Predators Fall to the Wings 3-2

Coulda, woulda, shoulda...

This is the story of the Predators season lately.

Apparently the Predators margin to win games is so razor thin that any little mistake will cost them.

This is the case as once again the Predators made just enough mistakes to cost them in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena.

Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith tallied for the Predators. Each goal tied the game for the Predators. Forsberg's goal followed a goal by Brendan Smith 45 seconds earlier in the first period.

Riley Sheahan scored on the power play early in the second period. It took Forsberg about 15 minutes to get the equalizer to send the teams into the second intermission tied at 2.

Luke Glendening scored at 6:45 of the the third period and the Predators had no answer this time as the Wings captured the season series.

Some observations:

• The lack of an elite center for the Predators is glaring. The wingers do a good job of creating, but the Predators lack a center that can dominate the center of the ice and distribute the puck. Until this weakness is corrected, the Predators will continue to be an average team.
• The Predators rarely pressured Petr Mrazek. When they did, they scored. The truth of the matter is that the Predators have forwards that rarely contribute. I know that it is easy to single out Colin Wilson (and he has had a miserable season), but the third line rarely threatens the net and the 4th line is just not going to get on the score sheet. Until these guys start producing, the Predators will continue to struggle.
• Forsberg brought his A game tonight. His line always draws the top defenders from the opponent, but Forsberg has shown creativity and drive, something that many of the other Predators forwards lack. They could take a lesson from the way Forsberg plays the game. This was Forsberg's second 2 goal game of the season.
• Roman Josi continues to impress. He is fearless in carrying the puck and can break the pressure from any opponent. On many nights, he is the Predators best forward (yes, I know he plays defense, but he carries the puck better than anyone wearing a gold sweater) and can create in the offensive zone.
• Mike Ribeiro picked up 2 assists tonight.
• Pekka Rinne had to make some good saves, and when he was beaten, the puck was coming through traffic. Rinne battles every night and gives the Predators a chance to win. The opponents know that to beat Rinne they have to get traffic to the net and that is exactly what they have been doing to have success against the big Finn.
• The Predators power play tonight was fancy but ineffective tonight. Lots of passing, no traffic to the net, and few shots. The power play was 0-3 tonight.
• The Predators PK killed 2 of 3 Wings man advantage opportunities. The lone Wings score occurred when the Predators allowed Sheahan to get to the front of the net with no challenge from the defense.

This is a Predators team that is going to continue to take one step forward, one step back until production starts to come from more than a handful of players. Early in the season, the scoring was much more balanced. Now it is not.

And the Predators are going to continue to struggle until this changes.

My three stars:

1. Filip Forsberg

2. Mike Ribeiro

3. Brendan Smith

Predators Can't Hold Leads, Blow Game to the Wings In OT

The Nashville Predators can't stand success.

They managed to blow a 3-1 lead before losing in overtime to the Detroit Red Winds by a 5-4 margin

Brad Richards gave the Wings a 1-0 lead before the Predators reeled off 3 straight goals to take a 3-1 lead late in the second period.

Shea Weber notched 2 power play goals and Viktor Arvidsson got a tally from in front of the net to give the Predators the two goal advantage.

Tomas Tatar scored on a late power play to send the Predators into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead.

Weber would record another power play goal as he blew a point shot past Petr Mrazek to give the Predators a 4-2 lead.

Dylan Larkin wove his way through the Predators defense to beat Rinne under the crossbar to make it 4-3.

Ryan Ellis took a stupid boarding penalty to put the Wings on the power play and Justin Abdelkader scored on a shot from Gustav Nyquist where Rinne was bumped by Abdelkader. The goal was reviewed but allowed to stand.

In overtime, Nyquist beat Rinne on the a breakaway and the Predators had tanked on a game they should have won.

Some observations :

• Some poetic justice for Shea Weber as the first Detroit goal bounced off of him and past Pekka Rinne. Two goals in the second is a pretty good response, eh? Especially one that bounced off the glass and back of Mrazek, which was confirmed by review. This was Weber's first 2 goal game since January 2015 against Dallas. Weber would add a third power play goal as he blew a shot from the point past Mrazek for his first career hat trick.
• I continue to like the play of Viktor Arvidsson. The Aardvark has adjusted to the speed of the NHL and is not afraid to bang along the boards and work in front of the net. He is using his speed to find open areas and was rewarded with a goal tonight.
• Rough start for Seth Jones with two slashing penalties in the first period. 
• Good to see the power play get going. One of the contributing factors to the Predators spotty play recently has been the weak special teams play. If these units can get going, it will be a great boost to the team.
• While it was good to see the power play get going, the PK continues to struggle, allowing 2 power play goals in 5 attempts by the Wings. The Predators have allowed 10 power play goals in their last 8 games, a major contributor to their struggles.This unit is going to have to get their game together quickly if the Predators are going to have success.
• No way the Predators defense should allow Larkin to skate through them like he did for his third period goal. The defense has to step up and take the body. Instead, Larkin was allowed to skate unimpeded until he found the soft spot in the defense to beat Rinne.
• the boarding penalty by Ryan Ellis late in the game is a penalty that just cannot happen. It was a selfish play as Ellis was going full speed into a player that had his back to the ice and was along the boards. The Predators have to play with more discipline than that with the game in the balance.
• The Predators have yet to win a game in the overtime session this season. They often look disjointed and lack a sense of urgency and attacking attitude in OT.
• The Predators were a horrid 39% in the face off circle, which contributed to the Wings possession time.
• The Predators blocked 20 shots, while the Wings blocked 8.

The Predators continue in their funk and each game exposes another crack in the Predators facade. This team has shown that they can play excellent hockey, and they have shown they can stink it up.

Tonight, they showed they lack killer instinct. yes, the Wings are a dynamic team, but when you have two 2 goal leads, you lock down the  opponent.

Tonight, the Predators let the Wings dictate play in critical times and it cost them the game.

The Predators have no swagger and no one that will step up and take control of a game.

Better find one fast or more trouble awaits.

My three stars:

1. Shea Weber

2. Gustav Nyquist

3. Roman Josi

Predators Whipped by the Wings

The Nashville Predators were similar to a lot of fans of the Red Wings at the Joe.

They didn't show up.

The Nashville Predators, fresh off an emotional and hard fought victory the night before, traveled to Detroit to take on the Red Wings in a contest that featured former division rivals that were playing some good hockey.

On this night, only one team played some good hockey.

And it wasn't the Predators.

Carter Hutton allowed 3 goals on 4 shots before being pulled in favor of Marek Mazanec.

The Predators gave up a 2 on 1 goal to Gustav Nyquist; a strange bouncing deflection goal to Kyle Quincy; and a goal to Tomas Tatar to chase Hutton to the bench.

The Predators finally showed some life as Mattias Ekholm patiently waited for an opening and beat Mrazek from the slot to make it 3-1.

Whatever momentum the Predators got from that late first period goal was wiped out when Henrik Zetterberg scored from the goal line on the power play when Mazanec didn't seal off the post and the puck bounced off his shoulder and over the goal line.

Tatar scored on another power play with just under a minute to go in the second period to make it 5-1.

Mike Fisher tallied on the power play early in the third period to make it 5-2.

Some observations:

• The Predators recalled Anthony Bitetto from Milwaukee. He saw his first NHL action and was paired with Mattias Ekholm.
• I know that you are not going to win every game, but wow, the Predators were loose in the defensive zone and didn't look sharp in any zone.There were spurts of energy and good play but they were few and far between. The most disappointing aspect of this game was that the team just looked lifeless at times (most of the time) and had no push back. Not surprised there was an emotional letdown after the game last night and Barry Trotz returning to Nashville, but this team just had no spark tonight.
• The first goal that Hutton gave up was a 2 on 1. The second was off a wild deflection and a bouncing puck. I will give him a pass on those two. He has to stop that Tatar shot. the goal that Mazanec gave up on the power play was just brutal. That shot should never go in.
• Calle Jarnkrok faced the team that drafted him. Jarnkrok was acquired when David Legwand was traded to Detroit.
• The penalty kill was atrocious, and tonight they continued the disturbing trend of giving up power play goals. The first goal from Zetterberg should never have happened but it did. The Predators PK entered the game killing just 80.6% of their opportunities, and this is an area that has to improve quickly.
• Mattias Ekholm tallied his 5th goal of the season and his second in as many nights. Ekholm continues to impress with his play and has started to show some flashes of offensive punch. He is showing more confidence in all aspects of his game.

This game was an absolute stinker for the Predators. No excuses about an emotional game last night or being on the second half of a back to back.

It was just bad.

Sometimes that happens. None of us like it, but that is just the way it goes sometimes.

The team has an opportunity to get this bad taste out of their mouth on Tuesday in Montreal.

My three stars:

1. Tomas Tatar

2. Gustav Nyquist

3. Reilly Sheahan