Predators Implode Once Again and Find Their Backs to the Wall With 5-2 Loss

After puking up two games on home ice, the Nashville Predators traveled to Anaheim trying to regain their mojo and momentum in Game five of their best of seven series. Both teams have won their games on their opponents ice and the Predators were hoping that trend would continue.

The Predators started well, and after a scoreless first period, took a lead on the first goal of the game off a sweet backhand by Ryan Johansen that beat Frederick Andersen to the far post.

That goal lasted all of 34 seconds as a David Perron shot deflected off Roman Josi's skate and fluttered over the outstretched glove of Pekka Rinne to tie the game at 1.

Ryan Garbutt gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead as he jammed a puck between Rinne and the goal post.

Sami Vatenan gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead as he came out of the penalty box and beat Rinne on a breakaway.

Mikka Salomaki drew the Predators to within one goal as he buried the rebound of a Shea Weber blast.

After a stupid penalty by Mike Ribeiro, the Ducks finally converted on a power play and Cam Fowler finally made the Predators as he scored on the first shot of the power play to make it 4-2.

Ryan Kessler finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

Some observations:

•  The Predators certainly came out with more jump in the first period and created some quality chances. Now they just have to bury them.
• Is Shea Weber not just a beast. His forearm shiver that flattened Corey Perry is indicative of the strength in the big D man.
• Craig Smith is still called "day to day". Hopefully the Honey Badger can get back into the series quickly.
• The Predators looked like the Ducks, taking penalty after penalty. This is flirting with disaster, as the Ducks have the number one power play in the League. One had to feel that the Predators were going to get bitten by all the penalties.
• That said, the Predators PK unit had worked their tails off this series and in this game.
• What a sweet backhand by Ryan Johansen for his first goal of the series. That is a goal scorer's goal.
• And what a flukey goal by David Perron. A big deflection that bounces off the skate of Roman Josi and leaks over the glove of Rinne.
• Rinne made some very big saves, but he just cannot give up that goal to Garbutt. That is fundamental goaltending- seal the post, yet Rinne did not get it done and it cost the Predators.
• Mike Ribeiro has been absolutely awful in this playoff series. His penalty was stupid, and frankly, Ribeiro is just not built for the rugged play of the playoffs. Ice is not as open and he cannot compete with the rugged play that occurs in the playoffs. It doesn't help that he loses his temper at the most inopportune times.
• You cannot understate the effect of the loss of Craig Smith. His skating ability and speed gave the Ducks fits, and with him out of the line up, the Predators have been much less effective.
• The Predators mistakes and loss of poise cost them in this game, and it will cost them in this series.

The boys backs are against the wall. keep playing as foolishly as they have, and they will have the dubious honor of dropping 4 straight games after taking the first two.

I guess we will find out what the coaching staff and the players are made of on Monday.

My three stars:

1. David Perron

2. Frederick Andersen

3. Ryan Johansen

Blues Blast the Predators 3-0

The war that has been the Predators/Blues series continued for the final time in the regular season at the Scott Trade Center. 4 of the previous 5 contests had gone the way of the Predators, with their only loss occurring in overtime, and there was nothing that the league leading Blues would like to do more than avenge some of their earlier losses.

The Predators welcomed Colin Wilson back into the line up, but were without Marty Erat for the second game in a row as well as Jordin Tootoo, who was injured in the game with Chicago.

While this game was going to be tight checking and a war among the skaters, there was also a stellar goaltending battle that was going to take place as well, as the Predators had Pekka Rinne in net while the Blues countered with Brian Elliott.

The significance of this game was twofold: with a win, the Predators could move back into 4th place in the West; and with a win, Barry Trotz would notch his 500th victory as a Head Coach, all with the Predators.

The first period was just as billed: a war. Both teams created some scoring chances, but the first 20 minutes was characterized by some ferocious checking, tight defense, and good goaltending. Both netminders were perfect, as Rinne turned away 6 shots and Elliott rejected 8.

The second period opened with the Blues putting pressure on the Predators and generating some good chances. The Blues finally capitalized as Jason Arnott fed Jamie Langenbrunner in the slot and he buried the wrister to give the Blues a 1-0 lead at 6:35 of the second period. Langenbrunner worked himself free and was alone in the slot to take the shot.

Save for the Langenbrunner goal, the second period was a mirror image of the first, with both teams trying to solve the others defense and goaltender. The Predators out shot the Blues 12-7, but could not solve Elliott, who was outstanding in net.

In the third period, the Predators were going to have to get more traffic to the front of the net to try and take advantage of the rebounds that Elliott was leaving on the ice. This was going to be a tall order, as the Blues defense had so far done a good job of collapsing around Elliott.

It was going to be a matter of "want to" for the Predators in the third period.

So much for "want to" as the Blues continued to win puck battles and clog the neutral zone. Their effort paid off as David Backes got the puck to David Perron who beat Kevin Klein to the front of the net and beat Rinne with a backhand to give the Blues a 2-0 lead at 4:47 of the third period.

The Predators caught a break when it appeared that the Blues scored as David Perron shoved the puck into the net, but the goal was waved off as it was deemed by the officials that Perron had pushed Rinne and the puck into the net.

At the 16:00 minute mark, T.J. Oshie beat Rinne with a backhand to make it 3-0 for the Blues, and this game was over.

The Predators got a taste of what playoff hockey will be like, and the team was found wanting. The forwards did not finish, they lost puck battles, and their compete level was not equal to that of the Blues.

This was not fun. By any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it was painful.

But the Predators should learn from this. Playoff hockey is different. Tonight, the Blues played playoff hockey.

The Predators did not.

The Predators finished the regular season series with the Blues 4-1-1, capturing 9 of a possible 12 points.

That feels good.

But the Blues are the team playing like it is the playoffs. The Predators are not.

And they are going to have to elevate their level of play.

My three stars:

1. Brian Elliott

2. David Perron

3. Jamie Langenbrunner

Predators Leave St. Louis Blue

4-0.

That is the Predators season record against the St. Louis Blues.

Looking at that record, one would think that the Predators have had an easy go of it against the Blues.

But as tonight's game at the Bridgestone Arena showed games against the Blues are anything but a cakewalk. War is the appropriate term.

The Predators prevailed over the Blues by a 3-1 margin in a contest that was end to end and complete with big hits, great goaltending from both netminders, and opportunistic scoring by both teams.

Pekka Rinne had the start in net for the Predators, while St. Louis went with Jaroslav Halak for the second contest in a row after his start the previous night against Los Angeles.

The contest opened with St. Louis controlling the puck and establishing territorial advantage. The Blues peppered Rinne with shots in the first 10 minutes of the contest, holding an 11-3 advantage. It was the Predators though that would capitalize first on one of their three shots.

David Perron was called for hooking at 6:28 of the first period. The Predators worked the puck down low, then rotated the puck out to the point to Marty Erat, who had rotated out for the pinching defenseman. Erat let a blast go from the blue line that beat Halak cleanly over his shoulder at 6:59. On the play, Patric Hornqvist flashed across the face of Halak as Erat fired the shot, and his screen was enough to take away the vision of Halak, who appeared not to see the shot.

As the period wore on, the Predators reversed the trend of the Blues territorial dominance and began to pour shots on the Blues goal. Their efforts were rewarded at 12:30 of first period as Sergei Kostitsyn worked hard behind the Blues net to control the puck. He found Mike Fisher at the side of the net, and Fisher popped a shot over the shoulder of Halak to give the Predators a 2-0 lead. For Fisher, this was his 6th goal in the past 5 games.

In the first period, the Blues out shot the Predators 16-14, but it was a tale of two halves in that period. The Blues controlled play early, and Rinne made some big saves to keep them off the board. The Predators controlled play in the final 10 minutes of the period, and were able to opportunistically capitalize on their chances.

The second period was scoreless, but not for lack of effort by the Predators. They dominated in this period, cranking 17 shots on net, while the Blues managed just 7. If not for great saves by Halak, the Predators could have easily blown this game wide open.

Everyone in the building knew the Blues would have a push in the third period, and they certainly did. They finally solved Rinne at 4:01 of the third when Chris Stewart picked the pocket of Roman Josi in the slot and fired a wrist shot that beat Rinne glove side to make it 2-1 Predators.

That goal energized the Blues, and they took control of the period. They had 20 shots on goal to just 6 for the Predators, and Rinne made some amazing saves to keep the Blues off the board. He stopped Kris Russell on two consecutive shots with some acrobatic saves. Rinne had to fend off numerous shots through traffic, and did a great job of tracking the puck with lots of bodies in front of him. For the night, Rinne had 41 saves.

As the clock wound down, the Blues pulled Halak for the extra attacker. The Predators were able to find the empty net as David Legwand and Sergei Kostitsyn came down on a 2 on 1 rush. Legwand slipped the puck to Kostitsyn, and he buried the shot to send the Blues and their fans in attendance home...well, blue.

This was a huge win for the Predators, as it allowed them to move one point in front of the Blues and back into second in the Central Division and 4th in the Western Conference. With this win, the Predators are 12-2-2 against Central Division opponents.

As this game vividly demonstrated, the remainder of the games on the schedule are going to be a war. St. Louis is a very good hockey team, and to beat a good hockey team, you have to bring your best effort. Tonight, The Predators won this game as a team, with a good team effort. Yes, there are some aspects of the game for the Predators that could improve, but the fact is that this team battled and competed hard, and that is what it takes to win these wars.

The wars will continue. Prepare to bring it, boys.

And leave your opponents blue.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Jaroslav Halak

3. Marty Erat

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