Predators Fall to the Panthers 2-1 In Another Frustrating Loss

The Nashville Predators fell to the Florida Panthers at Bridgestone Arena by a 2-1 margin. Another game where the Predators dominated on the shot counter (33-16) but came up short on the scoreboard.

Quintin Howden opened the scoring for the Panthers as the puck took a funny bounce off a stanchion and caromed to Howden in the middle of the ice. That sent Howden in on a breakaway and he beat Pekka Rinne stick side for a 1-0 Panthers lead.

The Panthers took a 2-0 advantage on the power play as Jonathan Huberdeau got free in the slot and beat Rinne over the shoulder.

The Predators would cut the lead to 2-1 as Roman Josi, driving the net, deflected a shot from Craig Smith past Roberto Luongo.

That was a s close as the Predators could get, although they had a shot that beat Luongo and hit both posts with 30 seconds remaining, but the puck did not cross the goal line.

Some observations:

• The Predators offense was disrupted all night by the forecheck and trap of the Panthers and they could not seem to figure out how to solve it. In game management and adjustments at intermissions have to be made, but it appeared that the Predators made none and  allowed the Panthers to choke down their speed all night.
• The Predators, by contrast, did not forecheck well. Often they dumped the puck in the zone but there were no Predators able to retrieve the puck. Worse yet, the Predators lost puck battles on the boards all night. 
• This was the first game that the Predators played without Mike Fisher. He has been placed on IR and will miss at least 4 games with a lower body injury.
• Calle Jarnkrok moved up to center the second line and played well. He is playing with speed and confidence and you can see his game growing each time he is on the ice. Jarnkrok won 64% of his faceoffs tonight.
• The Predators got away from what brought them a win against the Coyotes in the previous game. Although they had a lot of shots, there was not a lot of traffic in front of Luongo. This is a league where you have to score goals from the hard areas, and tonight, the Predators didn't make much of an effort to get to those hard areas.
• The Panthers blocked 21 shots. The Predators blocked 6.
• This is the first time the Panthers have won a game in Nashville since 1999.
• The Predators PK is a woeful 77% for the season. In the last 10 games, it is 57%. Awful.
• The officiating  did not cost the Predators the game, but the late game embellishment call against James Neal was just embarrassingly bad. When a player is tripped with a stick in his skate blade and falls, that is not embellishment, and the NHL should be ashamed of the lack of integrity in the officials on the ice.
• The Predators are 2-6-2 when they allow the first goal, and they have won only 2 games this season when trailing after two periods.

The Predators are dealing with injuries, and that obviously has an impact on this team. But the fact is that this team is just average right now and outside of Filip Forsberg, lacks a real game changer.

So that means this team is going to have to play gritty hockey that is not fancy but tough.

Time to change, boys.

My three stars:

1. Jonathan Huberdeau

2. Roberto Luongo

3. Roman Josi

Predators Fall to the Panthers In A Shoot Out

The Nashville Predators continued with their three game road trip, making a stop in Sunrise to do battle with the Panthers. The Predators were looking to continue to amass points as they scramble to get back into the playoff race.

For the Predators, a good start and a full 60 minute game were critical.

The good start came courtesy of Craig Smith. Smith pounced on a loose puck at the top of the crease after a Nick Spaling shot and got the puck through traffic and between the pads of Panthers netminder Tim Thomas at 6:32 of the first period.

This was Smith's 12th goal of the season.

The Panthers tied the game at 11:03 of the first as Alexander Barkov took a shot that Predators goaltender Marek Mazanec got under his pads but did not have secured. Brad Boyes drove in and tapped the puck out from under Mazanec's pads and into the net to knot the game at 1.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead as Mattias Ekholm attempted to carry the puck behind the Predators net. The puck bounced off Ekholm and then Marcel Goc right to Tomas Kopecky in front of the net. Kopecky had an easy tap in over the shoulder of Mazanec at 17:56.

The period ended with the Panthers holding the lead and shots even at 10.

The second period saw the Predators get shots but few quality scoring chances. That changed late in the period as Patric Hornqvist worked to keep the puck in the zone by battling on the boards. he got the puck to Colin Wilson who drove the net and slipped a drop pass through his legs to Mike Fisher. Fisher used the defense as a screen and buried a shot to the far side post at 16:32.

The Predators, as they have been prone to do too many times this season, allowed the Panthers to score quickly after their goal. Just 57 seconds later, Sean Bergenheim fanned on a shot at the side of the net. Alexander Barkov tapped the loose puck back to Bergenheim and he didn't miss on his second shot, beating Mazanec stick side for a 3-2 Panthers lead at 17:29. On the scoring play, the defensive coverage broke down and allowed the Panthers forwards too much room to maneuver uncontested in front of the net.

The second period ended with the Predators trailing 3-2, They had 12 shots on goal to 7 for the Panthers.

The Predators needed a strong push in the third period to get back in this game. That didn't happen as former Predator Marcel Goc victimized his old team with a goal just 1:34 into the period to make it 4-2 for the Panthers. Seth Jones turned the puck over to Jonathan Huberdeau  behind the net and he found Goc alone in front for the score.

Defensive lapses had cost the Predators critical goals in this game, and the offense appeared unable to solve Thomas for a score. Not a combination for winning this game.

The Predators cut the deficit to one as roman Josi carried the puck deep and around the net. he found Seth Jones pinching down from the point and he hit Jones with the pass. Jones one timed the puck past Thomas at 14:52.

With Mazanec off for the extra attacker, Shea Weber took a shot that caromed off the bodies in front. Paul Gaustad gathered in the puck and slammed home the tying goal with 47 seconds left.

Improbably, the Predators, who had played a sloppy game defensively, had battled back to earn a point.

Neither team could score in the OT. The Predators had the best chances, launching 4 shots on goal while the Panthers had 1.

The shoot out went to 6 rounds. David Legwand scored for the Predators, while Craig Smith, Matt Hendricks, Colin Wilson, Patric Hornqvist, and Gabriel Bourque were stopped by Thomas.

Mazanec stopped Barkov,  Boyes, Nick Bjugstad, and Dimitri Kulikov. Jonathan Huberdeau scored in the second round and Tomas Kopecky won it in the 6th round.

Some observations:

• This is a game the Predators have to win if they are going to get back into the playoff hunt. The defensive lapses that cost the Predators this game was a bit of bad luck and momentary lapses of focus.

• The compete level in the third in the offensive zone was good. It is encouraging to seeing the team battle back and at least get the tie.

• I can't fault Mazanec on the goals that he gave up. The defense broke down in front of him and hung him out to dry.

• I like the compete level and the offensive presence of Craig Smith. He is showing the offensive skills that make him the most dangerous player for the Predators.

• Viktor Stalberg was relegated to the 4th line. Frankly, this makes no sense to me. He had shown good jump offensively and has been responsible in all zones. In my opinion, this is a waste of his talent and what he can bring to the team. He had 13:02 TOI tonight.

This was a squandered opportunity by the Predators for the two points. Kudos for fighting back to get at least one.

At this point of the season, the Predators cannot afford to give away points.

My three stars:

1. Tomas Kopecky

2. Mike Fisher

3. Shea Weber

Predators Win Their Second Straight, Defeat the Panthers 4-3

It certainly wasn't pretty.

But in the end, the Nashville Predators scratched out a 4-3 victory over a scrappy Florida Panthers squad at Bridgestone Arena. With the win, the Predators record is now 3-3.

The game opened with the Panthers controlling the puck and holding a territorial advantage over the Predators. Pekka Rinne had to be sharp to keep the Panthers off the board early.

The Predators got their legs going and started to swing momentum midway of the period. With the puck in the offensive zone, Mike Fisher slid a pass to Shea Weber, who had worked himself open on the blue line near the middle of the ice. Weber absolutely blew a rocket past Jacob Markstrom to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 9:23 of the first period.

The Panthers tied the game a t 1 at 1:16 of the second period as Jonathan Huberdeau took a pass from Scott Gomez in the high slot and cruised in on net untouched and beat Rinne over the shoulder. The Predators defense did not touch Huberdeau as he skated into prime scoring territory and he made them pay for the lapse.

The Predators regained the lead at 12:48 as Craig Smith found Mike Fisher alone in the right face off circle. Fisher skated in on Markstrom and made a nice forehand to backhand move and lifted the puck over Markstrom's pad and inside the far post to give the Predators a 2-1 lead.

The Panthers answered right back on a bizarre play. The puck was popped into the air at the top of the crease and Victor Bartley tried to bat it out of harm's way with his hand. Instead, it bounced off the helmet of a Predators defender and caromed out to the right side of the net. Former Predator Marcel Goc gathered in the puck and put a shot under the cross bar to tie the game at 2 at 13:30.

The Predators once again took the lead at 1:22 of the third period. Craig Smith fought through traffic and banged home a rebound of a Gabriel Bourque shot. This was Smith's first goal of the season.

The Predators tallied on the power play at 5:13 as Patric Hornqvist walked out from the goal line and beat Markstrom with a shot to the far post.

The Panthers made it interesting as Matt Gilroy took a shot and it hit David Legwand's stick and redirected past Rinne at 11:37 to cut the Predators lead to 4-3.

The Predators were able to hold off the Panthers for the remainder of the third period to notch the win. The Predators have won 3 of their last 4 games and are 3-1 on home ice.

Some observations:

• The Predators were 1 for 2 on the power play. This is encouraging as the Predators need to improve their scoring with the man advantage. While they were 50%, the first power play the Predators had in the first period was a disjointed mess. The team has to get more consistent when they have the man advantage. At times, they struggle entering the zone and often the puck carrier gets outnumbered, eliminating offensive zone chances. While showing signs of improvement, the power play is still a work in progress.

• Viktor Stalberg played only 10:07 in the game, and if I am not mistaken, did not play in the third period. He is coming back from an injury, but the Predators need him to get his game going and become a factor.

• Craig Smith had his best game of the season. He had a goal and an assist and his speed created problems for the Panthers. Smith arguably has the best offensive skill set on the team and he appears to be playing with confidence. This bodes well for the team.

• Congratulations to David Legwand for playing his 900th NHL game, all as a Predator. I think he used the word "obviously" at least once for each game he has played in his post game interview.

• Mattias Ekholm and Kevin Klein continue to log big minutes and play very well in the second pairing. Klein had 24:11 of ice time and Ekholm had 21:15.

• Fisher and Hornqvist are the only Predators with more than 1 goal. They both have 2.

This was a tough game for the Predators and one that could have easily gone the wrong way. The Panthers forechecked well and challenged throughout the game. This team responded to the challenge and refused to fold under the pressure. Florida held a 17-15 shot advantage through 2 periods, but the Predators stepped up the pressure in the third, out shooting the Panthers 15-8 and scoring 2 goals.

That is the sign of a team that is beginning to grow in confidence and develop some chemistry.

Those positive trends need to continue.

My three stars:

1. Craig Smith

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Shea Weber