The Nashville Predators fell to the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 at the Bridgestone Arena, dropping another home game and going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. Once again, this was a contest that hung in the balance and the unfortunately for the Predators, they were once again unable to finish a game that they had a chance to win.
You can read the box score of the game here.
The Coyotes got on the board just nine seconds into the game on what can be charitably called a soft goal. Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne fielded a shot that hit him in the crest of his jersey. Rinne did not control the puck and it dribbled out under his arm. Rinne thought he had the puck frozen, but it was sitting in the blue paint, and Taylor Pyatt swooped in and swatted the puck into the back of the net just 9 seconds into the game.
Jason Labarbera got the start for the Coyotes, who played last night in Chicago with Mike Smith in net, and he was stellar for the Desert Dogs until the last 10 seconds of the period. Labarbera had shut down any scoring opportunities that the Predators had created until this point, when Jack Hillen fired a puck at the net with Mike Fisher creating havoc in front of Labarbera. The puck eluded the Phoenix netminder and the Predators tied the game with 10.8 seconds remaining in the period.
The second period was scoreless, but not for lack of effort by the Coyotes. They dominated in time of possession and fired 11 shots on Rinne to just 5 for the Predators in the period. Rinne made some good saves to keep the Predators in the contest.
The Coyotes would take a 2-1 lead at 1:40 of the third period as 2 Predators were tied up with Radim Vrbata below the goal line. Vrbata got control of the puck and found Ray Whitney alone in the low slot. Whitney's one timer beat Rinne glove side to give the Coyotes the lead.
The Predators would tie the contest at 2 at at 12:53 of the third period on a 5 on 3 power play. Shea Weber would get loose just inside the blue line, and his rocket shot would beat Labarbera to knot the contest.
Labarbera made several huge saves to keep the Predators off the board, and it looked as if the two teams would be heading to overtime.
The notion of overtime would be squelched at 18:15 of the third period as Keith Yandle was able to evade the Predators defensive coverage, and take a cross ice pass from Shane Doan. His one timer beat Rinne for the Coyotes margin of victory.
The Predators did not muster much of an offensive challenge in the remaining time, having trouble even getting the puck in the offensive zone. Once again, the Predators failed to finish in a contest they desperately needed to win.
The Predators are a fragile team right now. This come with being a young team that is learning on the fly, and it is painful. When the Predators make a mistake, more often than not it is winding up in the back of their net. This has victimized the Predators too often in this skid.
It victimized them again tonight.
A defensive lapse, a soft goal, and the Predators are finding themselves in a hole. And once in a hole, the offense cannot generate sufficient firepower to overcome the deficit.
The Predators are hustling and beginning to shoot the puck more. These are positives. I cannot fault their effort in the last few losses.
The fact is that this team, as it is constructed now, cannot overcome many mistakes in their game. They have to play nearly flawless hockey to secure a win, and right now, that is not happening.
This is what you get when you have a young team. The mistakes are more problematic and they tend to wind up in your net. This is part of the painful learning process that a young team has to endure.
Keep your head up boys. Keep working hard. The lessons that are being painfully learned now will pay off for you in the future.
There is only one way out of this funk in which you find yourselves.
Keep working hard.
And finish.
My three stars:
1. Jason Labarbera
2. Keith Yandle
3. Jack Hillen
Showing posts with label Jason LaBarbera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason LaBarbera. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Predators Bite the Coyotes 3-0
The Nashville Predators must feel that they are looking in the mirror when they play the Phoenix Coyotes. Both teams are aggressive on their forecheck, play tough defense, and have good goaltending. Often their contests are a punch/counter-punch affair, with each team looking to capitalize off the others mistakes.
This game, at least early on, was just this type of affair.
Nashville had newly signed and extended Pekka Rinne in net, while the Coyotes countered with Predator killer Jason Labarbera in goal for this contest at Jobing.com Arena.
Both teams played to a scoreless first period, with the Predators outshooting the Coyotes 11-8. Neither team could solve the play of the goaltenders and spent the first 20 minutes in the aforementioned punch/counter-punch mode.
That would change in the second period as Jonathan Blum cracked the scoreboard first for the Predators with a low shot through traffic with Matt Halischuk screening that eluded Labarbera at 8:01 to make it 1-0. This was Blum's first goal of the season.
The Predators would extend the lead to 2-0 as Craig Smith continued his electrifying play with a hard drive to the net and a nice feed to Matt Haslischuk. Halischuk lifted a backhand shot over the pads of Labarbera to make it 2-0 at 16:04 of the second.
Once again, the Predators had the dreaded third period lead to protect.
The Predators opened the third period with great pressure on Labarbera, taking the first 3 shots of the period and generating good pressure. That effort was short circuited with a questionable interference call on Ryan Suter.
Once again, the Predators PK unit was solid and managed to kill off the penalty.
After the opening burst by the Predators, they proceeded to spend the next ten minutes of the period sitting back on their heels and letting the Coyotes come through the neutral zone with ease and spend way too much time in the Predators zone. This is annoyingly too common for this team.
The Predators managed to hold off the Coyotes with some great saves by Rinne and some fortuitous defense in front of Rinne.
Patric Hornqvist tallied an empty net goal at 19:01 to make it 3-0 Predators and his 4th goal in as many games to seal the win for the Predators.
Pekka Rinne celebrated his birthday and the new contract with his 23rd career shutout.
For the game, the Coyotes out shot the Predators 35-32. The positive aspect of this is although the Predators were once again out shot, the shot differential is narrowing substantially.
With the win, the Predators go to 6-4-2.
The Predators are showing signs of progress. There play through the first two periods was solid. The concern remains the about the mentality of sitting back on a lead. In the third period, there were stretches where this happened, and this has to stop. The Predators did generate some good pressure in spurts, but it must be more consistent throughout the period.
More growing is to come for this team, but they are making significant progress toward playing more consistently and playing Predator hockey.
The key for this team is to keep building on this progress.
My three stars:
1. Pekka Rinne
2. Matt Halischuk
3. Jonathan Blum
This game, at least early on, was just this type of affair.
Nashville had newly signed and extended Pekka Rinne in net, while the Coyotes countered with Predator killer Jason Labarbera in goal for this contest at Jobing.com Arena.
Both teams played to a scoreless first period, with the Predators outshooting the Coyotes 11-8. Neither team could solve the play of the goaltenders and spent the first 20 minutes in the aforementioned punch/counter-punch mode.
That would change in the second period as Jonathan Blum cracked the scoreboard first for the Predators with a low shot through traffic with Matt Halischuk screening that eluded Labarbera at 8:01 to make it 1-0. This was Blum's first goal of the season.
The Predators would extend the lead to 2-0 as Craig Smith continued his electrifying play with a hard drive to the net and a nice feed to Matt Haslischuk. Halischuk lifted a backhand shot over the pads of Labarbera to make it 2-0 at 16:04 of the second.
Once again, the Predators had the dreaded third period lead to protect.
The Predators opened the third period with great pressure on Labarbera, taking the first 3 shots of the period and generating good pressure. That effort was short circuited with a questionable interference call on Ryan Suter.
Once again, the Predators PK unit was solid and managed to kill off the penalty.
After the opening burst by the Predators, they proceeded to spend the next ten minutes of the period sitting back on their heels and letting the Coyotes come through the neutral zone with ease and spend way too much time in the Predators zone. This is annoyingly too common for this team.
The Predators managed to hold off the Coyotes with some great saves by Rinne and some fortuitous defense in front of Rinne.
Patric Hornqvist tallied an empty net goal at 19:01 to make it 3-0 Predators and his 4th goal in as many games to seal the win for the Predators.
Pekka Rinne celebrated his birthday and the new contract with his 23rd career shutout.
For the game, the Coyotes out shot the Predators 35-32. The positive aspect of this is although the Predators were once again out shot, the shot differential is narrowing substantially.
With the win, the Predators go to 6-4-2.
The Predators are showing signs of progress. There play through the first two periods was solid. The concern remains the about the mentality of sitting back on a lead. In the third period, there were stretches where this happened, and this has to stop. The Predators did generate some good pressure in spurts, but it must be more consistent throughout the period.
More growing is to come for this team, but they are making significant progress toward playing more consistently and playing Predator hockey.
The key for this team is to keep building on this progress.
My three stars:
1. Pekka Rinne
2. Matt Halischuk
3. Jonathan Blum
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Phoenix Pounds the Predators 5-2
You remember how as a young child you learned to ride a bike. There were moments of sheer ecstasy as you rode along with the wind in your hair. There were also moments of sheer terror as the wheels wobbled and you eventually crashed to the ground with your knees skinned up, bloody and sore.
Tonight, the Predators fell off their bike and wound up with the skinned knees, sore and beaten, as the Phoenix Coyotes dominated the Predators in a 5-2 win.
The euphoria of the first two games, wobbly but wins nevertheless, disappeared as the Coyotes manhandled the Predators.
This is part and parcel of fielding a young team.
The callow Predators struggled in the first period of the game as they went over seven minutes without a shot on goal. In the meantime, they hung starting netminder Pekka Rinne out to dry. The Coyotes peppered the Predators goaltender with shot after shot, and Rinne could only hold the fort for so long, as the Coyotes overwhelmed the Predators for three first period goals en route to a 3-0 advantage that they would never give up.
The disappointing aspect of this loss was the fact that the Predators lost puck battles all night. They struggled to enter the offensive zone, and they could not clear the defensive zone. The Predators were outworked in all zones tonight, and the Coyotes made them pay for their lack of effort.
This was reflected in the shot totals. In the first period, the Coyotes outshot the Predators 16-7, arguably the worst period of hockey that the Preds have played in this young season. It didn't get much better in the second period, as the Coyotes held a 12-8 shot advantage. Only in the third period did the Predators muster an effort worthy of Predator hockey, out shooting the Coyotes 1-3. By then, it was too little, too late.
Here are the ugly details: Dave Schlemko scored at 12:00 of the first; Ryan Whitney at 14:28; and Lauri Korpikoski at 18:45.
In the second period, Mikkel Boedker tallied at 11:26. Ryan Suter finally got the Predators on the board with a short handed blast at at 14:01.
In the third period, Colin Wilson gave the Predators some life with a blast from just inside the face off circle to make it 4-2. The Coyotes sealed the win with an empty net goal at 19:06 by Derrick Morris.
The young squad of Predators was without Marty Erat, who has been place don IR; Patric Hornqvist, who was out with an injured foot; and Mike Fisher, who has yet to play this season.
The youth of the Predators was victimized by, well, their youth. They spent much of the night chasing the puck and seemed to forget their discipline on too many occasions. That lack of discipline often resulted in good scoring chances for the Coyotes, and if not for the solid play of Pekka Rinne, the score could have been much worse. I really can't fault Rinne for any of the goals that were given up tonight, as many times he was under siege by the Coyotes.
On the other end, the Predators had some scoring chances early, but couldn't solve Jason Labarbera. Labarbera has been a Pred killer back to his days with the Kings. He continued his dominance over the Predators, making some very good saves early to keep the Predators off the board. For this young team, the ability to bury a shot early is critical to their psyche, and tonight, their psyche was severely bruised by the play of Labarbera and the Coyotes.
As I mentioned, this is what you get with a young squad. Some nights, they come out flying with energy and enthusiasm. Some nights, they fall off the bike and have to get back up and ride again. Tonight, they fell off the bike, numerous times, and had trouble staying on.
The team has an opportunity to rebound on Saturday night. I don't expect this young squad to come out and dominate. I do expect them to compete.
Tonight, they did not.
As with any young group, some painful lessons have to be learned. The game tonight will be of benefit to this team if they learn the painful lessons and bring the effort in their next contest.
Fail to do so, and the fall off the bike is going to be painful.
Again.
My three stars:
1. Jason Labarbera
2. Ray Whitney
3. Ryan Suter
Tonight, the Predators fell off their bike and wound up with the skinned knees, sore and beaten, as the Phoenix Coyotes dominated the Predators in a 5-2 win.
The euphoria of the first two games, wobbly but wins nevertheless, disappeared as the Coyotes manhandled the Predators.
This is part and parcel of fielding a young team.
The callow Predators struggled in the first period of the game as they went over seven minutes without a shot on goal. In the meantime, they hung starting netminder Pekka Rinne out to dry. The Coyotes peppered the Predators goaltender with shot after shot, and Rinne could only hold the fort for so long, as the Coyotes overwhelmed the Predators for three first period goals en route to a 3-0 advantage that they would never give up.
The disappointing aspect of this loss was the fact that the Predators lost puck battles all night. They struggled to enter the offensive zone, and they could not clear the defensive zone. The Predators were outworked in all zones tonight, and the Coyotes made them pay for their lack of effort.
This was reflected in the shot totals. In the first period, the Coyotes outshot the Predators 16-7, arguably the worst period of hockey that the Preds have played in this young season. It didn't get much better in the second period, as the Coyotes held a 12-8 shot advantage. Only in the third period did the Predators muster an effort worthy of Predator hockey, out shooting the Coyotes 1-3. By then, it was too little, too late.
Here are the ugly details: Dave Schlemko scored at 12:00 of the first; Ryan Whitney at 14:28; and Lauri Korpikoski at 18:45.
In the second period, Mikkel Boedker tallied at 11:26. Ryan Suter finally got the Predators on the board with a short handed blast at at 14:01.
In the third period, Colin Wilson gave the Predators some life with a blast from just inside the face off circle to make it 4-2. The Coyotes sealed the win with an empty net goal at 19:06 by Derrick Morris.
The young squad of Predators was without Marty Erat, who has been place don IR; Patric Hornqvist, who was out with an injured foot; and Mike Fisher, who has yet to play this season.
The youth of the Predators was victimized by, well, their youth. They spent much of the night chasing the puck and seemed to forget their discipline on too many occasions. That lack of discipline often resulted in good scoring chances for the Coyotes, and if not for the solid play of Pekka Rinne, the score could have been much worse. I really can't fault Rinne for any of the goals that were given up tonight, as many times he was under siege by the Coyotes.
On the other end, the Predators had some scoring chances early, but couldn't solve Jason Labarbera. Labarbera has been a Pred killer back to his days with the Kings. He continued his dominance over the Predators, making some very good saves early to keep the Predators off the board. For this young team, the ability to bury a shot early is critical to their psyche, and tonight, their psyche was severely bruised by the play of Labarbera and the Coyotes.
As I mentioned, this is what you get with a young squad. Some nights, they come out flying with energy and enthusiasm. Some nights, they fall off the bike and have to get back up and ride again. Tonight, they fell off the bike, numerous times, and had trouble staying on.
The team has an opportunity to rebound on Saturday night. I don't expect this young squad to come out and dominate. I do expect them to compete.
Tonight, they did not.
As with any young group, some painful lessons have to be learned. The game tonight will be of benefit to this team if they learn the painful lessons and bring the effort in their next contest.
Fail to do so, and the fall off the bike is going to be painful.
Again.
My three stars:
1. Jason Labarbera
2. Ray Whitney
3. Ryan Suter
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