Predators Rally Past Vancouver for 2-1 Win

The Nashville Predators began a western Canada road trip with a stop in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. The Predators came into the game having won three of their last four games and were looking to build on that momentum.

Michael Del Zotto, acquired the day before from the New York Rangers for Kevin Klein, made his debut with the Predators.

Carter Hutton was in net for the Predators, and he has been playing well of late. The Predators were going to need another strong outing from Hutton against the talented Canucks squad.

And Hutton came up big in a scoreless first period. He stopped all 13 shots he faced, making some solid saves. The Canucks were aided in that first period by 6 minutes of power play time. Hutton and the penalty killers did a good job of keeping the Canucks off the board.

Taking those penalties is not a formula for beating the Canucks, and the Predators were going to have to be more disciplined in the second period.

The only score in the second period came when Chris Higgins tipped a Dale Weiss shot that was going wide of the net over the shoulder of Hutton.

As for the Predators, they had not really challenged Roberto Luongo through the first two periods. The offensive urgency and effort were going to have to improve in the third period.

The Predators got that response at 3:28 of the third period as Craig Smith beat Luongo short side with a snap shot to tie the game at 1. This was Smith's 16th goal of the season.

The Predators took a 2-1 lead on the power play as Seth Jones fired a shot from the blue line that was re-directed by Nick Spaling in front of Luongo Luongo. Spaling's goal came at 12:38 of the period.

The Predators defense was able to make that goal stand up, and they captured the 2-1 win.


Some observations:

• Scott Nichol, Predators Director of Player Development, was behind the bench replacing Coach Lane Lambert, who stayed in Nashville to be with his wife, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment. All of the fans of the Predators certainly send our best to her.

• Del Zotto looked good for having made a cross country flight and joining the team today. he had good jump, a nice shot from the point, and showed that he can move the puck.

• Nice response by the Predators in the third period. After a rather lifeless first two periods, the Predators took over in the third period. They got their feet moving and created some quality scoring chances by shooting the puck and getting to the net.

• Hutton was very good again. He stopped 35 of 36 shots and did a good job of controlling rebounds and was tracking the puck well. Early in the year, it appeared that Hutton was scrambling a bit in net. Now, he looks to be more poised and fluid, and his game has benefitted.

• The Canucks were without Head Coach John Tortorella, who missed his second game behind the bench as he serves his 15 day suspension.

• The Predators won for only the 6th time this season when the opponent scores first.

The Predators continue tomorrow night in Calgary and are looking to keep the momentum going.

They will have to do so to get back into the playoff hunt.

My three stars:

1. Carter Hutton

2. Nick Spaling

3. Craig Smith

Tim Peel Hands the Canucks a 3-2 OT Victory

The Nashville Predators were defeated by the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime courtesy of a weak second period that saw their offense disappear and an absolute horrific call by referee Tim Peel in overtime that allowed Ryan Kessler to score the game winner. With the win, the Canucks take a 2-1 series lead.

Tim Peel is a terrible official. Plain and simple. Sour grapes? Hardly. Peel watched the Canucks get caught with too many men on the ice in overtime yet failed to whistle the Canucks for the call. Yet when Kessler is holding Shea Weber's stick, he calls the Predators defense for a hooking call. Inexplicable and inexcusable. A terrible call from an official, who took it upon himself to affect the outcome of the game.

That is not to say that the Predators weren't culpable in this defeat.

They were.

After taking a 1-0 lead on a David Legwand short handed goal against Roberto Luongo at 10:18 of the first period, the Predators offense totally vanished in the second period. The Predators were outshot 9-4 in the second period, with most of those shots coming late. The Predators had only one shot on net through the first 14 minutes of the period. Their decision making with the puck through the neutral zone and in the offensive zone was woeful, and they were fortunate to be in the game with this type of play.

Vancouver tied the game at 1:00 of the second on a power play as Joel Ward was caught on a long shift and could not get off the ice. Ryan Kessler beat Ward to the front of the net and jammed the puck past Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne to tie the game.

Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in the third period as Chris Higgins scored on a broken play at at 3:03. Higgins was able to gather in a rebound and beat an out of position Rinne, who had made the save on a shot from Kessler. Higgins was able to beat the defense and Rinne, who were both out of position after the initial save.

The Predators started to swarm the net and put shots on Luongo. Joel Ward cashed in at 13:18 of the the third to tie the game. Both teams generated some chances in the remainder of the period, but neither could get a puck into the net.

For the second game in a row, we were headed to overtime.

Enter Tim Peel. Peel determined that he would decide the game on a specious hooking call against Weber. Kessler got Weber's stick under his arm and held it there. Weber tried to get his stick out, but Kessler had a tight grip on it. Up came Peel's arm. Holding the stick on Kessler was the obvious call.

However, Peel put the Canucks on the power play with an absolutely horrific hooking call against Weber. Kessler got open in front of the net and tipped the puck past Rinne for the game winner.

Thanks, Tim Peel.

If there is any justice in this world, Peel will be suspended for the rest of the playoffs. There is no place in the game for officiating that is as weak and corrupt as his effort tonight.

So be it.

Horrific officiating is part and parcel of NHL games. The Predators were victimized in part by this tonight. They were also victimized by their own lapses and poor play.

It is now time to bounce back. There is no time to hang your head or feel sorry for yourself.

It is time to come back strong against the Canucks and the officials.

Time to seize the momentum again.

Nashville Drops Game 1 to the Canucks 1-0

The Nashville Predators dropped a 1-0 game one decision to the Vancouver Canucks in a game that saw the Predators play some of their worst hockey in the playoffs. Sure, the score was only 1-0, but without the amazing play of Pekka Rinne, the score could have been embarrassing. By contrast, Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo was rarely challenged by the Predators offensive effort.

This is the second round of the playoffs, and the Predators found out quickly that the intensity ramps up markedly in the second round. The Canucks were flying and generating quality chances while the Predators could not muster much in the way of offense. This was evidenced by the fact that the Canucks out shot the Predators by a 16-5 margin in the opening frame.Even more disturbing was the fact that the Predators looked disjointed and out of sync throughout the opening frame.

Fortunately for the Predators, the Finnish Wall, Pekka Rinne, was on his game, swallowing up shots and giving up only one rebound opportunity. The Predators managed to kill off two penalties with the stellar play of Rinne in net, but the fact is that the Canucks had several glorious scoring chances both on the PP and at even strength.

It was going to be imperative that the Predators offense join the party if they were going to have a chance to win this game. Relying strictly on the play of Rinne to keep them in the game was going to be disastrous.

Yet Rinne would keep the Predators in this contest. The Canucks continued to dominate the play in the second period, outshooting the Predators 13-6 and holding a 29-11 margin through the two period of play. Rinne made great save after great save, while the team in front of him lost puck battles and gave up the neutral zone.

The Predators were tempting fate.

That style of play finally came back to bite them at 12:14 of the second as Chris Higgins got loose in the low slot and roofed a shot over a sprawling Rinne. The Predators defense was caught running around and lost Higgins who had an uncontested shot to beat Rinne.

The Predators had been absolutely outplayed through two periods, and fortunately only trailed by one goal. Everything that is Predator hockey- sound defense, aggressive forechecking, and controlling the neutral zone- were completely absent in the first two periods of play. The Predators ere getting outworked in all phases of the game.

With 20 minutes left, the Predators were going to have to show the mental resolve and fortitude to change their fortunes.

The Predators generated more offense and a better compete level in the third period, where they out shot the Canucks 9-4. Mike Fisher and his line was particularly strong. yet the Predators could not get a puck past Luongo. When the Predators created some chances, the Canucks netminder was up to the challenge the Predators presented.

The Predators pulled Rinne for an extra attacker with one minute left, but it was to no avail for their offense, and the clocked ran out with the Predators looking at a 1-0 game and series deficit.

Can there be positives to be taken from this game?

Oh, absolutely.

The Predators were outplayed by the more talented Canucks for 50 minutes in this contest, yet lost by one goal. Pekka Rinne was outstanding in net. The Predators finally decided to play late in the game and showed they could create a lot of problems for the Canucks.

Here are the secrets, boys: the Canucks put their jock straps on just like you do. The game is 60 minutes, not the final 10.

Stop standing around in awe of these guys. You skate just as well as they do. Start hitting. These pretty boys don't like the contact and the gritty game. Amp up your intensity. This is your game, but you have to play your game from the opening faceoff to the final whistle.

Oh yeah, shoot the puck. Make Luongo work. Stop looking for the pretty pass and go get the dirty goals.

You know what all that is, boys?

Predator hockey.

And it is time to start playing that game.