Predators Stop the Bruins In a Shootout

The Nashville Predators returned to Bridgestone Arena for one game against the Boston Bruins before departing on the road until after Christmas. So playing in front of the home crowd, where the Predators have been almost unbeatable, and against a team in the Bruins that has struggled to score lately, this looked like a matchup that would favor the Predators.

Instead, the Predators found themselves in a battle with the Bruins before they won it in a shootut.

Regulation and overtime ended tied at 2. Derek Roy scored the only goal in overtime and Pekka Rinne stopped all three Boston shooters for a 3-2 win for the Predators.

After a scoreless first period that saw both teams register 9 shots, the Bruins opened the second period absolutely dominating the Predators. They had the first 8 shots on net and tallied the first goal of the game just after their power play expired. The Bruins were swarming the net and got 4 shots on goal before Milan Lucic was finally able to get a puck past Rinne to make it 1-0.

The Predators answered with just 30 seconds to go in the second. With Lucic in the box for hooking, Shea Weber let a shot go from the blue line that was tipped by Mike Fisher in front past Tuukka Rask to tie the game.

The Predators took a 2-1 lead early in the third as James Neal passed the puck off the end boards right to the stick of Mike Ribeiro. He fired a rocket over the shoulder of Rask for his 9th goal of the season.

That lead lasted just under 2 minutes as Reilly Smith drove around James Neal and was able to slide the puck past Rinne.

Both teams has some chances in the remainder of regulation but neither could find the back of the net.

In overtime, the Predators were a turnover machine and Rinne had to make some huge stops to keep the Bruins off the board.

Roy notched the only goal in the shootout to secure the 3-2 win and the valuable second point for the Predators.

Some observations:

• If Pekka Rinne doesn't get serious consideration for the Vezina and the Hart, then the Pro Hockey Writers will have committed a criminal offense. Rinne has been outstanding so far this season and some of his saves have just been amazing. In overtime in particular he was outstanding, stopping the Bruins on a breakaway. He did a good job of tracking the puck through traffic and kept the Predators in the game while the offense was absent early in the second period. Rinne came into the game with a .937 save percentage and stopped 33 of 35 shots for a .943 save percentage in this game. 
• Rinne has now stopped 14 straight shootout attempts.
• The Predators power play goal tonight was their first power play goal on home ice since the home opener on October 9th. Yikes! This does point out, however, how strong the Predators have been at 5 on 5 scoring.
• The Predators penalty kill stopped all three of the Bruins powers plays. The Bruins first goal came just 8 seconds after their power play had expired.
• Remember how bad the Predators were in shootouts last season? They are 4-1 in the skills competition this season.
• The resiliency and the strength of the Predators is reflected in how well they have played in the one goal games. With the win tonight, they are now 13-4-2 in contests decided by one goal.
• Roman Josi led all Predators in TOI with 31:12. He has been playing at a very high level and against the best forwards of the opponent. He and Shea Weber have developed into one of the elite D tandems in the NHL.
• Speaking of Weber, one aspect of his game that has really stood out to me is how well he is skating this season. He seems faster and has been more active jumping into the offensive rush and creating some scoring opportunities in the offensive zone.
• David Poile has moved into second all time in the NHL for wins by a General manager. He now has 1,171, passing Harry Sinden.
• The Predators opened the second period back on their heels and were atrocious. They did not register their first shot on goal until the 14 minute mark of the period. A time out by Head Coach Peter Laviolette jolted the Predators back to life.
• Filip Forsberg picked up an assist for his 30th point of the year.
• The Predators are now 20-8-2, good for 42 points, and the win tonight keeps the Predators on pace with the Blackhawks and Blues, who have 45 and 44 points respectively. The Predators have 2 games in hand on the Blackhawks and 1 game in hand on the Blues.
• The Predators have not lost back to back games this season.

This was a hard fought, scrappy win by the Predators against a team that has lots of talent, the Bruins injuries notwithstanding.

More importantly, this keep the Predators right in the thick of a very competitive Central Division race.

They will have a chance to add to their win total on Thursday in their first meeting with the Minnesota Wild.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Mike Ribeiro

3. Tuukka Rask

Bruins Blast the Hapless Predators 6-2

The Boston Bruins visited the Bridgestone Arena to face the Nashville Predators in the last game before the Christmas break. The Predators were certainly in the holiday spirit, giving the Bruins the opportunity to score early and often.

The Predators even went as far to make the visitors welcome as letting them score on the first shot of the game.

Once again, the Predators dug a 3-0 hole in the first period, but this time they could not climb out. Cutting the deficit to 3-2 in the second period on Craig Smith's second goal of the game, the Predators proceeded to take to consecutive penalties and gave up a 5 on 3 power play.

It was never close after that.

You can read the carnage, uh, box score here.

The final was 6-2 for the visiting Bruins.

Some observations:

• I will make a point I made several weeks ago: the status of Pekka Rinne was uncertain entering this season. GM David Poile made a decision not to go with an experienced back up, instead going with AHL netminder Carter Hutton. This strategy would have worked if Rinne could have played 65-70 games. We all know that didn't happen, and now with back ups like Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas off the market, the Predators are left with two AHL caliber netminders. While both Hutton and Marek Mazanec have played well in brief stretches, the fact is that they are no ready to carry a full NHL workload. This has been reflected in their erratic play. This is a strategic gamble taken by Poile that has backfired, and it is costing the team.

• The lack of elite forwards obviously hurts the Predators in scoring, but the inability of the forwards to carry the puck into the offensive zone is killing this team. Playing a dump and chase game is predicated on winning the chase and this team is not doing that. Is it effort or lack of talent? A combination of both. The Predators cannot make a clean entry into the offensive zone with this group of forwards, and too often, they lose puck battles and cannot retrieve the puck. The effort expended just to get into the offensive zone limits the production of the forwards. Tonight, the Bruins forced the Predators to work extremely hard just to get into the zone and more often than not were able to quickly clear the zone, forcing the Predators to chase down the puck and try to establish a zone presence.

• As constructed, the potential of this team to change their fortunes is virtually non-existent. The ability to control the puck in the offensive zone is limited, and the number of consistent scoring threats on this team is scarce.

• That said, I do like the effort of Craig Smith. He notched two goals tonight and has been playing some good hockey. Smith has the skill set to be elite, but he needs to be consistent.

• How do we keep taking too many men on the ice penalties? This lead to a Boston power play goal tonight, and I find it incredible that at this stage of the season we are still making these mental errors.

The Predators are an average hockey team playing bad hockey.

This is a formula for a losing streak.

The Predators are proving that formula.

My three stars:

1. Carl Soderberg

2. Craig Smith

3. Reilly Smith

Predators Scrap Out An OT Win Over the Stars

The Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars met at the Bridgestone Arena, and if this is a preview of the conference rivalry these two teams will have after re-alignment, the intensity will be off the charts.

The Predators won a wild affair in overtime by a 5-4 margin.

The game featured several fights, chipiness, and overall animosity between the two teams.

Pekka Rinne was in net for the Predators, and 3 of the 4 goals scored by the Stars were goals where Rinne didn't get much help.

Christopher Nilstorp was in net for the Stars, and he had a rough night as well.

The Predators opened the scoring at 14:43 of the first period as Sergei Kostitsyn dug a puck out of the corner a got the puck to Rich Clune. Clune got the puck and quickly got the puck out of the opposite corner to Craig Smith, who was cruising down the slot. Smith re-directed the puck the puck past Nilstorp to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

Neither team tallied again, and the Predators held a 8-6 shot advantage in a period that saw both teams probing the defense and trying to establish their offense.

That would change in a wild second period that saw numerous penalties handed out against both teams. The Stars tied the game a 1 at 1:20 of the second period as David Legwand lost coverage and Matt Fraser was left alone in the face off circle. His shot went past a screened Rinne and gave momentum back to the Stars.

Just 15 seconds later, the Stars took a 2-1 lead as Reilly Smith abused Scott Hannan to get free in front of the net and was able to chip the puck over the pad of Rinne at 1:35 of the second.

Roman Josi would tie the game at 2 at 3:10 of the period as his blast from the blue line beat Nilstorp through traffic.

With Marty Erat in the box for holding, Mike Fisher took a double minor for high sticking on the penalty kill. The Predators got Erat out of the box, but with 2:08 left on Fisher's penalty, Vernon Fiddler beat Rinne cleanly with a slap shot from just inside the face off circle to make it 3-2 Stars at 7:29 of the second.

With the Stars still on the power play, Loui Eriksson beat Rinne at 9:21 of the second to make it 4-2.

The game was quickly getting out of hand for the Predators, but they got a 5 on 3 power play as Eric Nystrom fought Brandon Yip and was also called for unsportsmanlike conduct at 11:45. Vernon Fiddler got a double minor for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct at 12:24. The Predators made the Stars pay as Patric Hornqvist got his second goal of the year, corralling the puck at the side of the crease and flipping it over the shoulder of Nilstorp to make it 4-3 at 13:43 of the second period.

Shea Weber was cut with a high stick, however, the officials deemed it was from the stick of one of his teammates. That was questionable, but the fact was that it angered Weber, and he went into beast mode and delivered some booming checks that seemed to energize the Predators.

Dallas out shot the Predators 13-10 in the second period.

In the third period, Mike Fisher took the puck on a rush and split two Stars defenders and beat Nilstorp with a backhand at 8:33 to tie the game at 4.

There was no more scoring in the period, but the Predators choked off the Stars offensive attack and peppered Nilstorp with shots. The Predators had 12 shots on net in the third period to 5 for the Stars.

The overtime lasted all of 28 seconds as Roman Josi wired a shot from the blue line over the shoulder of Nilstorp to give the Predators a much needed win.

Some observations:

• Roman Josi is quickly growing into a very solid blueliner. This was his first multi-point game, and he has shown adroitness in handling the puck as well as making good decisions. It bodes well for the Predators that he is beginning to score. My prediction: Josi will quickly make Predators fans forget about the departed duplicitous Ryan Suter.

• As good as Josi was tonight, Scott Hannan had a miserable game. Hannan was beaten badly by Reilly Smith for a goal, and he didn't look as confident or solid as he has in past games. This may have been due to playing with a new defense partner- Ryan Ellis, but for whatever reason, it was not his best effort.

• Good to see Fisher get on the score sheet, and he was scrapping and feisty. The Predators have to have this kind of effort and production from Fisher.

• Marty Erat had an assist, but his offensive effort has been non-existent in recent games. Marty did not register a shot on goal and has not been an offensive threat for a while. The Predators have to have production, creativity, and shots from Erat. Right now, this is not happening.

This was a much needed win for the Predators before they head out for a West coast road swing. Scoring five goals should- hopefully- give the boys some confidence.

They will need it.

The road will not be easy.

My three stars:

1. Roman Josi

2. Michael Ryder

3.Patric Hornqvist