Predators Cap An Incredible Comeback Win With Weber's Goal

Shea Weber was a game time decision for the Predators game against the New Jersey Devils at the Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are glad he played.

Weber scored the first goal of the game and the overtime winner as the Predators defeated the Devils 3-2.

And it was an improbable win.

Weber opened the scoring for the Predators as he blasted a slap shot past Cory Schneider that beat the scrambling Devils netminder through the five hole at 6:45 of the first period.

The Devils came back with two goals in the second period, both of which were goals Carter Hutton would like to have back.

Patrick Elias fired a shot that appeared to be going wide of the net. Hutton tried to snare it with his glove, but it popped out and dribbled over the goal line to tie the game at 13:00 of the second.

The Devils took a  2-1 lead when Jaromir Jagr tallied his 17th goal of the season. Jagr beat Hutton with a wrist shot that got between Hutton and the post at 18:59 of the second period.

The Devils spent the third period aggressively forechecking the Predators and disrupting any offensive flow that the Predators tried to establish.

With the clock ticking down and Hutton pulled for an extra attacker, the Predators got the puck into the zone and Roman Josi fired a shot that Schneider kicked out to the stick of David Legwand. With Schneider out of position, David Legwand buried the puck into the open net with just 10.8 seconds remaining to tie the game.

In the overtime period, Michael Ryder had a breakaway just 80 seconds in, and Hutton came up big, stopping Ryder's backhand attempt.

The Predators rushed the puck into the offensive zone, and Colin Wilson made a drop pass to Weber. Weber launched a rocket over the glove of Schneider to give the Predators a come from behind win.

Some observations:

• Weber's 15 goals leads all NHL defensemen. His ability to work to the open ice and bury shots is critical for the Predators success. Nashville is 11-1-2 when Weber scores.

• Hutton allowed two brutal goals, but rather than hang his head, he continued to battle, His save on Ryder's breakaway was a thing of beauty. Hutton was generally solid, but he is prone to the soft goal, and tonight, it almost cost the team. I appreciate the fact that while he is not the most talented netminder in the NHL, he competes every night. Hutton is 6-1 in his last seven starts at home.

• Nashville is 19-2-5 when they score the first goal of the season.

• Nashville won for just the2nd time this season when trailing after two periods. This game tonight should help build the confidence of this young team, letting them believe that they are not out of a game when trailing going into the final frame.

• I like the pairing of Seth Jones and Michael Del Zotto. This is a mobile pair that can move the puck and Del Zotto has shown that he is not afraid to deliver a big hit, as he did tonight. If this pair can continue to gel, the Predators will have a solid second pairing.

• Despite the aggressive forecheck of the Devils, the Predators out shot them 33-26. This effort in the face of pressure from a talented team is a good sign of the effort of this team.

• The Predators are 3-1-1 in their last five games.

• Roman Josi has 10 points (3G-7A) in his last nine games.

The Predators need to continue with this kind of effort and pile up points before the Olympic break. The Predators currently sit 5th in the Central Division and are 5 points out of the last wild card slot.

The challenge is there.

Now we will see if the team can meet it.

My three stars:

1. Shea Weber

2. David Legwand

3. Patrick Elias

Predators Suffer Second Embarrassing Loss

The Nashville Predators visited the New Jersey Devils looking to get the sour taste out of their mouth from their flop in Winnipeg in their previous game.

The Predators were going to have to wait a bit longer for that to occur.

The Devils opened the scoring just 90 seconds into the game as Jaromir Jagr circled through the Predators defense and fired a wrist shot that Predators netminder Carter Hutton got a piece of but it glanced off his glove and into the net  for a 1-0 Devils lead.

The Devils stifling defense made it difficult for the Predators to get through the neutral zone and establish quality offensive zone time. The Predators managed 6 shots on Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, but he did not have to make any difficult saves.

The Devils had 7 shots in the period.

The Devils made it 2-0 at 2:54 as the Devils swarmed the Predators net. Cam Janssen beat Craig Smith to the front of the net to bang home a rebound of a Ryan Carter shot. The Predators defense broke down and allowed Janssen a free run to the front of the net.

The Devils made it 3-0 on the power play with Seth Jones in the box. Just 5 seconds into the power play, former Predator Marek Zidlicky hammered a shot from the blue line that eluded Hutton.

The Devils were having their way with the Predators, and from all appearances, the Predators could do nothing to stop the push from the home team. Much like the previous game in Winnipeg, the Predators were getting out worked in all areas of the ice and losing most of the puck battles.

The Predators weak effort was reflected in the shots on goal in the second period. The Predators managed just 4 shots, while the Devils recorded 12.

The Devils made it 4-0 at 12:57 of the third period off a 3 on 2 rush. Jaromir Jagr fed a beautiful pass to Travis Zajac and he blasted a one timer past Hutton.

The way the Predators were playing, this game was long ago out of reach.

Mattias Tedenby made it 5-0 picked up a loose puck in the Predators offensive zone and walked in alone and roofed a puck over the shoulder of Hutton, who was left alone with the on rushing Devils forward.

Insult to injury.

Surprisingly, the Predators didn't allow any further scores.

Some observations:

• As good as the Predators had looked at in the early going of this road trip, they have looked absolutely awful over the past two games. They have been outworked in all phases and showed zero compete level. The offense has disappeared and that is a function of will. The Predators have to score from the hard areas, and the past two games- outside of Patric Hornqvist- they have not shown a willingness to go to those areas.

• The Predators power play was putrid. They went 0-6 tonight and there was no movement or creativity. There were poor entries (I'm looking at you, David Legwand) that made it too easy for the Devils to control and clear the puck. The Predators had ample opportunities to get back into the game with the man advantage and squandered those chances.

• Hutton gave up a soft goal on the first goal of the game, but was hung out to dry on most of the Devils goals. He made some point blank stops to keep the score from being worse than it was.

• The defensive breakdowns are troubling, mostly because they are happening consistently. The defense is going to have to get focused and tougher to help Hutton. The consistency of these defensive lapses is costing the team and has to be corrected quickly.

• The most disappointing aspect of these past two games is the lack of compete by this team. When they got down, they rolled over. There was no push back, no snarl, no fight. That has to change quickly.

What started well for this team is quickly coming unraveled. These last two games have exposed the weaknesses and the softness of this team. It has to turn around quickly.

My three stars:

1. Jaromir Jagr

2. Marek Zidlicky

3. Cam Janssen