Predators Feeling Blue: Drop 4th Straight to St. Louis

Remember when the Nashville Predators used to have their way with the St. Louis Blues?

Go back several seasons and a game against the Blues was almost a guaranteed win for the Predators.

Over that span of time, the Blues have drafted well and developed their offensive talent, and that talent has developed into one of the elite teams in the NHL.

By contrast, the Predators have devolved into a bunch of grinders that give a good effort but have a woeful lack of skill.

That yawning gap in talent was on display at the Bridgestone Arena as the Blues beat the Predators for the 4th straight time by a score of 2-1. that score belies the fact that the blues were the clearly dominant team and controlled play for much of the game.

Ian Cole opened the scoring at 4:03 of the first period as he fired a shot off a face off win through traffic that beat a screened Pekka Rinne to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

The Predators answered at 10:28 of the first as Patric Hornqvist threw a shot to the front of the net from the goal line that was re-directed by Nick Spaling over the shoulder of Ryan Miller to tie the game at 1.

That was it for the Predators as they rarely challenged Miller.

The blues scored the game winner as Magnus Paarjarvi took a pass from roman Polak and skated past Ryan Ellis and beat Rinne to the far side post at 15:27 of the second period.

The Predators could rarely muster any offense and struggled just getting the puck through the neutral zone and establishing any offensive flow.

This was an ugly loss as it clearly exposed the talent gap between the Predators and a team that was consistently below them in the standings just a few years ago.

The troubling aspect of this game is that it clearly shows that this talent gap will not quickly or easily be closed by the Predators.

Some observations:

• The Predators have now lost 6 of their last 7 games. This team is not bound for the playoffs, and the lack of talent is going to haunt this team and their fans for several years.

• Patric Hornqvists assist was his 100th of his career.

• The Predators do not have a forward that can cosnsitently carry the puck into the offensive zone against a talented defense. The Predators had to almost exclusively resort to a dump and chase game, and they lost most of those puck battles all night.

• Puck support by the Predators was awful. Often, when the Predators got the puck in the zone, the Blues out numbered the puck carrier and forced turnovers. The Predators had 10 giveaways to 4 by the Blues.

• How ineffective were the Predators forwards? The Predators had 21 shots on goal, and 13 of those came from defensemen.

• Newly acquired Patrick Eaves was in the lineup, playing on the fourth line with Paul Gaustad and Rich Clune. Eaves had 6:59 of ice time and was a -1 for the night.

• This was the Predators first game without David Legwand. Those that know me or read this blog know that he has not been a favorite of mine. My problem with Legwand was simply that I believe that he did not play with heart and was grossly overpaid for what he brought to the ice. That is simply my opinion, and I don't expect all of you (any of you) to agree with me. It is telling to me that the management of the team could not answer the question of whether or not the Predators would be a better team without Legwand. And there is the enigma: Legwand was a talented player that never played to his potential or his talent level. Time will tell if this team is better or not without him. I think his absence will not affect this team adversely.

• Rinne was called upon to make some  huge saves once again to keep an opponent off the board. He also stopped Alex Steen on a penalty shot.

• The woeful Predators offense has scored just one goal in each of their last three games.

• I do not like the defensive pairing of Michael Del Zotto and Ryan Ellis. You have two puck moving defensemen that do not play a physical game. The larger and more physical forwards of the Blues pushed around Ellis in particular all night. I thought the pairing of MDZ and Seth Jones that had been used in previous games was a more effective tandem.

With the playoffs out of the picture, the Predators now have to focus on improving their game and building for next season. It is encouraging to see that this group is still competing.

It would be even more encouraging to see this team begin to produce consistent scoring.

My three stars:

1. Magnus Paarjarvi

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Ian Cole

Predators Gaffes Give Away Game to the Oilers

Just over the midway mark of the season, and the Nashville Predators faced the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place in a game that had to be considered "must win" for the Predators.

The good news for the Predators was that their offense was finally scoring some goals, having scored 7 in their past two games.

The bad news was that the Predators defense had totally collapsed in those two games, allowing 13 goals.

For the Predators to have a chance to win this game against an Oilers offense that can score, they were going to have to play better defense.

The Predators had Pekka Rinne in net, while the Oilers went with Devan Dubnyk.

The first period ended 0-0 with the Predators having a 10-6 shot advantage. Rinne had to make a couple of great saves to keep the Oilers off the board, while Roman Josi beat Dubnyk with a blast but rang it off the post.

The Oilers got on the board first on the power play at 8:11. Ryan Ellis was in the box for cross checking and Magnus Paajarvi tapped the rebound of a Ryan Whitney shot past Rinne from in front of the net. Rinne was left alone as Paajarvi had gotten lost behind Shea Weber and had an easy put back for the score.

The Oilers had three shots on the power play, and those were their first three shots of the period.

The Predators tied the game at 1 on their power play at 16:37 off a bomb from the blue line by Shea Weber for his 5th goal of the year. Roman Josi and Craig Smith picked up assists on the goal.

The period ended tied at 1. The Oilers out shot the Predators 10-7.

The Predators lost defenseman Scott Hannan to an injury in the second period, and he was out for the remainder of the game.

The Predators had a power play, but Sergei Kostitsyn had the puck hop away from him at the blue line. The Oilers had a 2 on 2 until Kostitsyn went to the bench, leaving the Oilers 2 on 1 against Shea Weber. The Oilers made the Predators pay for a major gaffe by Kostitsyn as Lennart Petrell  and Sam Gange broke in and Petrell hammered home a shot at 10:53.

Inexplicable decision by Kostitsyn, and it cost the Predators.

The Oilers picked up a Jonathan Blum turnover just inside their blue line and began a rush down the ice. Jordan Eberle whistled a shot over the shoulder of Rinne to make it 3-1 at 15:48 of the third.

Roman Josi scored with the extra attacker on the ice with 9.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, it was once again too little too late for the Predators as they lost their third in a row by a 3-2 margin.

Some observations:

Made of Glass

Right now, this team has no confidence and is fragile. Every mistake ends up in their net, and this team is tentative.  Playing not to make mistakes and tentatively is a formula to consistently lose games. And that is the way this team is playing. If they are going to reverse their fortunes, they are going to have to play more like Predator teams of the past: sound defense and capitalizing on the other team's mistakes. Right now, the opponents are making the Predators pay for their errors.

Get Out the Stapler

Better yet, don't staple Sergei Kostitsyn to the bench. His play has been so atrocious of late that he should be relegated to the press box to watch. His play on the second Oilers goal is inexplicable and inexcusable. A lack of offensive presence and a too casual attitude are killing the Predators.

Better Jump, No Finish

I can't fault the Predators for their effort in general. They had good chances, but once again, could not finish on those chances. Until they bury some pucks, their offense is all sound and fury, but signifies nothing.

Better Hope Rinne Is Mentally Tough...

because this team in front of him is making him look bad.

Final Thoughts

It is now desperation time for the Predators. Their string is short if they are going to make the playoffs, and they are going to have to start putting together a lengthy winning streak.

Right now, I don't see that.

This team is not playing with confidence. Their breakdowns are resulting in goals. Their scorers are not scoring consistently.

Not a great combination of factors.

Now it boils down to those in the room. The have to reach down inside and get their mojo back. It will not come from the coaches. It will come from those guys that put on the sweater each night.

This will be a test of character and heart.

Time to find out what you got, boys.

My three stars:

1. Devan Dubnyk

2. Jordan Eberle

3. Roman Josi