Predators Drop Another Game to the Blues 1-0

The St. Louis Blues squared off against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in a game that took on the characteristics of a heavyweight boxing match.

Both teams probed, took their offensive shots, and waited for the other to make a mistake to give them an opening.

It was the Predators that made the mistake, getting trapped in their own zone for a lengthy period of time and failing to clear the puck. That mistake wound up in the back of their net.

Troy Brouwer deflected a shot by Alex Pietrangelo past Pekka Rinne with 1:05 to go in regulation to give the Blues a 1-0 victory.

The Blues have won all 4 games against the Predators this season.

Some observations:

• Shots on goal were 11 apiece at the end of 2 periods as neither team would give an inch. That changed in the third period as the Blues had the quality scoring chances while the Predators rarely threatened Brian Elliott. Rinne had to make some huge saves, including a point blank stop on Magnus Paajarvi. Rinne was solid tonight and I can't fault him on the deflection that got past him. The Blues out shot the Predators 12-5 in the third as the offense was virtually non-existent. For the game, the Blues out shot the Predators 23-16.
• Ryan Johansen had 3 shots on net , but the rest of the Predators had no player record more than 2 shots on goal as the Blues defense did an effective job of choking off the offensive push. The Predators this season have had no answer for the heavy game the Blues play. They had better figure it out, because this is the kind of hockey every team will play between now and the end of the season.
• The Predators were good in the face off dot, winning 57% of the draws.
• I liked the game of Calle Jarnkrok tonight. He was aggressive in all zones and played with speed and pace. He was on a line with Craig Smith and Mike Ribeiro and this line created a few quality chances.
• Unfortunately for the Predators, there were not enough quality chances. Very little traffic to the net meant that Brian Elliott had a fairly easy night.
• This is the 6th time this season that the Predators have been shut out.
• There is no doubt that the Central Division is the toughest division in the NHL. If the Predators are going to climb into a solid playoff position, they are going to have to pick up their game against their division rivals. After tonight, the Predators are 6-10-2 against their Central opponents. 
• The Predators PK was solid, killing off all 3 of the Blues power plays. This unit continues to be effective and has really stepped up their play.
• On the other hand, the Predators power play was 0-3 and never really threatened the net. This unit has started to go cold, and the team needs this unit to pick up their sense of urgency and pace.

This is a tough loss for the Predators as it is a divisional loss and keeps them barely in the playoff hunt. With a chance to make up some ground  on the Blues and put some distance between the other teams chasing them, they sputtered.

It is not going to get any easier between now and the end of the season. Teams are going to be desperate and playing hard hockey.

They Predators are going to have to do the same.

My three stars:

1. Troy Brouwer

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Alex Pietrangelo

Predators Fall Flat Agaisnt the Blues 4-0

After a successful road trip, the Nashville Predators returned to Bridgestone Arena and promptly fell flat on their face in a 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Although the Predators out shot the Blues 45-28, Blues netminder Jake Allen was rarely called upon to make quality saves.

Pekka Rinne, however, was under assault, as the Blues scored 2 power play goals and then added an even strength goal from former Predator Scottie Upshall and a final goal from Alex Steen to round out the scoring.

Colton Parayko opened the scoring as the Blues moved the puck well on the power play and he was left all alone on the right side of the ice inside the face off dot. His blast beat Rinne to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

That lead held up until the third period when the Blues erupted for 3 goals. Alex Pietrangelo tallied on the power play to give the Blues a 2-0 lead before Upshall emptied the arena with his marker. Steen added the icing to the cake with his 8th goal of the season to make it 4-0 and seal the win.

Some observations:

• The Predators continued their uncharacteristically undisciplined played by taking 6 penalties. As in their previous game against the Wild, the Predators PK gave up 2 goals with the opponent on the power play. Continuing to put a man in the box is going to be trouble for the Predators as the pressure on the penalty killers against good teams is tempting fate. The Predators survived the Wild, but good teams are going to capitalize om the power play. Tonight, it cost the Predators.
• Once again, the Predators were horrific in the face off dot, winning only 22 of 57 draws. Puck possession is critical, and the Predators have been woeful in winning draws, especially in the offensive zone. The Predators are going to have to improve quickly in this area. 
• On the other side, the Predators Were ice cold with the man advantage. They were 0-5, including 1:46 of a 5 on 3. The power play has got to get going for the Predators to be successful,  and tonight, they were impotent.
• Colin Wilson, among others, has to get his game going. Tonight, he had 1 SOG, and he has too much talent to be as invisible as he is in recent games.
• The same can be said for Craig Smith. A non-factor in recent games.
• The Predators hung Rinne out to dry on the two power play goals. The first goal by Parayko saw all the Predators defenders on one side of the ice, leaving parayko alone to receive the pass and one time the puck past Rinne.
• The Predators are 0-2-2 when allowing the first goal. They are 0-2-1 when trailing after two periods.
• The Predators were shut out for the first time this season.

The Predators started a 5 game home stand with a thud. It is easy to say they ran into a hot and very good goalie (they did), but they rarely challenged Allen to make quality saves.

The Predators are going to have to figure out how to play against a quality divisional opponent in the Blues. tonight, they showed they can get shots on the net but every mistake they made wound up in the back of their net. The Predators were found wanting against a quality opponent that they will have to defeat to win their first divsional title.

Learn from this and move on.

My three stars:

1. Jake Allen

2. Colton Parayko

3. Alexander Steen

Predators Beat Down the Blues 6-1

The Nashville Predators wrapped up their 7 game road trip with their third contest against the St. Louis Blues at ScottTrade Center.

The Predators looked to build on their success from consecutive shootout victories over the L.A. Kings and the San Jose Sharks. More importantly, the Predators were looking to continue to discover their identity and play their style of hockey- solid defense and opportunistic offense.

In other words, Predator Hockey.

The Predators had Pekka Rinne in net, while the Blues went with Brian Elliott.

The Predators wanted to bring a better effort than the last time they played the Blues, and the game certainly started well as Ryan Ellis tallied on the power play at 17:50 to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

The Predators extended the lead to 2-0 on a play that was caused by the effort of Colin Wilson. Wilson fought for and controlled the puck at the Blues Blue line. Wilson tried to get the puck to Paul Gaustad, but the puck hit a Blues defender and came back to Wilson. He fired a shot that Elliott stopped with his pad, but Rich Clune was crashing the net and smacked home the rebound for his first NHL goal at 15:53.

The Predators kept up the pressure on the Blues net, and Nick Spaling cashed in as he lifted a shot over the prone Elliott at 19:13 of the period to give the Predators a 3-0 lead. The goal was typical Predator hockey: getting the puck on net with traffic, winning the puck battle, and slamming home a rebound.

All of a sudden, it appears as if the Predators have discovered Predator hockey.

The defense was solid as well, limiting the Blues to just 4 shots in the period, while the Predators had 9.

The Blues were expected to come out with a strong push in the second period, and through 9 minutes the Blues out shot the Predators 4-1. The Predators limited the Blues quality scoring chances, and needed to get their offense back in gear and not give momentum back to the Blues.

The Predators seized the momentum back as Kevin Klein unleashed a blast from the blue line that beat Elliott cleanly to give the Predators a 4-0 lead at 9:09 of the period. That goal would send Elliott to the bench and rookie Jake Allen entered the game.

The Predators welcomed Allen to the game as Colin Wilson split two Blues defenders and backhanded a puck that caromed off the crossbar and landed in the blue paint. Gabriel Bourque drove the net and the puck went off his skate and into the goal. After review, it was ruled a good goal, and Bourque had his first goal of the year at 10:09 to give the Predators a 5-0 lead.

The Blues made it 5-1 on the power play as Alex Pietrangelo lifted a backhand that went off the shoulder of Rinne at 13:09.

The Predators did not make it easy on themselves by taking a penalty but were able to kill off the man advantage.

Yet once again, the Predators were guilty of another penalty as Shea Weber was called for tripping, and they managed to kill off the penalty in the remainder of the period, but the Blues would have 1:38 of carry over power play time going into the third. By virtue of the Blues strong push and the Predators spending time down a man, the Blues out shot the Predators 14-3 in the second.

Going into the third, the Predators could not afford to lose their aggressiveness in the offensive zone. They needed to keep attacking and could not afford to sit back on their heels.

With 24 seconds remaining in the initial penalty to Shea Weber, Roman Josi was called for cross checking and the potent Blues power play had a brief 5 on 3 advantage.

The Predators killed the 5 on 3 and the penalty on Josi, but the Predators were going to have to play with more discipline and get back to the game that jumped on the Blues in the first period. Sitting back and letting the Blues dictate the attack was not a comfortable position for the Predators, even with the 4 goal lead.

The Predators picked up the attack and got some shots in on Allen, but more importantly got back to the forecheck. The Blues still had some quality chances, but the Predators began to limit time in their defensive zone and slow the Blues rush in the neutral zone. Pekka Rinne came up with some big stops to keep the Blues from gaining momentum.

The Predators restored their 5 goal lead as Marty Erat gathered in a rebound of his own shot and banged home the rebound to make it 6-1 at 16:34. The play was set up by Ryan Ellis, who found Erat breaking to the net and hit him with a perfect pass.

The remainder of the game was scoreless and the Predators had exploded for their highest goal output of the season in defeating the Blues 6-1.

There are numerous positives to take away from this game: Rinne was solid; scoring was opportunistic and came throughout the line up; and the Predators PK limited the number one power play in the NHL to 1 for 5.

Perhaps most importantly, the Predators look as if they have discovered their identity and are playing to the strengths of their game and their roster. If the Predators are going to succeed this season, they are going to have to play to that identity in the remaining games.

Gritty, opportunistic hockey. Staunch defense. Aggressive forechecking that creates scoring opportunities.

The Predators have built some good momentum off this road trip. 8 of the next 11 games are at the Bridgestone Arena.

Time to bring that momentum home.

My three stars:

1. Colin Wilson

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Marty Erat

Predators Pick Up a Point in 4-3 SO Loss to the Blues

For the second straight game, the Nashville Predators went to a shootout, and both times the results were the same as the Predators dropped a 4-3 decision to the St. Louis Blues.

Unlike the previous game with Columbus, the Predators played with more purpose. Like the previous game, there were stretches where the visiting Blues dominated puck possession and kept the Predators pinned in their own zone. Make no mistake, part of this is the fact that the Blues are a very talented team, but the fact that the Predators can be dominated as they were in their own zone is troubling.

In regulation, the Blues out shot the Predators 33-24. In the overtime period, the Predators could not muster a shot and were out shot 6-0.

The Predators opened the scoring at 9:10 of the first period as Colin Wilson took a pass from Patric Hornqvist and fired a shot from just inside the face off circle that beat Blues netminder Jaroslav Halak. Wilson was strong on the puck all night and played a very good game. In the two games of this young season, he has been the best skater for the Predators.

The Blues tied the game at 10:28 of the first period as rookie Vladamir Tarasenko fired a shot over the shoulder of Pekka Rinne for his third goal in two games. Tarasenko is a dynamic young player and a force for the Blues. He later added two assists on Blues goals to give him 5 points in two games.

The Blues took a 2-1 lead at 15:04 of the first as Andy McDonald tallied on the power play with David Legwand in the box for hooking. McDonald was able to roof the puck over an out of position Rinne for the Blues lead.

The Predators returned the favor on the power play at 17:13 of the first period as Mike Fisher took a nice cross ice feed from Marty Erat and beat Halak high stick side.

Although the Blues out shot the Predators 14-6 and had a decided territorial advantage in the first period, the opening frame ended tied at 2. Rinne made some good save to keep the Predators in the period as the Blues had a tremendous offensive zone time advantage.

The Predators were stronger on the puck in the second period, and although they were out shot 9-8, they tallied the only goal of the period on the power play. Patric Hornqvist got free down low and lifted a sharp angle backhand over the shoulder of Halak at 12:53 the give the Predators a 3-2 lead on only their 11th shot of the game. That was enough for Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock as he pulled Halak and inserted Brian Elliott in net.

That proved to be a wide coaching move by Hitch as Elliott would shut out the Predators the rest of the way.

Once again, the third period saw the Predators unable to hold a lead as the Blues tied the game at 12:10 of the third as Alex Pietrangelo was able to get the puck past Rinne.

Shots were 10-10 in the third period, but Rinne made some exceptional saves and the Predators hit the post on three occasions and couldn't finish their chances.

The Blues owned the overtime session as once again Rinne made some good saves to keep the Blues off the board. The Predators could not generate any offense and did not have a shot on goal in the extra session.

In the shootout, Craig Smith and Marty Erat were stopped by Elliott and T.J. Oshie and Alex Steen were able to beat Rinne to give the Blues the second point.

On the positive side, it was good to see Hornqvist and Fisher get on the score sheet. Hornqvist had a strong game and has been quietly effective. Colin Wilson had a solid game, skating well and was strong on the puck. Wilson has been the Predators best skater in the first two games and his game has matured nicely.

Troubling for the Predators is the way that the Blues were able to dominate in puck possession. There were stretches of the game where the Predators were fortunate to just get it out of their zone. Part of this is that the Blues are a very talented team. Part of this is that the Predators were sloppy with the puck. This has to improve for the Predators to get in the win column.

The other aspect of the Predators game that has to improve is the secondary scoring. Last year, the Predators were the beneficiaries of the third and fourth line contributing with timely scoring. So far, these lines have not had any offensive pop, and the Predators have to have these lines chipping in with some goals.

The Predators are in Minnesota tomorrow night, and this is another opportunity to continue to get their game back to Predator hockey. Some good strides were made tonight.

The progress has to continue.

My three stars:

1. Vladamir Tarasenko

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Colin Wilson