Johansen and Neal Carry the Predators to 4-2 Victory Over the Islanders

The Nashville Predators returned home to the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena and showed themselves to be less than gracious hosts to the New York Islanders. The Predators dispatched the Islanders 4-2 for their second win in a row and their 4th win in their last 6 games.

James Neal, Ryan Ellis, Ryan Johansen, and Austin Watson (empty netter) tallied for the Predators. Ryan Pulock notched his first NHL goal and Brock Nelson finished the scoring for the Islanders.

Neal and Johansen each had a goal and an assist.

Neal gave the Predators a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission, taking a nice feed from Calle Jarnkrok and burying a shot from the slot past Thomas Greiss.

Pulock tied the game with a shot from the blue line that Pekka Rinne never saw until it hit the back of the net to tie the game.

Ryan Ellis scored with a laser while the Predators were on the power play. Ellis deposited the shot under the crossbar with Mike Fisher in front screening Greiss.

Ryan Johansen took a lead pass from Anthony Bitetto and skated in alone on Greiss. RyJo fired a wicked wrist shot over the glove of Greiss into the top corner to make it 3-1.

Nelson was able to get a shot past Rinne, who got most of the puck but it leaked under his arm and over the goal line to make it 3-2 going into the second intermission.

The only scoring in the third was an empty net goal from Watson with just under a minute remaining.

Some observations:

• Great vision and on ice awareness from Calle Jarnkrok to set up the Predators first goal. He drew three isles defenders to him and was able to spot Neal and hit him with a perfect backhand pass. The Real Deal made no mistakes in whistling a wrist shot past Greiss.
• Neal has been on fire recently, tallying 21 (12G-9A) points in his last 28 games. He has 4 goals in his last 2 games and has recorded at least one point in 10 of his last 11 games against the Islanders (7G-9A). 
• With 2 points tonight, Neal now has 398 career points.
• The Predators took no penalties tonight.
• The Islanders took one penalty for the game, and the Predators power play converted (huge sigh of relief) on their opportunity with the man advantage.
• The Predators are 12-7-2 all time against the Islanders. They are 8-3-0 against the Isles at Bridgestone Arena.
• Both goalies made some very good saves tonight. Rinne had to scramble in the second period as the Islanders stepped up their game and brought some good pressure. I can't fault him on the Pulock goal that made its way through a maze of bodies, but the Nelson goal should have never happened. Greiss faced considerably more pressure than Rinne in the first period especially, and he made some very good saves, including a spectacular save on a Ryan Ellis backhand from the slot.
• The Predators offense never stopped coming, though. The Ellis goal was a blast just under the crossbar. Johansen's goal was a pure goal scorer's goal, over the glove and into the top corner. I like the fact that the Predators keep coming with the pressure. This is the formula for success for this team.
• The Predators did an exceptional job most of the night of disrupting the Isles breakouts. Their forecheck and pressure in the neutral zone negated the speed of the Islanders and made it difficult for their potent offense to find rhythm and space. How effective were they? They held the Islanders to 2 shots on goal in the third period, and for the game, they out shot the Islanders 32-22.
• The Predators have 1 regulation loss in their last 17 games (11-1-5).

This was a solid win against a very good team. It should give the Predators confidence that they can own the ice at home. They will need to do so if they are to have continued success.

The Predators improved to 36-22-13, good for 85 points. They are 4th in the Central and sit 3 points behind the Blackhawks for 3rd.

They will get an opportunity to close that gap tomorrow night in Washington.

My three stars:

1. Ryan Johansen

2. James Neal

3. Ryan Ellis 

Predators Blow 2 Goal Lead, Fall to the Islanders 4-3

The Nashville Predators made their first visit to the Barclays Center to take on the New York Islanders in the second game of a three game road trip.

The Predators would face the most talented team that they have encountered in this young season, and jumped out to a two goal lead before falling 4-3.

Austin Watson picked up his first goal of the season in the first period as he threw the puck into the crease from a bad angle and Marek Zidlicky knocked the puck into the net while trying to clear it.

Filip Forsberg banged a puck past Thomas Greiss from the blue paint off a nice drive to the net by James Neal early in the second period to give the Predators a 2-0 lead.

Anders Lee cut the deficit to 2-1 as he beat Pekka Rinne between the pads on a wrap around attempt. Lee's goal came just 41 seconds after the Predators had scored their second goal.

Kyle Okposo tied the game at 2 with a wrist shot on a breakaway that beat Rinne over his shoulder.

The Isles rally in the second period made this a 20 minute game. The team that wanted it more would get the win.

Nikolay Kulemin gave the Isles a 3-2 lead as he took a puck that came hot off the end boards and was able to sneak it under Rinne before he could get into position.

John Tavares scored just after the Predators had killed off a penalty to make it 4-2.

Filip Forsberg launched a shot from the blue line that was tipped over the shoulder of Greiss by James Neal to cut the deficit to 4-3. The Islanders challenged the call, saying that Greiss was interfered with but the call stood.

Despite great pressure from the Predators in the final minutes with Rinne pulled and out shooting the Islanders 47-28, the Predators dropped the game 4-3


Some observations:

• The Islanders have implemented a policy that prohibits fans (both home and visiting fans) from watching the pre-skate on the glass unless you have a ticket for lower bowl seats. Obviously, there are some growing pains with the Islanders move to their new home as this has irked many long time Isles fans, who were able to watch the warm up from the lower bowl glass regardless of where they were sitting.
• More line changes as Mike Fisher centered Filip Forsberg and James Neal. Mike Ribeiro dropped down to the second line and centered Colin Wilson and Craig Smith.
• Good to see Austin Watson get his first goal of the season. Watson has paid his dues and is getting time on the 4th line with Paul Gaustad and Eric Nystrom. Watson is a big body that has the tools but has seemed slow to adjust to the speed of the NHL. Hopefully some consistent playing time will get him settled into a productive role for the team.
• Great jump and energy by the Predators in the first period as they out shot the Islanders 17-7. The real challenge for the Predators would be to play the final 40 minutes the same way they played the first 20 minutes.
• You can't say the Predators let down in the second period. They matched their first period total of 17 shots in the second frame and created some good chances in front of Greiss. Forsberg's goal from the tough area in front of the net was his second of the season and his third point in as many games.
• Although the Predators kept pressuring the Isles net, the Islanders had the better scoring chances and it showed, as the Predators blew a 2 goal lead and gave up 4 straight goals. The Islanders amped up their effort and the pressure in the offensive zone and the Predators didn't match the intensity of the home team.
• Rinne didn't play a bad game, but he wasn't excellent either. And this Predators team has shown early in the season that they need Rinne to be excellent to win games.
• The coaches challenge of the Neal goal by Islanders Coach Jack Capuano was the first challenge that the Predators have faced this season.
• I liked the play of James Neal tonight. He went hard to the net and battled in front all night. That is the kind of play that the Predators need consistently from Neal. He had a goal and an assist tonight in a superb effort.
• How about the hustle from Filip Forsberg to prevent the empty net goal? That is a heart and character play. 
• The Islanders have defeated the Predators 4 straight games.

The Predators didn't play a bad game. In fact, this was probably the first complete game that the Predators played all season. Yet when the Islanders turned up the pressure in the second and early in the third, the Predators didn't match the effort of the talented opponent form the East.

No doubt the Islanders are a very talented team, but the Predators can't blow two goal leads. They must develop the killer instinct and lock teams down.

A learning experience.

Not fun, but a learning experience nevertheless.

My three stars:

1.John Tavares

2. James Neal

3.Anders Lee

Predators Have Some Fight Left, Defeat the Coyotes 2-0

The playoffs will not happen for the Nashville Predators this season.

That doesn't mean that their remaining games are meaningless.

The Predators defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 2-0 at Bridgestone Arena, and showed they still have a lot of fight and pride in their game. They managed to send the crowd home happy on fan appreciation night and in the process dealt a damaging blow to the Coyotes playoff chances.

A scoreless first period saw the Predators turn the puck over several times in the defensive zone and give the Coyotes several good scoring opportunities. Pekka Rinne was strong in net and kept the Coyotes off the board with his play in net.

It took the Predators 7 minutes to record their first shot on net.

Once the Predators got their skates going, they managed to limit chances by the Coyotes and get some chances of their own.

After a scoreless first period, the Predators got on the board first off a shot from Craig Smith on the power play. With the man advantage about to expire, Smith skated in from the face off circle and used the Coyote defenders to screen Thomas Greiss. Smith let a wrist shot go that Greiss never saw and beat him top shelf for the game's first goal at 10:26 of the second period.

Patric Hornqvist made it 2-0 at 9:26 of the third period as Greiss stopped Hornqvist's first shot, but he got his rebound and shoveled it past the pad of Greiss.

The Predators locked down the Coyotes in the remainder of the game with Rinne making some solid saves to preserve the shutout.

Some observations:

• Rinne recorded his second shutout of the season and his 32nd career shutout. he stopped all 29 shots he faced, and with the win moved in first place for all time wins by a Predator goalie with 162. His win tonight moved him past Tomas Vokoun, who had the record with 161 wins.

• Patric Hornqvist and Craig Smith both tallied their 21st goal of the season.

• Smith played a strong game. He skated well and fired 9 shots at the net, with 5 of them getting on goal. Smith has rebounded nicely from a dismal season last year and has shown that he can be a consistent producer and an offensive threat.

• Former Predator Marty Erat played his 800th game tonight skating for the Coyotes. he played 723 of those with the Predators.

• Patric Hornqvist now has 50 points, one shy of his career high set in the 2009-10 season. Hornqvist has 15 points in his last 9 games (8G-7A).

• Ryan Ellis led the Predators with 4 blocked shots.

• Matt Cullen picked up an assist on Hornqvist's goal and now has 13 points (3G-10A) over the last 9 games.

• Mike fisher also had an assist tonight and has 10 points 3G-7A) over the last nine games.

• Shea Weber led the Predators with 26:27 TOI.

This was a solid win for the Predators against a team that was desperate. It was heartening to see the boys compete as hard as they did when it would have been just as easy to roll over.

The playoffs aren't happening, but that doesn't mean there aren't things to be accomplished before the end of the season.

This is the kind of effort the Predators need to close out the season.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Craig Smith

3. Patric Hornqvist

Predators Blow 3 Goal Lead, Fall in SO to the Coyotes

The Nashville Predators embarked on their longest road trip in team history- 7 games in 17 days and over 6,000 miles of travel- by facing the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena.

The Predators faced a big challenge in the Coyotes, who always play the Predators tough and are playing some very good hockey right now.

Unfortunately for the Predators, a game that started so well ended in a collapse that never should have happened.

Carter Hutton was in net for the Preds, while the Coyotes had Thomas Greiss in between the pipes.

The Coyotes opened the game with a ferocious forecheck, but credit the Predators for responding to the pressure and getting their legs going.

The Predators opened the scoring at the 11:00 of the first period as Matt Hendricks came off the bench on a change and David Legwand found him behind the defense with a cross ice pass. Hendricks ripped a shot from outside the face off circle that beat Greiss to the far post for a 1-0 lead.This was Hendricks first goal as a Predator.

The Predators made it 2-0 at 14:12 of the first period as Patric Hornqvist threw a puck at the front of the net. The puck deflected off Eric Nystrom and past Greiss. This was a prototypical Predator goal as the puck was sent to the front of the net with players crashing the net. For the Predators to have success, this was the style of hockey they needed to play.

The Predators had a 5 on 3 power play for just over a minute when David Legwand scored at 18:24 to make it 3-0.

A superb first period saw the Predators out shoot the Coyotes 11-5 and capitalize on their scoring chances. Again, this was the kind of start- and response- that the Predators needed against a very good team.

The challenge would be to continue this level of play over the next 40 minutes.

The Coyotes got in the board at 17:39 of the second period as Jordan Szwarz took a harmless shot at the net that Hutton misplayed. The puck slid under his glove and into the net to make it 3-1. Certainly not the type of goal that the Predators wanted to give up and hopefully it would not be a turning point for momentum in this game.

The Coyotes made it 3-2 at 10:09 as Derek Morris walked in from the blue line a ripped a shot past Hutton. The Coyotes D corps has some prolific scorers, but the Predators made it easy for the Coyotes as the defense had rotated to one side of the ice and Morris took advantage of an open lane to notch his 4th goal of the season.

The Predators needed an answer to the Coyotes push to swing momentum back to their side.

There was no answer by the Predators, but fortunately, they were able to hold off the pressure of the Coyotes for the remainder of the period.

The Predators out shot the Coyotes 8-6 in the second period, but there were stretches where the Coyotes had a decided territorial advantage.

The third period was shaping up to be a war, and the Predators were going to have to answer the inevitable push that the Coyotes would bring.

The Predators came out skating hard and putting pressure on the Coyotes. Nick Spaling put a shot on net from the boards that Greiss kicked out onto the stick of Paul Gaustad. Gaustad banged home the rebound at 15:45 to make it 4-2 Predators.

That was a huge goal for the Predators, not only to extend the lead back to 2, but also to take some of the momentum away from the Coyotes.

That regained momentum did not last long.

The Coyotes answered right back on the power play at 13:44 as Shane Doan hammered a shot from the right circle to make it 4-3.

The Coyotes tied the game at 11;43 as Antoine Vermette broke in on a breakaway and tucked the puck through the five hole of Hutton. The breakaway occurred as the Predators were trying to get a change and left the middle of the ice open for Vermette.

Neither team could get the winning goal in regulation, and after blowing a 3 goal first period lead, the Predators were now facing overtime.

David Legwand was called for holding early in the overtime period, and the Predators were going to have to rely on their penalty killers to salvage their chances.

And they did just that.

The Predators were able to survive the OT and now the second point would be claimed in the shootout.

In the first round of the shootout, Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith were stopped. Radim Vrbata and Matt Cullen were stopped in the second round. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was stopped by Hutton and Mike Fisher hit the pipe. In the fourth round, David Rundblad and Gabriel Bourque were stopped by the netminders.

Mikael Boedker scored in the fifth round for the Coyotes and David Legwand was stoned by Greiss.

The Predators epic collapse was complete, dropping a 5-4 decision in overtime.

Some observations:

• Hutton gave up a soft first goal to the Coyotes, but was generally sound in net. The goals he gave up after the first one were solid goals that the Coyotes worked for along with some defensive breakdowns that assisted their effort.
• Mike Fisher didn't score, but played a very physical and competitive game. I liked his effort, and if he keeps up this level of play, he will find the back of the net.
• The Predators lost Matt Hendricks after a clean hit by Derek Morris in the second period. He is called out with an upper body injury.
• Viktor Stalberg was back in the line up. He showed good jump and saved a goal in the second period by sweeping a puck off the goal line. The Predators desperately need him to get his offensive game going.

This was a game that the Predators never should have lost. Yes, the Coyotes are an excellent team, but when you have a 3 goal lead, you have to lock down the other team. This game is evidence that this young team doesn't yet have a killer instinct.

They are going to have to develop one quickly.

My three stars:

1. David Legwand

2. Shane Doan

3. Keith Yandle

Predators Turn the Sharks to Sushi 6-2

Gonna be brief on this blog as I am typing with one hand and the drugs are kicking in*

The Nashville Predators defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-2 at the Bridgestone Arena to run their point total to 79 and firmly hold on to the fifth spot on the /western Conference.

Pekka Rinne won his 34th game, best in the NHL and a personal record for the stellar netminder. Rinne made some big saves in this game and carried the Predators in the third period as the Sharks outshot the Predators in the final frame by a 16-3 margin.

The Predators scored on their first two shots as Colin Wilson and Shea Weber potted goals off odd man rushes. Jordin Tootoo played a strong game, setting up the first goal by stealing the puck from Colin White and feeding the puck to a breaking Colin Wilson, who beat Antti Niemi low stick side for a 1-0 lead. Tootoo's hard work behind the net to gain control of the puck and set up Nick Spaling for a one timer from the slot capped the scoring for the Predators, making the score 6-2.

Shea Weber tallied the first of his two goals off a 3 on 2 rush. Sergei Kostitsyn made a nice pass across the slot to Weber, who roofed the puck over Niemi to make it 2-0 Predators on their first two shots of the game. Weber would later tally on a blast from the blue line while the Predators were on the power play in the second period.

The Sharks cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Patrick Marleau from the top of the blue paint at 10:58 of the first period.

The Predators showed great resilience in this game by answering each challenge to their lead by the Sharks. Kevin Klein stretched the lead back to two goals by notching his 4th goal with a shot from just inside the blue line. Klein tied his season high with this goal. Niemi had allowed 3 goals on 7 shots and was pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss.

Joe Pavelski scored just 23 seconds into the second period with a shot from just inside the face off circle to make it 3-2. Weber gave the Predators a 4-2 lead with his power play tally.

The third period was all Sharks and all Rinne. The Sharks pounded the predator net with 16 shots and were territorially dominant in the final frame. Rinne was more than up to the challenge, turning away numerous opportunities by the Sharks, many with heavy traffic in front. San Jose scored, but the goal was waved off as the Sharks interfered with Rinne. No penalty was called on the play as incidental contact with Rinne was called on the ice.

Greiss was pulled with 2:12 remaining for the extra attacker, and Marty Erat buried an empty netter to make it 5-2. Spaling tallied at 19:18 to make it 6-2, the final score.

In this game, the Predators did an exceptional job of supporting the puck, something they failed to do in their previous game. This lead to a good cycle in the offensive zone and some quality scoring chances. The breakouts through the neutral zone were crisp and allowed the Predators to gain entry into the offensive zone with speed, which gave the Sharks problems.

What can be said about the play of Rinne? He absolutely carried the team on his back in the third period. The Predators spent much of the period hemmed in their own zone, and the Sharks were sending pucks and players to the net. Rinne was stellar, tracking the puck through traffic and making numerous big saves. His play continues to be amazing, and you can see teams getting frustrated as they realize they cannot beat the athletic netminder. Thanks, Pekka, for an outstanding effort tonight.

The Predators continue to get balanced scoring and solid defense and netminding. This is a winning formula, and they have to continue this level of play to keep pace with the competitive Central Division.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Shea Weber

3. Jordin Tootoo

* shoulder surgery yesterday has limited the use of one arm