Predators Implode Once Again and Find Their Backs to the Wall With 5-2 Loss

After puking up two games on home ice, the Nashville Predators traveled to Anaheim trying to regain their mojo and momentum in Game five of their best of seven series. Both teams have won their games on their opponents ice and the Predators were hoping that trend would continue.

The Predators started well, and after a scoreless first period, took a lead on the first goal of the game off a sweet backhand by Ryan Johansen that beat Frederick Andersen to the far post.

That goal lasted all of 34 seconds as a David Perron shot deflected off Roman Josi's skate and fluttered over the outstretched glove of Pekka Rinne to tie the game at 1.

Ryan Garbutt gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead as he jammed a puck between Rinne and the goal post.

Sami Vatenan gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead as he came out of the penalty box and beat Rinne on a breakaway.

Mikka Salomaki drew the Predators to within one goal as he buried the rebound of a Shea Weber blast.

After a stupid penalty by Mike Ribeiro, the Ducks finally converted on a power play and Cam Fowler finally made the Predators as he scored on the first shot of the power play to make it 4-2.

Ryan Kessler finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

Some observations:

•  The Predators certainly came out with more jump in the first period and created some quality chances. Now they just have to bury them.
• Is Shea Weber not just a beast. His forearm shiver that flattened Corey Perry is indicative of the strength in the big D man.
• Craig Smith is still called "day to day". Hopefully the Honey Badger can get back into the series quickly.
• The Predators looked like the Ducks, taking penalty after penalty. This is flirting with disaster, as the Ducks have the number one power play in the League. One had to feel that the Predators were going to get bitten by all the penalties.
• That said, the Predators PK unit had worked their tails off this series and in this game.
• What a sweet backhand by Ryan Johansen for his first goal of the series. That is a goal scorer's goal.
• And what a flukey goal by David Perron. A big deflection that bounces off the skate of Roman Josi and leaks over the glove of Rinne.
• Rinne made some very big saves, but he just cannot give up that goal to Garbutt. That is fundamental goaltending- seal the post, yet Rinne did not get it done and it cost the Predators.
• Mike Ribeiro has been absolutely awful in this playoff series. His penalty was stupid, and frankly, Ribeiro is just not built for the rugged play of the playoffs. Ice is not as open and he cannot compete with the rugged play that occurs in the playoffs. It doesn't help that he loses his temper at the most inopportune times.
• You cannot understate the effect of the loss of Craig Smith. His skating ability and speed gave the Ducks fits, and with him out of the line up, the Predators have been much less effective.
• The Predators mistakes and loss of poise cost them in this game, and it will cost them in this series.

The boys backs are against the wall. keep playing as foolishly as they have, and they will have the dubious honor of dropping 4 straight games after taking the first two.

I guess we will find out what the coaching staff and the players are made of on Monday.

My three stars:

1. David Perron

2. Frederick Andersen

3. Ryan Johansen

Predators Capture the Season Series Over the Ducks With 3-2 Win

Some games, a team steals a win. That is just what the Nashville Predators did to the Anaheim Ducks at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators rode goals from Shea Weber, James Neal, and Mikka Salomaki to a 3-2 victory over the Ducks.

Rikard Rakell and Mike Santorelli tallied for the Ducks.

Weber staked the Predators to a 1-0 lead with the Predators on the man advantage. His blast from the point blew past Frederik Anderssen to give the Predators a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The Ducks tied it on Rakell's goal to tie the game at 10:47 of the first period as he beat Pekka Rinne on a wrap around to the far post..

James Neal broke the tie with his 9th goal of the season at 13:13 of the first period. Neal's goal came off a harmless flip from center ice that skipped in front of Anderssen and squirted between his pads.

Mikka Salomaki extended the lead to 3-1 as he tipped a shot from Mattias Ekholm between the pads of Anderssen.

That was it offensively for the Predators as the Ducks took over the game. Pekka Rinne made some outstanding saves, including stopping Carl Hagelin on a break away as well as the follow up shot from Hagelin.

The Ducks dominated possession in the third period and Mike Santorelli finally broke through, poking a puck into the net off a goal mouth scramble at 5:33 of the third period to make it 3-2.

The Predators managed to hang on behind the stellar play of Rinne to capture a hard fought- and very ugly- win by that one goal margin.

Some observations:

• Rinne was outstanding tonight. he did a great job of tracking the puck through traffic, and there was a LOT of traffic in front of Rinne tonight. His save on the Hagelin break away was a thing of beauty and he thwarted the follow up by Hagelin as well. He also stopped Andrew Cogliano on a break away just a few moments later. The team rode the broad shoulders of Rinne to this win because the skaters in front of him were back on their heels for most of the night. This game was vintage Rinne. He had the aura of invincibility and it frustrated the Ducks all night. He made a season high 38 saves tonight.
• This is the first game of the season where the Predators were totally dominated. The Ducks time of possession very lopsided in their favor and they kept the Predators back in their defensive zone from midway through the second period to the end of the game. The Ducks out shot the Predators 40-21 for the game. Their dominance started in the second period when they out shot the Predators 19-9 and in the third by an 11-4 margin. The Predators did not record their first shot on net in the third period until there was just 6:33 remaining.
• The Predators did chase Anderssen, who gave up 3 goals on 10 shots, including the Steve Bernier-esque soft goal from center ice (Bernier is the Toronto goalie that gave up a similar goal last night). Anton Khudobin, who played last night in Carolina, finished the game.
• The Ducks have the number one penalty kill in the NHL. Weber's goal on the Predators first power play was a missile that Anderssen never saw but must have heard as it whistled past him into the net.
• However, the Ducks penalty kill took over after that power play goal. They stymied the Predators power play, often stealing the puck at the Predators blue line and creating some good scoring chances. The Predators were 1 for 7 on the power play and looked very ineffective against the Ducks penalty killers.
• On the other side, though, the Predators penalty killers were stellar. The Ducks wer 0-8 on the man advantage.
• The Predators took a lot of sloppy penalties, giving the Ducks too many chances in this games. Two tripping penalties, two roughing penalties, and unsportsmanlike conduct, and an interference penalty left the Predators a man down too often in this game.
• Last season, James Neal had a total of 20 penalties. With 2 penalties tonight, Neal now has been called for 12 penalties so far this season. 
• I really like the younger players- Salomaki and Watson in particular- being trusted in the penalty kill situation. They are logging some hard minutes and have earned the trust of the coaching staff with their play. This is critical for the this team in a long season to have these young players eating up some hard minutes.
• Roman Josi picked up an assist on Weber's goal and that is his 100th assist in his career. he is the 6th Predators defenseman in history to record 100 assists.
• The Predators went 3-1-1 on this 5 game home stand. It is so important to defend home ice, and the Predators have been making it tough for opponents to come into Bridgestone Arena.
• The Ducks, as they are prone to do, decidied early on they wanted it to be a physical contest. Indeed, they thought they could goon it up and intimidate the Predators. In the first period, Kevin Bieksa decided to drop the gloves with Mike Fisher. Once the officials broke up the fight, Bieksa was minus a tooth and we saw no more running around from Bieksa for the rest of the game.You can see the fight, including a nice slow motion of Bieksa losing a chicklet here

This was not a pretty win, but it was a win, and they don't grade them on style points (thankfully).

Now the Predators embark on a tough roadie, with 6 games in 9 nights, including two sets of back to backs

They will have to play with the heart and mettle they have shwon recently.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Mikka Salomaki

3. Shea Weber

Predators Survive Penalties, Hand the Wild Their First Home Loss

The Predators returned to action on their CMA road trip with a stop at the Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild for their first meeting of the season.

This is the Predators first game since their meeting with the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. The Predators are squaring off against a Wild team that is 5-0 on home ice this season.

Pekka Rinne started between the pipes for the Predators, while the Wild had Devan Dubnyk in net.

After a scoreless first period, Mike Fisher broke the tie in the second period with a snap shot that beat Dubnyk stick side.

That lead stood until 17:36 of the second as the Wild scored on the power play as Marco Scandella beat Rinne to tie the game at 1.

Just 12 seconds into the third period, Roman Josi fired a shot from outside the face off circle that beat Dubnyk through traffic to give the Predators a 2-1 lead.

*I still don't think that Lyin Ryan Suter is better than Josi, and the numbers bear me out*

The Predators tempted fate by taking consecutive penalties and had to kill a 5 on 3. They were successful in that, but during the remaining power play, Matthew Dumba beat Rinne through traffic from the point to tie the game.

Cody Hodgson followed his own shot that Dubnyk could not control and gave the Predators a 3-2 lead. This was his first goal of the season and was a great hustle play to follow his shot.

A weak penalty call against Colin Wilson meant that the Predators were going to finish the final 1:39 down a man.

The penalty killers came up big and the Predators handed the Wild their first home loss by a 3-2 count.

Some observations:

•  This was the Predators first Central Division contest of the season. Both teams entered the contest with 16 points.
• While the Predators were finishing 10 days on the road, this was only their 4th game in this 2 week trip. 
• In his short time with the big club, Mikka Salomaki has brought a physical presence and a good fit to the second line. His physical play has opened up space for Craig Smith and Mike Ribeiro. It has also allowed Colin Wilson to drop to the third line, which has given him more favorable defensive match ups. It will be a big plus for the Predators if both those players can get their game going on their new lines.
• Salomaki was called up due to an injury to Eric Nystrom, who has missed the last two games.
• James Neal is a sniper, but you cannot underestimate his physical game. Zach Parise did, and got blown up in the first period by Neal. Parise finished the first period but did not return to the game in the second period and was called out for the remainder of the game with a lower body injury.
• Pekka Rinne had a lot of work and had to make some good saves with lots of traffic in front. Rinne did a very good job of tracking the puck and being positionally sound to frustrate the Wild.
• Welcome to the score sheet, Cody Hodgson. It took a while, but glad to see you find the back of the net. Hopefully this will open the door to your scoring touch. The Predators would welcome it.
• The Predators got sloppy with their penalties, especially in the third period. This is playing with fire against one of the best power play teams in the NHL. I really don't think the Wild were going to score 5 on 5 tonight, but the Predators kept them in the game with their transgressions.
• This was a very physical game, with not only Parise but Calle Jarnkrok and Paul Gaustad having to take trip to the locker room after getting dinged during play. Both of the Predators were able to return and finish the game.
• The Predators were out shot 29-24.
• The Predators blocked 23 shots.
• The Predators escaped with this win. They had 14 penalty minutes to the Wild's 4 and took the only 4 penalties in the third period.
• That said, the Predators penalty killers did a very good job against an exceptional power play team. The Predators killed off 5 of 7 chances the Wild had with the man advantage.

 This was a tough game and a scrappy win by the Predators against a tough Divisional opponent.

The thing I like the most about this win is that in times past, this was the type of game that would have seen the Predators wilt in the face of adversity like they faced tonight. Instead, they kept coming at the Wild and refused to quit.

And it was certainly a good way to start play in the division.

My three stars:

1. Cody Hodgson

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Roman Josi

* honorable mention: Mike Fisher