Predators Wow the Home Crowd With a 6-5 Victory Over the Jackets

Wow!

That sentiment, along with a few others, can only begin to capture what happened in the Bridgestone Arena as the Nashville Predators faced the Columbus Blue Jackets in a Central Division tilt. The Predators won the game 6-5 in spite of making it extremely difficult on themselves.

Heck, they didn't make it difficult on themselves. They nearly gave away the game.

Don't believe me?

The Predators gave up 4 power play goals, three in the first period on a 5 minute penalty kill after absorbing a major penalty to fall into a 4-1 hole after twenty minutes.

I will get to that in just a moment.

Pekka Rinne got the start for the Predators, while Curtis Sanford was in net for the Blue Jackets.

These two teams typically play a tight checking game, with most contests decided by a goal. This game started no differently, with each team probing the others defense and looking for an opportunity to score.

That first opportunity would belong to the Predators, as Mike Fisher was left alone at the side of the net and had an easy tap in of a rebound of a Sergei Kostitsyn shot at 12:29 of the period. This goal was a result of the Predators playing their type of hockey-  shooting the puck and crashing the net. Simple hockey, effective hockey.

Predator fans had hardly settled back into their seats when the BJ's tied the game on a shot from Jeff Carter. Carter beat David Legwand on a drive to the net and launched a wrist shot from just inside the face off circle that beat Rinne over his shoulder at 12:56 of the first period.

The first "Wow" moment came at 14:26 of the first period as Brian McGratten boarded Derick Brassard as Brassard was going off on a line change. McGratten was given a 5 minute major for interference and a game misconduct. While the penalty can be debated as to the severity, the fact is that this was a boneheaded and selfish play by McGratten, who skated across the rink to deliver the hit. It is the type of hit that the League looks at closely and one which the officials have been quick to call. It was a totally unnecessary hit.

And it would cost the Predators.

Columbus would tally 3 times during the major to take a 4-1 lead. Jeff Carter got 2 goals to give him a first period hat trick, with his goals coming at 14:35 and 16:14. Sandwiched between those two goals was a gaol by Ryan Johansen at 15:30.

Yes, it was a major penalty, but the Predators penalty killers were manhandled by the Jackets forwards. Columbus peppered the Predators net and crashed hard to gather in rebounds and tally goals. Pucks were bouncing off legs of the defenders and the Predators could not clear the front of the net, and they were burned by the Jackets because of their ineffectiveness.

Down 4-1 at the end of the first period, the Predators were going to have to play Predator hockey and chip away at the Jackets lead in the second period.

Patrick Hornqvist would make it 4-2 with a tap in of a rebound of a shot from Shea Weber at 5:28. Once again, the Predators benefited from shooting the puck and going to the net.

The Jackets would again extend their lead to 3 goals on the power play. Ryan Johansen took a shot that hit Ryan Suter's leg and skidded by Rinne for the Jackets 4th power play goal to make it 5-2 at 7:52 of the second period.

The Predators did not deviate from their style of play, as they kept shooting the puck and going hard to the net. Nick Spaling was the next Predator to score at 8:53 of the second period. Spaling was working hard in the low slot and gathered in a rebound of a Colin Wilson shot and shoveled the puck past Sanford to make it 5-3 Columbus.

The Predators made it 5-4 at 13:41 of the second as Roman Josi took a pass from Francis Buillon and wired a shot over the shoulder of Sanford with Mike Fisher screening in front. Josi is rounding into a very solid defenseman who handles the puck well and has a good shot. Each game, he appears to be playing with more confidence.

The Predators caught a break in the second as Mark Letestu got free in the low slot and beat Rinne with a shot that hit the post and bounced out.

Going into the third period and trailing by one, I felt that if the Predators could tie the game, they would win it.

The Predators did just that at 16:14 of the period as David Legwand corralled a rebound of a Colin Wilson shot and banged home the tying goal. With that score, one could sense the fragile Jackets were on the verge of breaking, and with the partisan crowd roaring, the Predators were looking for one more improbable win over the BJ's.

Wow!

Improbable? How about absolutely amazing?

The Predators were not done with their "wow" moments just yet.

Ryan Suter found Marty Erat streaking through the middle of the ice and hit him with a pass on his tape. Erat split the defense of the Jackets and fought off a hook to break in on Sanford. Erat made a nice forehand backhand move to open Sanford up and slid the puck five hole with 8.4 seconds to go to give the Predators a 6-5 lead.

WOW!!

As the horn sounded, a Blue Jacket player summed up their night by shattering his stick at the bench, just like their hopes for a victory were shattered by a gritty and never say die group of Predators.

Make no mistake, this win feels good. But as good as it feels, the Predators should have never been in that position. Frankly, the Predators kept Columbus in the game with the stupid major penalty and the resulting ineffectiveness of their penalty kill. Against a team that is not as fragile as the Jackets, the result would probably not have turned out as good as it did for the Predators.

Strong play tonight from Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson. Both of these players are skating hard and doing the little things that lead to big plays. this type of effort was instrumental in turning around this contest.

What this contest should point out to this team is that you are never out of it. Play your game- shoot the puck and go hard to the net- and good things happen. When this team was down early, rather than quit, they fought back and fought back hard.

That is character.

That is Predator hockey.

My three stars:

1. Marty Erat

2. David Legwand

3. Jeff Carter

Predators Stun the Jackets in OT 4-3

The Nashville Predators ventured to the Nationwide Arena to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets and were desperately looking for a win to turn around their fortunes. The Predators came into the game with a 3-6-1 record in their last ten games, while the Jackets have improved their play of late and entered with a 5-3-2 record in their last ten game.

Pekka Rinne got the start in net for the Predators, while the surprisingly solid Curtis Sanford started his 11th straight game for the Blue Jackets.

Stop me if you have heard this song before.

The Predators were dominated in time of possession and in shots in the first period. With 17 minutes gone in the first period, the Predators had been outshot 10-1, and except for some good saves by Pekka Rinne, the Blue Jackets would have blown the Predators out of the barn in the first period.

As it was, the Jackets had a 1-0 lead by virtue of a goal from Jeff Carter at 12:42 of the period. Carter skated from behind the goal and whipped a shot  from just outside the goal line that was in and out of the net so fast that play continued. After a stoppage of play and a video review, the goal was credited to Carter and the Jackets.

The BJ's made it 2-0 at 10:49 of the second period as Antoine Vermette eluded Jack Hillen and was able to gather in a rebound of a shot by Jared Boll and backhanded the puck over Rinne.

The Predators showed some life as Mike Fisher tallied at at 13:10 with a nice backhand shot off a feed from Sergei Kostitsyn. Finally, the Predators had a response and looked like they had some life.

Whatever momentum the Predators had was quickly squelched as Derek Dorsett absolutely blew through the Predators defense and skated in uncontested on Rinne. His snap shot beat Rinne high glove side just inside the post to make it 3-1 Columbus.

With Rinne pulled for an extra attacker late in the period, Shea Weber sent a shot to the net, and Patric Hornqvist, working hard in the dirty area, banged home a rebound for his 8th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 1:38 left in the contest.

The goal was on only the 4th shot of the period for the Predators.

With 1:06 remaining in the contest, Sami Pahlsson of the BJ's was sent to the box for cross checking. With Rinne pulled, the Predators had a 6 on 4 advantage.

The Predators tied the game with 12.1 seconds to go in the contest as Marty Erat took a shot from the face off circle and the shot was re-directed by Sergei Kostitsyn.

With this flurry at the end of the period, the Predators had amazingly managed to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Fortunately for the Predators, their slumbering offense finally awoke to salvage a point that this team desperately needed.

At 1:45 of the overtime period, Marty Erat skated in 2 on 1 with Colin Wilson. Erat hit Wilson with a perfect pass on his tape and Wilson buried the one timer for the game winning goal.

An improbable win?

Absolutely.

A win that can turn the fortunes of a team?

Without a doubt.

This time, the song turned out differently for the Predators.

The Predators were badly outplayed for stretches at a time in this contest. The BJ's were dominant at times. Yet this team kept fighting and working, and finally were rewarded for their effort.

During this miserable period of hockey for the Predators, there have been times where this team hasn't worked and times where they have quit.

Not tonight.

I have mentioned on too many occasions that this young team has had to learn some painful lessons. Tonight, they learned that if they keep working and playing their game, eventually they will be rewarded.

This lesson is a lot more fun to learn.

Confidence can be fleeting. Over the past few games, this team has not been confident. The takeaway from tonight's game is that the team should be confident in their work ethic and they should know that if they keep fighting, skating, and working hard, they will be rewarded.

Now it is time to take the lessons from this game and the confidence that you should have from your effort and build on it.

That song is much more fun.

My three stars:

1. Colin Wilson

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Jeff Carter

Predators Suffer an Embarrassing Loss to the BJ's in OT 4-3

The Nashville Predators suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena that was in a word, embarrassing.

Throughout the game, the Predators were unable to get through the neutral zone and turned the puck over more times than I can count. Rather than skate the puck through the zone or dump it deep and establish the cycle in the offensive zone, the Predators were content to make blind crossing passes or drop passes that were quickly gathered in by the Jackets and started the other way. Frankly, the inability to get through the neutral zone against this team was inexplicable and plagued the Predators all night long. Even more baffling was the persistence in making bad- or dumb- passes that resulted in turnovers.

When the Predators got into the offensive zone, they had trouble establishing their cycle and offensive flow against the aggressive Jackets defense. The Predators reverted to form on a couple of occasions, and when they did, they challenged Curtis Sanford in the Jackets net and tallied three goals for their efforts. The problem for the Predators was that they were too inconsistent in doing the essential things that would have lead to a victory.

Colin Wilson opened the scoring for the Predators at 18:29 of the first period as he gathered the puck in a goal mouth scramble and lifted it over Sanford to make it 1-0 Predators.

Jeff Carter tied the game at 1 at 3:29 of the second period with his first goal of the year. He used Ryan Suter as a screen and beat Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne with wrist shot over his shoulder.

The Predators took the lead again on the power play as Mike Fisher scored from in front of the net off a rebound of a Shea Weber shot at 10:27 of the second period.

The Predators could not seize the momentum and hold on to the lead as Columbus tallied on the power play with Ryan Suter in the box. Vinny Prospal lifted a backhand past Rinne to the short side. Rinne got most of the puck but could not stop it completely and it fluttered into the net to tie the game at 2.

The BJ's took a 3-2 lead at 1:45 of the third period as R.J. Umberger scored on the power play with Ryan Suter again in the box for roughing.

Nick Spaling tied the game at 3 as he corralled a rebound in the low slot and slipped the puck five hole on Sanford at 14:24 of the third.

There was no more scoring in the third period, and off to overtime, which has not been kind to the Predators. Going into this OT, the Predators were 1-3.

Make it 1-4.

James Wisniewski scored past a screened Rinne at 2:43 of the overtime period to end the BJ's string of futility with 27 straight losses at Nashville.

Yes, the Predators got a point. That is the positive.

Losing to a team like Columbus is the major negative. In a word, it is embarrassing.

Actually, two words. Unacceptable.

Sloppy play has been the hallmark of the Predators in the last two games. Tonight, their poor play bit them in the ass. Frankly, the Predators got what they deserved in this contest.

The Predators got David Legwand back in the lineup, and Head Coach Barry Trotz inserted him as the center between Patric Hornqvist and Colin Wilson, breaking up the dynamic line of Hornqvist, Wilson, and Craig Smith. Legwand was generally ineffective with his line mates, and in the third period, Smith was reunited with his line. This line should have never been disbanded, and in doing so, the offensive effort suffered.

The Predators have lost their identity in the last two games. The team has tried to be cute and play a finesse game rather than their blue collar style of hockey. Tonight, when they played their game, they were effective. Too often, they deviated from that game and it cost them a win.

Hopefully this team has learned their lesson about what it takes to be successful. They did not do that consistently in this game.

Keep on being inconsistent in your play, and there will be more embarrassing losses.

My three stars:

1. Curtis Sanford

2. Colin Wilson

3. James Wisniewski