Wild Tame the Predators 4-2

The Minnesota Wild took down the Nashville Predators by a 4-2 margin at Bridgestone Arena by reverting to their roots.

Early in their history, the Wild were a trapping team that would try to choke the life out of the opposition and rely on some timely goal scoring.

They did just that tonight, especially in the third period, as their trap game had the Predators completely out of sync.

The Wild opened the scoring off an Eric Haula blast that Pekka Rinne never saw.

Mike Fisher would tie the game as he muscled a puck past Devan Dubnyk. That lead would be short lived, however, as Kyle Brodziak would beat Rinne under the crossbar for a 2-1 lead.

Once again, the Predators tied the game as Mike Fisher sprung Craig Smith for a breakaway and he popped the puck under the crossbar.

The Predators couldn't keep the Wild off the board as the defense broke down and left Nino Neiderreiter alone in the slot and he beat Rinne to give the Predators a 3-2 lead. at the end of the second period.

The third period was when the Wild exerted their will and completely disrupted and smothered the Predators. The Preds had difficulty even entering the zone, and when they did they rarely challenged Dubnyk.

Neiderreiter sealed the win with an empty net goal.

Some observations:

• This game is an indication of the type of games that will be played in the playoffs, and the Predators have struggled this season with these types of games where the opponent aggressively forechecks them all game. The Predators were completely out of rhythm in the third period, having trouble getting through the neutral zone and setting up their offense. This is something the Predators are going to have to improve markedly if they want to have success in the playoffs.
• This game also pointed out that the Predators need a truly talented center that can carry and distribute the puck. This is the most glaring weakness on the roster right now, and I don't know if it can (or will) be corrected at the trade deadline.
• The Predators wilted under the pressure from the Wild and were a turnover machine tonight. The Predators turned it over 17 times to just 6 for the Wild.
• Since being acquired by the Wild, Dubnyk is 14-3-2. He has played well, and the Wild do an excellent job of protecting him in front of the net. Dubnyk was spitting out rebounds, but rarely did the Predators get to them for second chance opportunities.
• Mike Ribeiro did not have a good game. He had 3 giveaways, was a non-factor in the offensive zone, and was a -3 on the night. He won just 38% of his faceoffs.
• Craig Smith reached the 20 goal club for the second year in a row. He has 8 points (6G-2A) in his last 7 games.
• Roman Josi has settled in on the top D pairing with Shea Weber. How has he compared this season with the man he replaced, Ryan Suter? This season, Josi has 44 points (11G-33A) and is a +20. Suter has 30 points (2G-28A) and is a -1. I like our replacement better.
• Ryan Ellis returned to action after missing 21 games with a knee injury. He was paired with Seth Jones on the third D pair.
• Interestingly, Ellis and Cody Franson (who was on the second D pair with Mattias Ekholm) did not see the ice for the final 10 minutes of the game. Ellis played 11:29 and Franson played 12:50.

Not the kind of game the Predators are used to playing, and this game pointed out some weaknesses for the Predators.

There are some things that need to be tweaked and improved upon. I believe this team will do that in the regular season games remaining.

They better.

My three stars:

1. Nino Neiderreiter

2. Mike Fisher

3. Kyle Brodziak 

Predators With a Wild Comeback Win

The Nashville Predators hoped to pick up right where they left off before the All Star break, where they were the hottest team in the NHL. They would begin this quest at the XCel Energy Center against the Minnesota Wild.

The Predators had Pekka Rinne in net, while the Wild went with Josh Harding.

Dany Heatley got loose in the low slot and buried the puck past Rinne to give the Wild a 1-0 lead at 8:04 in the first period. The defensive coverage broke down completely on this goal as Heatley was completely left left alone and Rinne had no chance on the snap shot.

Craig Smith drew a hooking call on a nice drive to the net, but the Predators could only muster one shot on goal with the man advantage.

The Predators returned the favor to the Wild as Shea Weber was called for holding. The Wild made the Predators pay for their transgression as once again Dany Heatley got open right in front of the net and once again beat Rinne. The Predators defensive coverage down low was atrocious once again, and it burnt them at 12:36 of the first period.

The Predators were out shot 11-10 in the first period, but and created a few scoring chances, but the Wild looked to be more ready to play and definitely looked to be the more desperate team.

The Predators were going to have to ramp up the intensity in the second period and were going to have to tighten up their defensive coverage.

Well, so much for tightening up the defensive coverage. Cal Clutterbuck drove into the zone and all the way to the net where his backhand eluded Rinne to make it 3-0 at 1: 29 of the second period. The Predators have shown their ability to come back in games, but spotting the Wild a 3-0 lead was digging an enormous hole.

The Predators finally got on the board at 9:33 of the second period as Kevin Klein took a shot from the blue line with Matt Halischuk in front screening. Halischuk re-directed the shot past Harding to get the Predators on the board. For Halischuk, this was his 12th goal of the season, and he continues to impress with his hard work.

At the end of two periods, the Predators trailed 3-1, and failed to generate much of a sustained attack. The Wild were forechecking aggressively and disrupting the Predators breakouts in the neutral zone. The Wild out shot the Predators 6-5 in the second, and the shot totals were reflective of a period of hockey that had no flow to it.

The Predators were going to have to support the puck better and create offense in the third period if they were going to have an opportunity to win this game. It was going to be important for the Predators to establish offensive zone time and create some chances in the third period.

Once again the Predators gave up an early goal t begin the period as Kyle Brodziak tapped in a puck as Nick Johnson was allowed to walk out of the corner and to the front of the net. Johnson's shot was stopped by Rinne, but Brodziak was free to tap in the puck at just 16 seconds into the period.

The Predators showed that they were definitely not ready to play in this game, as the mental aspect of the their game was totally absent in this contest. The Wild had scored all their goals off defensive lapses by the Predators, which was indicative of the team not being mentally ready for this contest.

The Predators made it 4-2 as Brandon Yip and Matt Halischuk were banging away at the puck as Harding went down to block the shot. The play went under review, but the puck was spied by the officials across the goal line for Yip's first goal as a Predator at 9:22 of the third period. More importantly, the Predators kept fighting and were rewarded for their efforts.

Pekka Rinne made a huge save on Matt Cullen at 15:20 of the third as the Wild had a 2 on 1. Rinne once again bailed out the defense to keep the game within reach for the Predators, but the clock was melting away and it was going to be critical that the Predators get another goal quickly.

The Predators pulled to within one goal as Patric Hornqvist kept banging away at a loose puck in the crease and was able to poke the puck past Harding at 15:39. Hard work paid off for the Predators.

Improbable comeback on the way?

A resounding YES!

Just 21 seconds later, Mike Fisher pounded a puck past Harding to tie the game at 4. Unbelievably, the Predators had fought their way back into this game.

With 20.8 seconds to go, the Predators kept battling for control of the puck in the Wild zone. Mike Fisher got control of the puck along the boards by the face off circle and just threw the puck at the net. Somehow the puck eluded Harding and found the back of the net to give the Predators an unbelievable 5-4 lead.

The horn sounded and as unbelievable as it sounds, the Predators had an amazing come from behind win. A victory where they scored 4 goals in the third period, a period where they were down 4-1 early and seemed dead in the water.

That is character.

There are two take aways from this game: first, the Predators have to come ready to play. The success prior to the All Star game is history. Just stepping on the ice is not enough. Teams are desperate and they need the wins, and they are going to fight and scrap for every bit of ice and every loose puck. Tonight, the Predators were nearly bitten in the posterior because they did not come ready to play.

The second thing to take away from this game is that the game is never over until the final horn sounds. Keep fighting, keep grinding, keep playing, and good things happen. If this team ever forgets this fact, just pull the tape out and watch it again.

Let this game be a learning experience. Get ready boys, because the games down the stretch are going to be a war.

My three stars:

1. Mike Fisher

2. Matt Halischuk

3. Dany Heatley

Honorable mention: Patric Hornqvist Brandon Yip

Predators Give Away Another Game, Lose to the Wild 3-2

The Nashville Predators traveled to the great white North to take on the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in a game that saw the Predators seeking redemption for the putrid effort the night before in Nashville.

Pekka Rinne once again got the start for the Predators as the Wild went with Josh Harding as Nicklas Backstrom was out of the lineup to attend to personal business.

The Predators opened the contest looking just like they did in their debacle against Edmonton the night before. Minnesota was out skating the Predators and got the first four shots on goal. For Predator fans, this was a big "uh-oh" and the thought was "here we go again."

The Predators got their legs under them and started skating with the Wild, and when they did, they were very competitive.

Jordin Tootoo got the Predators on the board with their first shot on goal at 5:21of the first period as he skated the puck out of the corner straight to the front of the net. Tootoo jammed the puck in on Harding and the puck got through his pads and trickled into the net to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. Rookie Craig Smith picked up an assist on the play, giving him 15 points on the season.

The period was a back and forth contest with both teams generating some good chances. In the period, the Wild out shot the Predators 10-9, which is a decidedly better effort than the Predators put forth in their previous contest.

The second period was scoreless, but not for lack of effort by both teams. Both Rinne and Harding came up with some big saves for their respective squads. Each team created some good scoring opportunities from close in, but both netminders were up to the task. The Predators certainly made their task tougher in the period as they had to kill off a 4 minute double minor for high sticking by Colin Wilson.

In the second period, the Wild out shot the Predators 11-8.

Once again, this young team was going into the third period with a lead, and they knew they would face the inevitable push from the Wild. And once again, the question that hung in the balance was "Would the Predators be able to lock down the other team and hold the lead?"

That question was answered just 1:05 into the third period as the Predators got caught with 4 men down low and gave up a 2 on 1 that Dany Heatley buried to tie the game.

The Predators did their best to give the game to the Wild as the period wore on. They took back to back penalties to Craig Smith and Ryan Suter, with Suter's penalty coming with just 13 seconds remaining in Smith's penalty. Yes, both penalties were questionable calls, but nevertheless, the Predators put themselves in a precarious position. Although they were able to kill off the brief 5 on 3, the Predators could not kill Suter's penalty as Kyle Brodziak took a shot that Rinne got most of, but couldn't stop it and the puck found the net to give the Wild a 2-1 lead at 9:39.

Perhaps more indicative of the Predators imminent collapse was the fact that the Predators had only mustered 2 shots on goal through 12 minutes of the period. Yes, one of those shots was highway robbery on Sergei Kostitsyn by Harding, but it still remains a troubling fact that the Predators offense cannot seem to put in a full 60 minutes of effort.

The wheels came off for the Predators at 13:19 of the third as the Predators gave up a shorthanded goal. Rinne came out to play the puck that was dumped down the ice and stumbled and could not get back into position. Cal Clutterbuck picked up the puck and scored what will probably be his easiest goal of the season as he had nothing but an open net into which to shoot the puck.

The Predators demonstrated some heart and pulled within one at 13:57 as they scored on a 5 on 3 power play. Jordin Tootoo took the puck at the goal line and found Ryan Suter alone in the low slot. His quick wrist shot beat harding over his shoulder to make it 3-2 Wild. This was Suter's 5th goal of the season, topping his goal total from last season.

The Predators has a chance to tie the game as Ryan Suter hit both posts with a shot and the team still on the man advantage. Harding was able to swallow up the rebound in a furious scramble in the blue paint to thwart the Predators.

The Predators were unable to generate any more offense, and once again, a game that they led going into the third period was given away, victimized by another 20 minutes of poor hockey.

Same song, different verse.

And it's becoming a very tired refrain.

The shots on goal were 8 to 8 in the third period, but the majority of those shots for the Predators came during desperation time. Frankly boys, when you go through 12 minutes of a period- especially one where you have a lead and are trying to squeeze out the opposition- you more often than not are going to lose the game.

Like tonight.

I have often talked about lessons, and some of these lessons are painful. I guess it hasn't gotten painful enough for this team, because they haven't consistently learned how to take control of a game when they have a lead. Giving up three goals in crunch time is inexplicable and shows that this team has not developed a killer instinct.

Yet.

Here's a bit of advice: develop that killer instinct. Learn how to finish a game ( and start a game for that matter).

Do that, and you will not be giving games away.

My three stars:

1. Josh Harding

2. Jordin Tootoo

3. Kyle Brodziak