Predators Get 2nd Win In A Row, Defeat the Oilers 4-1

The Nashville Predators visited Rexall Place to face the Edmonton Oilers and were looking for their first back to back wins since December 19th/21st.

The Predators accomplished that task by defeating the Oilers 4-1.

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers, beating the Predators defense back and to the low slot before backhanding a puck past Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 lead.

Mattias Ekholm answered with a a shot through traffic that slid between the legs of Cam Talbot to tie the game at 1.

Ekholm scored a...strange goal to give the Predators a 2-1 lead when his shot hit Andre Sekera in the head and disappeared into the pads of Talbot. When Talbot dropped to the butterfly, the puck squirted out of his pads and dribbled across the goal line.

Mike Fisher scored on a drive to the net that was set up by a sweet pass from Shea Weber to give the Predators a 3-1 lead early in the third period.

Filip Forsberg finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

Some observations:

• Mike Ribeiro moved up to the first line on a wing with James Neal and Ryan Johansen. More line juggling by Peter Laviolette. Kevin Fiala was a healthy scratch. Mike Fisher centered Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg. Austin Watson drew back into the line up and was paired with Calle Jarnkrok and Miikka Salomaki.
• Petter Granberg was paired with Mattias Ekholm on the blue line. Anthony Bitetto was a healthy scratch for the D. corps.
• The Draisaitl goal was another example of an opposing forward skating through the Predators defense to get to a prime scoring area. This time, Draisaitl victimized Shea Weber with a strong cut to the low slot. Again, this is an area of the Predators play that has been uncharacteristically spotty and has to improve if this team is going to improve it's play.
• Mattias Ekholm has been quietly solid for the Predators. You can see that he is a steadying presence for the rookie Granberg and he has some offensive mojo as well. His goal was a result of good judgment to jump in on the play and his unwillingness to give up on the puck in a high traffic area. 
• Was that not the weirdest goal that Ekholm scored for his second of the night? Off the head of Sekera, disappeared into the pads of Talbot, and then reappeared to drift slowly over the goal line. A lot of puck luck on that goal, something the Predators have not had a lot of lately. Maybe, just maybe, the hockey gods are starting to smile on the Predators.
• Matty Ek recorded his 20th point with his 2 goals tonight. That is a career high, and it occurred in 48 games. His previous high was 18 points in 80 games.
• Exceptional vision and a sweet pass from Shea Weber to Mike Fisher during the 4 on 4 early in the third period for the Predators third goal. Weber put the pass from the corner right on to the tape of Fisher's stick. And credit Fisher for driving hard to the net, something the Predators have started to do recently and it has resulted in goals.
• Good on Austin Watson getting back in the line up and picking up an assist on Ekholm's first goal. Watson has been struggling to stick in the line up and he needs some good things to happen for his confidence. A big body and a hard worker, this young Predator can be a contributor if he finds his game.
• I liked the way the Predators skated tonight and controlled the neutral zone. The Oilers have some talented and explosive forwards, but the Predators skated well and negated their speed and and offensive cycle.
• Rinne had his second consecutive strong outing. I don't really fault him on the lone Oiler goal as Draisaitl worked Weber to get to the low slot. Foir the second game, Rinne made some quality saves, but more importantly, was calm in net and looked confident. The Predators will do very well with a calm and confident Rinne.
• The Predators won 33 of 59 faceoffs and blocked 14 shots tonight.
• Good to see the PK start to get its mojo back. They killed all 3 of the Oilers man advantages. The Predators power play was 1 of 2.
• Roman Josi led the team in TOI with 26:50. His partner, Shea Weber, had 26:00.

Goodness, it is nice to get back to back wins. This was a complete game by the team that was a full 60 minutes of sound, fundamental hockey. This team has struggled mightily to put these kinds of games together, and now having done that will hopefully build on that effort and establish some positive momentum.

Two more games before the All Star break to do just that.

My three stars:

1. Mattias Ekholm

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Mike Fisher

Rinne, Predators Shut Out the Oilers

The Nashville Predators faced the Edmonton McDavids Oilers at the Bridgestone Arena and came away with a 2-0 victory in front of a sellout crowd. The Predators used goals by Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg and a stellar game by goaltender Pekka Rinne to secure the win.

Craig Smith opened the scoring on a 2 on 1 rush with Colin Wilson. Wilson was able to steal the puck and fed a nice saucer pass to Smith who roofed the puck over a sprawling Cam Talbot at 18:32 of the second period.

Forsberg was the beneficiary of a steal by Mike Ribeiro at the side of the Oilers net. Ribeiro found Forsberg streaking down the slot and he fired the puck under the crossbar for his first goal of the season and breathing room for the Predators.

The Oilers had what appeared to be the tying goal waved off. Ryan Nugent Hopkins got the puck past Rinne but after a lengthy review it was judged to have been kicked into the goal.

Some observations:

• Rinne was outstanding tonight, making 31 saves and cleaning up some turnovers by the Predators defense and stopping some very good scoring chances by the Oilers. Rinne recorded his 37th career shutout (a Predators record) and tied Tomas Vokoun for most games played by a Predators netminder (383 games). 
• Once again, the Predators faced an opponent that controlled the puck for lengthy stretches in the the defensive zone. Rinne made some good saves, but it is troubling to see the Predators get hemmed in their own zone so often. Give the Oilkers credit- they have some talented forwards and they put lots of pressure on the the defense and forced some turnovers that led to lots of possession time. The Predators had 9 giveaways, mostly in the defensive zone.
• Colin Wilson had a very strong game. he drove possession, had some good scoring chances, and was instrumental in Smith getting the first goal of the game. Wilson drew the defense to him on the breakaway and got a nice pass to Smith in a shooting position. Wilson has been skating well and is creative with the puck on his stick and was the best skater on the ice for the Predators.
• Craig Smith scored a beauty of a goal, putting the shot off the pass from Wilson just under the crossbar. Smith has two goals in the first two games of the season and has been a force on the ice. Good to see the Honey Badger get off to a strong start.
• Great vision by Ribeiro on the pass to Forsberg and a superb finish by Filip. That is a goal scorer's goal and Forsberg made no mistake with his scoring chance.
• Cam Talbot played an excellent game in net for the Oilers. If Talbot had some quality blue liners in front of him, his job would be a lot easier. Talbot kept the Oilers in the game and gave them a chance to win.
• 17 years ago tonight was the first game in Predators history against the Florida Panthers.
• Cody Hodgson was 78% in the faceoff circle. Mike Ribeiro was a miserable 21%.
• The Predators out hit the Oilers 27-13.
• Shea Weber led the team in TOI with 22:57.
• The Oilers have scored 1 goal in their first two games of the season.

It's good to start the season 2-0. It's also apparent that this team is still a work in progress and has much to improve upon. Nevertheless, I would rather be 2-0 while working on those deficiencies than 0-2.

The Predators now go on the road for a three game swing in the Eastern Conference.

Time to keep working and build on the momentum of these first two games.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Craig Smith

3. Filip Forsberg

Honorable mention: Colin Wilson

Predators Dominated By the Rangers 4-1

The Nashville Predators traveled to Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers and attempt to end a two game losing streak.

The Predators now have a 3 game losing streak.

The Rangers out skated and outworked the Predators all night on the way to a 4-1 victory.

The Predators did not give much help to goaltender Pekka Rinne, often leaving the slot wide open for uncontested snots.

Mark Staal, Chris Kreider, and Dominic Moore all tallied for the Rangers. Derek Brassard picked up 2 assists. Rick Nash finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

Matt Cullen got the lone goal past Cam Talbot off a beautiful assist from Taylor Beck.

Some observations:

• Lines were juggled for this game. Colin Wilson moved to the top line with James Neal and Mike Ribeiro. Mike Fisher centered Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg. Mike Santorelli centered Matt Cullen and Taylor Beck. Calle Jarnkrok was a healthy scratch.
• Once again, the Predators gave up the first goal of the game. This is the 8th straight game that the Predators have fallen behind 1-0. While the team has shown great resiliency and the ability to (usually) overcome these deficits, this is a disturbing trend that needs to change. This will be especially true come the playoffs.
• The defense in front of Rinne has dropped off significantly. Rinne had no chance of the Rangers second goal as Craig Smith was abused by Chris Kreider going down the slot. He blew past Smith and had an easy redirect past Rinne. Dominic Moore was left alone by Taylor Beck for an easy score off a rebound. The cohesiveness and positioning has broken down on several occasions and has allowed the opposition prime scoring chances. Rinne made some great saves in this game, but he cannot be expected to clean up so many mistakes by the D in front of him.
• Taylor Beck has been in and out of the line up recently and has been a healthy scratch the last three games. His play from his knees to set up Matt Cullen's goal was not only a beautiful play, but it was just a no quit, compete play. This is the type of play that has to happen from all of the forwards for the Predators to be successful. Beck is showing that he wants to stay in the line up with this kind of play.
• How tough are hockey players? Seth Jones took a puck in the mouth in the second period, which stunned him and left him spitting blood. The puck was in the Predators defensive zone when this happened, so Jones kept his defensive position and blocked another shot. Once the puck was cleared, Jones got to the bench, got some attention from the trainers, and was back on the ice for his next shift.
• The Predators have been getting a taste of playoff hockey- games that are tight checking and are a fight for space on the ice. They have come up short in these contests, and perhaps more disturbing is that they have been getting outworked for broad stretches of these games. Hopefully, these games are a learning experience and the lesson is learned quickly. Playoff hockey is a different animal, and the Predators have been the prey in these types of games.
• The Predators power play has reverted to abysmal status. They had 3 power plays in the game that generated just 2 shots, and on two of them did not get a shot. The Predators struggle to enter the zone and get set up, and if this aspect of their game does not improve, it will come back to haunt them. The power play unit has little movement, making it easy to defend, and is awfully predictable. That predictability makes it easy to defend. Too easy.
• The Rangers jumped on the Predators early and never let them in the game. They out shot the Predators 40-26. They had better jump, won more puck battles, and wanted the game more than the Predators.

The reality of the situation is the play of the Predators has dropped off.

No, that's not exactly right.

They opponents have elevated their intensity and level of play and the Predators have not. Like I said, this is a taste of playoff hockey as the Predators are playing some teams that are desperately fighting for playoff position. This is hungry hockey, and right now the Predators are not playing like a hungry team.

Now it gets interesting.

We will see if the Predators can get hungry and raise their game.

Or if they will continue to get outworked by their opponents.

My three stars:

1.  Derek Brassard

2. Mats Zuccarello

3. Chris Kreider

Blue Line Powers Predators Past Blue Shirts

The Blue Shirts from Broadway traveled to an different Broadway, one filled with honkey tonks and musicians singing sad songs. It was the New York Rangers that left Nashville singing their own sad song as the Nashville Predators got back to their winning ways with a 3-2 victory.

After Rick Nash scored on the power play to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead early in the second period, the Predators used goals by Roman Josi and Shea Weber to take a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.

Ryan McDonagh tied the game in the third period with a shot through traffic before Mike Ribeiro scored the game winning goal at 7:14 of the final frame. Ribeiro blasted a shot from the face off circle past Cam Talbot for his 700th career point.

Pekka Rinne picked up his league leading 30th win and his first since coming back from a knee injury. He made 30 saves on 32 shots for the win.

Talbot, playing in place of an injured Henrik Lunqvist, stopped 20 of 23 shots, including a first period flurry from the Predators and a point blank shot from Filip Forsberg in the low slot in the third period.

Some observations:

• With the three points from the blue line ( Josi 1G-1A and Weber 1G) today, the Predators defensemen have 36 goals and 134 points, the most in the NHL. Josi picked up his 10th goal of the season, while Weber tallied his 12th goal.
• Josi had a stellar game and is shooting more. While his shot doesn't rival Weber's, it is a very good shot and his slap shot from the circle beat Talbot cleanly.
• Good night, Weber's bomb from the back of the face off circle was a blast. If that puck had hit Talbot, it might have gone through him.
• Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault did a good job of trying to keep Rick Nash and his line away from Shea Weber. That meant that Seth Jones was often on the ice when the Nash line was on the ice. Jones and Matty Ekholm did a good job of keeping that line in check, not allowing an even strength point.
• The Rangers are a talented team that brought an aggressive forecheck and once again, it created problems for the Predators. They often had a difficult time getting out of the defensive zone and struggled through the neutral zone. This almost cost the Predators as they turned the puck over several times at their blue line, allowing the Rangers to keep possession in the offensive zone.
• Colin Wilson got blown up by Dan Girardi with a huge open ice hit in the first period and did not return. He was listed as being out with an upper body injury. 
• The Rangers lost Jesper Fast in the second period with a sprained knee.
• The Predators had not beaten the Rangers on home ice since February 28th, 2004.
• The Rangers had won 3 straight coming into this game and were 7-1-0 on the road against Western Conference teams.
• The Predators were dominant in the face off circle, winning 41 of 64. 
• The Predators did a much better job of playing disciplined hockey, taking two penalties in this game. A nice change after the parade to the penalty box over the past few games.
• The Predators had a nice tribute video to Kevin Klein in his first game back to the Bridge since being traded to the Rangers.
• The Predators are 11-0-1 after losing the previous game, and are a league best 21-3-1 on home ice.

This was a big bounce back win by the Predators and it puts them back into first place in the Central Division with 74 points. The Blues are in second with 72 points, and the Predators are one point behind the Ducks, who have 75.

The grind of February continues with the Predators on the road tomorrow against Florida with another 2:00 start.

My three stars:

1. Roman Josi

2. Mike Ribeiro
 
3. Ryan McDonagh

Predators Out Worked and Shut Out By the Rangers 2-0

Nashville Predators Head Coach Barry Trotz gave his team the day off on Friday.

He night want to re-think that strategy as the Predators failed to show up at the Bridgestone Arena, falling 2-0 to the New York Rangers.

The Predators were out worked in all phases of the game. The Rangers choked off the Predators offense. They thwarted their entries with aggressive neutral zone pressure. And they dominated the Predators in the defensive zone, controlling the puck with a solid cycle game, making the Predators chase the puck much of the night.

Normally, the Predators work ethic can carry the team. Tonight, that was absent as the Rangers jumped on the Predators with their pressure and forecheck and never let up.

The Predators had no answers. No one on the team stepped up their game and the team could not handle the forecheck and pressure of the Rangers.

How bad was it?

The Rangers out shot the Predators 34-17, including a dominant 17-7 shot advantage in the second period when the Rangers took control of the game.

Marek Mazanec had to make a number of good saves to keep the score from being worse. He gave up a second period goal to Ryan McDonagh, whose blast from the point beat Mazanec five hole.

The Rangers added a third period goal from Derek Stepan and the game was over for all intents and purposes.

Cam Talbot manned the pipes for the Rangers, and he was rarely challenged by the Predators.

Some observations:

• The Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team continues to baffle. Their three game win streak prior to this game was solid hockey. Tonight, they reverted to their troubling ways. They could not handle the pressure of the Rangers and the offense was non-existent. The Predators need consistent effort and their top lines have to produce every game. The inability to establish consistency this far into the season is troubling.

• Mazanec had a solid game for the most. The first goal he allowed was questionable, though. Getting beat five hole from the point cannot happen.

• When the Predators entered the offensive zone, they showed the troubling tendency to pass first rather than take the shot. In their three game winning streak, the Predators were firing pucks at the net. When this team doesn't shoot and drive the net, they are in trouble. They were in trouble tonight.

• Patric Hornqvist played only 4 shifts and had 4:07 of ice time. He was hurt in the first period and is called day to day with an upper body injury. Hornqvist was hit up high with a shot from Shea Weber and in the first period and did not return.

This game was a poor effort by the Predators, and it was especially disappointing to see the team get badly outworked.

Hopefully, the Predators revert back to their hard working ways on Monday when they face the Coyotes at home.

My three stars:

1. Ryan McDonagh

2. Derek Steppan

3. Cam Talbot