were playing.

The only question remaining in this game was how badly the Predators would be embarrassed by their lack of effort tonight.

The Predators effort tonight was embarrassing. They were out shot 24-13 and rarely threatened Halak in the offensive zone. The forwards were dominated by the Blues defense. The power play was impotent.

An all around stinker of a game by the Predators.

This team is a team that has to bring the effort every night to compensate for their lack of talent. Tonight, the effort was woefully lacking.

The Predators get a chance to wash this bad taste out of their mouth Saturday night in Anaheim.

It can't come quickly enough.

My three stars:

1. T.J. Oshie

2. Vladamir Tarasenko

3. Jaroslav Halak

Predators Bounce the Blues 4-2

The Nashville Predators ran their record to 2-0 with their second consecutive road win over a division rival, topping the St. Louis Blues by a score of 4-2 at the ScottTrade Center.

The Predators relied on their usual formula- outstanding goaltending by Pekka Rinne; a tenacious defense; and opportunistic scoring.

Quickly emerging as an offensive force for the Predators is Craig Smith, who had a goal and an assist in this contest. Smith is playing relaxed and with confidence, and his game reflects those traits. Combined with David Legwand and Colin Wilson, Smith has contributed to a potent offensive line for the Predators.

Patrick Bergland opened the scoring for the Blues at 7:44 of the first with an even strength goal. The crowd for the Blues home opener was in full throat and once again, the Predators would need to swing momentum back to their side.

Enter Craig Smith.

With the Predators on a power play, Shea Weber blasted a shot that Jaroslav Halak could not handle. Smith, lurking around the net, used his quick hands to backhand the puck past Halak to tie the game at 1.

There was no scoring in the second period, but not for lack of effort, especially by the Blues. Rinne made numerous saves as the Blues outshot the Predators 10-4 in the period.

In the third period, David Legwand gave the Predators a 2-1 lead on what can best be described as a fluke goal. Legwand got the puck at the side of the net with the Predators on the power play. He attempted to slip the puck to Colin Wilson, who was driving the net. Instead, the puck caromed off the skate of Blues defenseman Nikita Nikitin and slid past Halak to make it 2-1.

Wait...the Predators tallied on a power play? For the second game in a row?

Taking a cue from the Predators, the Blues scored on the power play as Jason Arnott gathered in a rebound of a David Backes shot and wristed the puck past Rinne.

Tied at 2 and the crowd back in it, Kevin Klein answered for the Predators just 57 seconds later as he made a nice move at the blue line to avoid a defender and walked the puck in toward the face off circle. Klein let go a wrist shot that beat Halak to give the Predators a 3-2 lead, an advantage they would not relinquish.

Rinne continued to make great saves as the Blues peppered the predators net with shots. The downside of the Predators effort tonight was the number of shots they gave up to the Blues. For the game, the Predators were outshot 33-16. The tendency to go into an offensive shell and rely on Rinne to bail out this team will cause them problems as the season goes on.

David Legwand iced the game with 1:02 left in the contest as he potted an empty netter to give the Predators a 4-2 lead.

Take nothing away from the effort by the Predators. They hustled and were much better in the neutral zone.

They were also lucky, as the Blues did not cash in on some glorious chances. The Predators once again took too many penalties, but were blessed with a stellar PK. Sooner or later, those man advantages will bite them. Too many puck battles were lost.

This was a solid win, and it is good to get the first two wins of the season on the road against divisional opponents.

The Predators remain a work in progress. There are areas that must be improved. There are flashes of brilliance.

This is what you get with a very young team that is learning on the fly.

Predator fans should hang on for the ride.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. David Legwand

3. Craig Smith

Blues Hand the Predators First Regulation Loss 3-0

Eventually, the Predators were going to lose a game in regulation. The way the Predators lost to was particularly galling to the team and Predators fans as they dropped a 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues.

The troublesome aspect of this loss was the fact that as a group, the forwards for the Predators played their worst game of the young season, failing to generate consistent offensive flow and getting outworked most of the night.

The Predators were outshot in every period and mustered only 24 shot on goal for the contest.

Most of the night, they failed to support the puck in the offensive zone. Give credit to the Blues for their defensive effort, which took the Predators out of their offensive flow throughout the night. Nevertheless, the effort of the forwards was not up to the standards that the team has expected and has to have to win games.

The Predators had some chances, but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. Patric Hornqvist was stoned on a breakaway with a great glove save by Blues netminder Jaroslav Halak. When the Predators had scoring opportunities, they typically shot the puck right into the crest of Halak's jersey. Unlike the Predators first victory against the Blues, they failed to generate much traffic in front of the net and didn't make Halak work very hard to make his saves.

Pekka Rinne got the start for the Predators and made some good saves to keep the game scoreless at the end of the first period.

That would change at 12:56 of the second period. The Predators had just gone into a 30 second power play when Frankie Buillon and Shea Weber both lost track of Alexander Steen in the low slot. He took a nice pass from David Perron from behind the net and roofed a shot over the defenseless Rinne.

With the lack of offense by the Predators, one had a sinking feeling that Steen's goal would be enough for the Blues to skate away with the win. As it was, that goal was enough, even though the Blues would add two more tallies.

Patrick Bergland buried a rebound of a Rinne pad save as he was left alone to Rinne's right side at 12:48 of the second period.

Jordin Tootoo received a five minute major and a game misconduct at 13:11 of the third as he was called for charging into Carlo Colaiacovo. Frankly, it did not look as if it was a charge, but Tootoo will never get the benefit of the doubt on those types of calls.

Matt D'Agostini scored at 15:11 of the third period during the power play. Pekka Rinne was obviously frustrated on the play as D'Agostini was left all alone at the front of the net for an easy goal.

Give props to the Blues for taking the Predators out of their offensive flow, but at the same time, the Predators forwards looked out of sync and frankly didn't work as hard as they have in previous games. For the game, Steve Sullivan, J.P. Dumont, David Legwand, Cal O'Reilly and Martin Erat all had just one shot on goal. Colin Wilson had no shots.

Frankly, that is unacceptable.

The Predators have failed to protect home ice, losing three games in overtime and this game in regulation out of six they have played in the Bridgestone Arena. The Predators have to hold serve at home and play with a greater sense of urgency on their home ice. Perhaps the extended road trip on which they are about to embark will be good for this team.

Production has to come from those players that are expected to produce. Tonight, Dumont, Erat, Legwand, Wilson, O'Reilly, and Sullivan were passengers.For the Predators to have success, they have to be producers.

It should be obvious to the team that an effort like the one put forth tonight is unacceptable. This team knows what it takes to win. Tonight, they did none of those things.

The road and some tough opponents await.

It's time to start bringing the effort that wins games.

My three stars of the game:

1. Jaroslav Halak

2. David Perron

3. Patrick Bergland