Predators Road Woes Continue With a 3-1 Loss to the Islanders

The Nashville Predators traveled to Long Island desperately seeking to change their fortunes against the Islanders. In their two previous games, the Predators had suffered numerous defensive breakdowns, shaky goaltending, and a dearth of goals.

That trend would continue in this game.

With David Legwand in the box after taking his second (??) consecutive elbowing penalty, John Tavares got forgotten in the low slot and he blasted a shot past Marek Mazanec for a 1-0 lead at 15:30.

Mazanec was getting his first NHL start. Welcome to the League, Marek

Pierre-Marc Bouchard made it 2-0 at 17:23 after the Islanders won an offensive zone face off. Bouchard took a shot from a severe angle that beat Mazanec 5 hole. Definitely a goal that Mazanec could not give up.

The Predators created some quality scoring chances, but could not solve Kevin Poulin. In the period, the Islanders out shot the Predators 16-10.

The Predators had now been out scored in the past 7 periods 12-0.

The Predators were faced with another uphill challenge. In the past two games, they had not responded to this kind of adversity. If they were going to get back into this game, they were going to have to ramp up their compete level.

The hill only got steeper 7:07 into the second period as Kyle Okposo blasted a shot from the right face off circle to make it 3-0.

The Predators could not get a puck past Poulin and the second period ended with the Predators in a 3-0 hole. The Predators held and 11-8 shot advantage in the period.

The Predators (FINALLY!!) scored at 14:30 of the third period as Patric Hornqvist fired a wrist shot that beat Poulin to end a nearly 9 period scoreless drought.

Despite a late flurry with a power play, the Predators could not score again, and they fell for the third straight game by a 3-1 margin.

Some observations:

• A road trip that started with such promise has turned abysmal. In the early games of this roadie, the Predators were working hard in all zones and supporting the puck. In the past three games, the work ethic has fallen off and puck support has been virtually non-existent. The team has struggled to make clean entries into the offensive zone and when they do get the puck in the zone, the puck possession time has been awful. This has limited offensive chances and stymied the offense. If the predators are going to get back on a winning track, this has to improve quickly.

• Goaltending was okay at best. Mazanec made some good saves, but he cannot give up that second goal. He was hung out to dry when Tavares was left alone in the slot on the first goal and the Okposo goal was a blast that would have been hard to stop.

• The inability to enter the zone cleanly is killing the Predators. They are being slowed down in the neutral zone and their speed is being negated. This is a matter of system, support, and desire. Right now, the Predators are not good in any of these areas.

• The Predators had some offensive flurries around the net, and Poulin made some good saves. There has to be a greater effort to get the puck to the net and to battle for rebounds. Again, this is a function of desire and effort.

• The Predators were once again without Mike Fisher, who is out with a foot injury. They were also without Gabriel Bourque, who left the team to return to Nashville for the birth of his first child.

The Predators wrap up the road trip with a stop in Pittsburgh on Friday night.

It's time for this team to begin playing with some drive and desire.

My three stars:

1. John Tavares

2. Frans Nielsen

3. Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Predators Continue Winning, Defeat the Islanders 3-1

The Nashville Predators ventured to Nassau Coliseum for their only meeting of the year against the New York Islanders in an afternoon matinee. The Predators looked to continue their hot play of late, as they have won 13 of their last 17 games their last 4 games.

The Predators went with (surprisingly since there is a game tomorrow) with Pekka Rinne in net, while the Isles gave Kevin Poulin the start.

It was going to be important for the Predators to get off to a good start against the Islanders and not let them get momentum in this game. The Predators did just that at 2:17 of the first period as Sergei Kostitsyn skated the puck over the blue line and using an Islanders defenseman as a screen blistered a wrist shot that went over the shoulder of of the Isles netminder Kevin Poulin to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. This was the Predators first shot on goal, and for Kostitsyn it continues his amazing shooting percentage as he has 11 goals on only 41 shots.

Matt Halischuk extended the Predators lead to 2-0 as he carried the puck across the blue and drove hard to the net. Halischuk wrist shot from the face off circle beat Poulin cleanly at 5:34 of the first period. This was Halischuk's 10th goal of the season.

The Predators added their third goal of the period on a beautiful give and go between Marty Erat, Colin Wilson, and David Legwand. Erat gave the puck to Wilson, who found the streaking David Legwand, who was unimpeded heading to the net. Legwand buried the shot past an out of position Poulin at 11:37 of the first period to make it 3-0 Predators.

The first period ended with the Predators killing off most of a penalty to Colin Wilson for elbowing. It appeared as if the Islanders were finally starting to get their legs as they began to generate some chances, and Pekka Rinne made a couple of big stops. In the period, the Predators out shot the Islanders 12-6.

The Islanders have very good speed, and it was going to be important for the Predators to keep their foot on the gas and not let them creep back in this game.

The Predators had some good chances in the second, but Poulin settled down and was able to stop the offensive attack. Unable to bury the puck, Poulin seemed to be more confidant, and in turn, the Islanders responded with good offensive presence.

The Predators gave the Isles a good chance to claw back into the game as both Gabriel Bourque took a penalty, followed shortly after by a high sticking penalty to Mike Fisher. The Isles had 1:10 of a 5 on 3. The defense did a good job of blocking shots and keeping the Isles to the outside. Pekka Rinne demonstrated his athleticism and made some huge saves to keep the puck out of the net.

The Islanders continued to pressure the Predators in their defensive zone and Rinne was called upon to make some quality saves to frustrate the scoring threat. He came up huge in the second period, stopping all 19 shots he faced. The Predators had 10 for the period.

Ryan Suter did not play in the second period, and was called out for the remainder of the game with an upper body injury.

Going into the third period, it would be critical for the Predators to get their offensive mojo back. There were too many stretches in the second where the Predators let the Islanders dictate the play, and this needed to change in the final 20 minutes.

The third period was back and forth, with both teams creating some chances, but neither able to solve the others netminder. The Isles finally broke through at 16:02 of the third when John Tavares got behind Francis Buillon and was able to tip a puck past Rinne to make it 3-1.

The Islanders pulled Poulin with 2:10 remaining in the game for the extra attacker and were pressing the Predators in an attempt to cut the lead to one.

The Predators were able to hold off the final push by the Islanders and secured their fifth straight win by a margin of 3-1. The Islanders out shot the Predators 37-32.

It is good to see the Predators get out to a fast start. Although the Islanders have struggled this season, they are a fast and dangerous team, and taking the wind out of their sails early was a big factor in this win.

Pekka Rinne was outstanding, making some great saves, especially in the second period when the Islanders were fighting to get back in the game. Keeping the Islanders off the board during with their aggressive play was critical to securing this win.

For the Predators, this win is another important 2 points. To keep pace with their competitors in the Wast, this is what the Predators have to do. They can only control their fate, not what their competitors are doing. And the best way to control their fate is to keep winning.

They will get another chance tomorrow against the Rangers, the best team in the East.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Sergei Kostitsyn

3. Matt Halischuk