Predators Stumble Out of the Gate in Loss to the Avalanche

With a chance to clinch a playoff spot on home ice against a struggling Colorado avalanche team, the Nashville Predators came out and crapped the bed.

Spotting the Avs a 3 goal lead off sloppy plays, egregious turnovers, and a lackadaisical effort for much of the game, the Predators tried to rally late but fell 4-3.

The Avs jumped out to a quick 3 goal lead in the first period. Mattias Ekholm set up the Avs first goal with a brutally bad turnover, throwing a blind backhand pass right into the slot and onto the tape of Blake Comeau, who had an easy shot past a surprised Pekka Rinne.

Gabriel landeskog made it 2-0 when he out muscled Shea Weber at the front of the net and poked the puck through Rinne's pads.

Jack Skille  made it 3-0 when he skated alone into the slot and banged home a rebound of a Cody MacLeod shot. The poor effort of the team resulted in Rinne being pulled for Carter Hutton.

The Predators showed some life when Craig Smith placed a perfect shot over the shoulder of Semyon Varlamov to make it 3-1 at the end of the first period.

After a scoreless second period, the Avs made it 4-1 off another Predator turnover. Shawn Matthias was the beneficiary and he floated a puck over the shoulder of Hutton with no Predator defender to challenge the effort.

The Predators tried to make it a game late in the third period when Colton Sissons deflected in a Miikka Salomaki shot to make it 4-2.

Roman Josi made it 4-3 with a laser over the shoulder of Varlamov, but that would be it for the Predators as they wasted a chance to capture a critical win.

Some observations:

• The Avalanche are a desperate team, and everyone knew they would come out with energy and urgency. The Predators were not ready for that effort and they were swamped early in the game. it didn't help that they played some stupid hockey. The Preds better get ready, because this was a taste of playoff hockey, and this game found them lacking in effort.
• Roman Josi recorded his 13th goal of the season, which gives him 57 points on the year. That is a new franchise record for points by a defenseman.
• The Predators are now 4-19-5 when they trail after 2 periods.
• Craig Smith hit the 20 goal mark with his first period goal. That is the third consecutive season that he has tallied at least 20 goals.
• It sure would be nice to see some production from Colin Wilson, wouldn't it? His offside play negated a goal by Salomaki and he just looks like he couldn't find the back of the net if his life depended on it.

This game was about as bad of a start that this team has had in a long while. They cannot dig the kind of hole that they did in the first period and expect a good outcome. Even worse, their level of play was awful. Stupid passes and poor puck management wound up costing them dearly.

Hopefully they get it out of their system.

If not, they will get trucked tomorrow night in Dallas.

My three stars:

1. Gabriel Landeskog

2. Craig Smith

3. Blake Comeau

Predators Burn the Blackhawks in a Shootout 3-2

For two periods, the Nashville Predators were outplayed by the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves in a 2-0 hole going into the third period. Fortunately for the Predators, the hockey game lasted three periods, and tonight went to overtime and a shootout before the Predators prevailed to win 3-2.

With this win, the Predators have won three of four games this season against the Blackhawks and 7 of their last 8 games.

The first period saw both teams skate well and generate some scoring chances. Both Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne and Chicago's Corey Crawford were solid in the net and thwarted scoring opportunities.

Chicago would draw first blood after Patric Hornqvist was called for a weak boarding call against Jack Skille. Skille was at least five feet from the boards when he was cleanly checked by Hornqvist, but the refs deemed it to be a boarding infraction. On the ensuing power play, Tomas Kopecky walked in from deep in the zone and lifted a puck over the shoulder of Rinne at 14:59 to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.

Something happened to the Predators during intermission, and it was not good. After being outshot 9-7 in an uptempo first period, the Predators were absolutely dominated in the second period.Chicago controlled the puck for much of the period and the Predators had no offensive flow. This was evidenced by the 14-5 shot advantage that the Hawks owned in the second. Without a strong effort from Rinne, the score could have easily gotten out of hand.

The Blackhawks would add to their advantage in the second as Viktor Stalberg would bank a puck off the back of Rinne to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead at 4:29 of the period. Rinne slid to the post but left a gap between his shoulder and the post. Stalberg threw a bad angle shot that hit Rinne in the shoulder and caromed into the net.

The remainder of the period was spent watching the Predators turn the puck over and ineptly try to skate through the neutral zone. This was a frustrating period of hockey to watch and was as poor of a period of hockey that the Predators have played in a long time.

One can only imagine the blistering the Predators took in the locker room from Head Coach Barry Trotz.

In the third period, the Predators were looking for any spark, anything that would ignite the team and get them going. Something that would show they had some fire.

That first spark would come from Cody Franson as he went deep in the zone on an offensive rush. Franson was met by a Chicago forward who was immediately slapped to the ice by Franson. Maybe this team did have some fight in them.

The spark would fan into a flame as Nick Spaling dug a puck out from behind the Hawks net and sent a nice backhand pass to Jerred Smithson, who was cruising down the slot. Smithson snapped a wrist shot that beat Crawford high glove side. 2-1 Hawks, but now the Predators had some life.

The flame would become an inferno at the 12:00 minute mark. A television timeout would usher in the standing ovation from the crowd that would last the duration of the stoppage in play. Hawks fans can cheer through the anthem, but Predator fans cheer the loudest when it matters most, when their team needs them.

The energy of the crowd flowed to the Predators on the ice. The Preds won an offensive zone face off. Joel Ward tapped the puck to Ryan Suter, who then slid the puck to Shea Weber at the high point. Weber unleashed a slapshot that Crawford never saw until it was in the back of the net, and improbable as it seemed, the Predators had tied the game at 12:20 of the third period.

Neither team could find the twine during the remainder of regulation, and we were heading to overtime tied at 2.

The game was tied because the Predators decided to play Predator hockey in the third period. The Predators forecheck finally started working and created turnovers throughout the period. The defense stymied the Hawks potent offense and controlled the neutral zone. For the period, the Predators outshot the Blackhawks 13-5.

The overtime period was scoreless, but not for lack of effort. Chicago's Patrick Sharp had a glorious scoring opportunity on a breakaway, but was shut down by Rinne. The Hawks had a 3-1 shot advantage in the overtime session.

Going into the shootout, the Predators elected to have Chicago shoot first, and we have seen this story before. Rinne was outstanding, blanking Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp. Marcel Goc, the first shooter for the Predators, shot a puck that went through Crawford and into the net for the only goal of the shootout.

There was a fungus of Chicago fans in the arena, as many had journeyed to Nashville for a big high school hockey tournament. It was certainly good to see them leaving the arena with sad faces.

In the Florida game, the Predators were out skated throughout the contest and suffered a loss as a result. Tonight, the Predators were on the verge of losing their second in a row after a horrid second period when they were beaten in all facets of the game.

Without a solid third period, the Predators would have suffered their second defeat. The second period of tonight's contest is vivid demonstration of the fact that this team has to skate hard and do the little things to be successful. They did not, and it almost cost them.

It doesn't get any easier for the Predators as they embark on a six game road trip, starting tomorrow night against these same Blackhawks.

Take the lesson learned from this awful period of hockey tonight and learn from it. Do the little things, skate hard, and you will enjoy a good road trip.

And burn a few teams along the way.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Jerred Smithson

3. Joel Ward

Predators Lose Ugly to the Blackhawks 4-1

Another lackluster effort, another loss for the Nashville Predators as the Chicago Blackhawks had their way in a 4-1 win at the United Center. This loss was the first of the season to the Blackhawks, and it follows a pathetic 6-1 effort against Los Angeles in their last game.

The Nashville offense was listless at best, and rarely generated many quality scoring opportunities. The Chicago defense dominated the forwards of the Predators, rarely letting them enter the offensive zone with speed and winning nearly every puck battle. This is the second straight game that the Predators offense has disappeared, and that is both disappointing and unacceptable.

When the offense is not clicking, it is imperative that the defense and goaltending be very good. Neither were tonight. Anders Lindback got the start in net and was involved in a strange play that led to the Hawks first goal. Kevin Klein passed the puck back to Lindback, who in turn tried to pass the puck back to Klein. The pass missed Klein badly and came to Dave Bolland, who walked in alone and deposited the puck top shelf over Lindback's glove at 12:29 of the first period.

With Shane O'Brien in the box for interference, Jack Skille tallied on the power play at 9:28 of the second period. Skille blistered a shot over the glove side of Lindback, and the way the Predators offense was playing, the game was essentially over at that point.

Skille wasn't done, however, as he got a shot through a a screen from the high slot to beat Lindback at 9:14 of the third period.

Sergei Kostitsyn tipped a Marty Erat shot past Hawks netminder Corey Crawford at 11:13 of the third with the Predators on a power play. Any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out by Bryan Bickell as he beat Lindback glove side at 17:28 of the third.

What do the names J.P. Dumont, Steve Sullivan, Colin Wilson, Jerred Smithson, and Nick Spaling have in common? Five forwards for the Predators that did not have a shot on goal (yes, I know J.P. rang one off the post, but it is not officially a shot on goal). Quite frankly, this is a weak effort and cannot continue if the Predators are going to have success.

Success is a simple formula for the Predators: skate hard and bring the maximum effort to the rink every night. This is what this team did during their win streak. In the last two miserable losses, this team has not come close to giving the kind of effort that brings the opportunity for a victory.

The Predators can ill afford to win five games and then go on a five game losing streak. It is obvious that the effort has not been there the last two games, and we see the result on the ice and on the scoreboard.

It is time to stop the lackluster effort. It is time to stop the losing streak. Bring your best effort, and this skid will end.

Keep playing the way you have the last two games, and it will get ugly.

My three stars:

1.Jack Skille

2. Corey Crawford

3. Dave Bolland

Predators Win Second in a Row with a 4-3 SO Win over Chicago

When a team endures a losing streak, one of two things can happen. They can hang their heads and limp along; or the losses can be extremely clarifying, causing a team to focus on what it takes to win games and get back to those fundamentals.

For the Nashville Predators, the latter has occurred, as they won their second straight game, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a shootout at the Bridgestone Arena.

For Nashville, this was their second consecutive shootout victory.

It is obvious that the Blackhawks are an explosive team, and for the Predators to have an opportunity to win this game, they had to be sound defensively and limit the chances of the Hawks dangerous offensive players. For most of the night, the Predators did an excellent job of controlling the big guns of the Hawks, holding Kane, Toews, Hossa, and Sharp off the board.

The Predators did a great job of controlling play in the neutral zone and not allowing Chicago many opportunities to enter the offensive zone with speed. When the Hawks gain the zone, the Predators blocked numerous shots and clogged the lanes, limiting secondary chances.

That is not to say that the Hawks didn't challenge Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne. Rinne made some big saves to keep Chicago off the board. Rinne was solid in net during the regulation and overtime period, and was brilliant in the shootout.

Chicago is not without offensive prowess, and shutting down the big guns doesn't mean that they cannot score. Jack Skille proved that tonight with two goals, the first coming at 19:07 of the first period. Skille took a nice pass from Brian Campbell and beat Rinne stick side with a shot that went just inside the post to stake the Blackhawks to a 1-0 lead.

Nashville would answer at 2:37 of the first period on a nice tic tac toe passing play.Shane O'Brien took a nice pass from Marcel Goc and beat Chicago netminder Marty Turco with a quick wrister that went top shelf. Turco could not get across his net fast enough to stop the shot from O'Brien, and his goal sent the Nashville crowd into a frenzy.

That energy would amp up as Shea Weber unleashed a shot on the power play that went through Turco to give the Predators a lead at 5:37 of the second. Turco was in good position, but couldn't handle the velocity of the cannon shot that Weber sent to the net.

Chicago would tie the game at 2 at 6:51 of the period as Viktor Stalberg would beat Rinne high stick side.

The Hawks would once again regain the lead as Skille scored his second of the night at 9:10 as he fired a wrist shot from just inside the faceoff circle that would beat Rinne high glove side.

The Predators looked to have tied the game as Patric Hornqvist scored early in the third, but the goal was waved off as it was ruled that Hornqvist had kicked the puck into the net in a goal mouth scramble.

The tie would come for the Predators at 10:23 of the third period as Cody Franson sent a wrist shot from the point low along the ice. The puck went in cleanly, and Turco had his eyes taken away by Hornqvist who was screening in front of the net. The puck found the far post and the Predators had evened the score.

Neither team could solve the others netminder for the remainder of the period, and once again the Predators were heading to overtime.

With Patrick Kane in the box for tripping, the Predators had several good scoring chances, but Turco bailed out the Hawks.The power play showed good movement and generated scoring opportunities, a positive sign for this unit that has struggled at times this season.

In the shootout, Pekka Rinne stopped Jonathan Toews. Cal O'Reilly buried the first attempt for the Predators as he roofed a shot to the top corner over Turco's glove. Rinne stopped Patrick Kane. Turco stopped a weak attempt by Steve Sullivan. Rinne then stoned Patrick Sharp, and the Predators skated off with their second win in a row and their second in two meetings with the Blackhawks.

The Predators welcomed Marty Erat and Ryan Suter back to the lineup tonight after both had missed games due to injury. Their presence was positive for the team and they logged quality minutes. Erat picked up an assist tonight. The team needs them back in the lineup consistently.

Did you notice the regulation scoring for the Predators? All three goals were from defensemen. Opportunistic scoring, a hallmark of Predator hockey, was evident tonight.

The Predators did a good job of pressuring Turco tonight. They were aggressive and effective on the forecheck. They limited second chances. They got solid goaltending.

They played Predator hockey. Winning hockey.

Losing several games in a row leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It also teaches painful lessons. Lessons that if taken to heart can turn around a team and their fortunes.

My three stars of the night:

1. Cal O'Reilly

2. Jack Skille

3. Cody Franson