Predators Fall to the Panthers In A Shoot Out

The Nashville Predators continued with their three game road trip, making a stop in Sunrise to do battle with the Panthers. The Predators were looking to continue to amass points as they scramble to get back into the playoff race.

For the Predators, a good start and a full 60 minute game were critical.

The good start came courtesy of Craig Smith. Smith pounced on a loose puck at the top of the crease after a Nick Spaling shot and got the puck through traffic and between the pads of Panthers netminder Tim Thomas at 6:32 of the first period.

This was Smith's 12th goal of the season.

The Panthers tied the game at 11:03 of the first as Alexander Barkov took a shot that Predators goaltender Marek Mazanec got under his pads but did not have secured. Brad Boyes drove in and tapped the puck out from under Mazanec's pads and into the net to knot the game at 1.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead as Mattias Ekholm attempted to carry the puck behind the Predators net. The puck bounced off Ekholm and then Marcel Goc right to Tomas Kopecky in front of the net. Kopecky had an easy tap in over the shoulder of Mazanec at 17:56.

The period ended with the Panthers holding the lead and shots even at 10.

The second period saw the Predators get shots but few quality scoring chances. That changed late in the period as Patric Hornqvist worked to keep the puck in the zone by battling on the boards. he got the puck to Colin Wilson who drove the net and slipped a drop pass through his legs to Mike Fisher. Fisher used the defense as a screen and buried a shot to the far side post at 16:32.

The Predators, as they have been prone to do too many times this season, allowed the Panthers to score quickly after their goal. Just 57 seconds later, Sean Bergenheim fanned on a shot at the side of the net. Alexander Barkov tapped the loose puck back to Bergenheim and he didn't miss on his second shot, beating Mazanec stick side for a 3-2 Panthers lead at 17:29. On the scoring play, the defensive coverage broke down and allowed the Panthers forwards too much room to maneuver uncontested in front of the net.

The second period ended with the Predators trailing 3-2, They had 12 shots on goal to 7 for the Panthers.

The Predators needed a strong push in the third period to get back in this game. That didn't happen as former Predator Marcel Goc victimized his old team with a goal just 1:34 into the period to make it 4-2 for the Panthers. Seth Jones turned the puck over to Jonathan Huberdeau  behind the net and he found Goc alone in front for the score.

Defensive lapses had cost the Predators critical goals in this game, and the offense appeared unable to solve Thomas for a score. Not a combination for winning this game.

The Predators cut the deficit to one as roman Josi carried the puck deep and around the net. he found Seth Jones pinching down from the point and he hit Jones with the pass. Jones one timed the puck past Thomas at 14:52.

With Mazanec off for the extra attacker, Shea Weber took a shot that caromed off the bodies in front. Paul Gaustad gathered in the puck and slammed home the tying goal with 47 seconds left.

Improbably, the Predators, who had played a sloppy game defensively, had battled back to earn a point.

Neither team could score in the OT. The Predators had the best chances, launching 4 shots on goal while the Panthers had 1.

The shoot out went to 6 rounds. David Legwand scored for the Predators, while Craig Smith, Matt Hendricks, Colin Wilson, Patric Hornqvist, and Gabriel Bourque were stopped by Thomas.

Mazanec stopped Barkov,  Boyes, Nick Bjugstad, and Dimitri Kulikov. Jonathan Huberdeau scored in the second round and Tomas Kopecky won it in the 6th round.

Some observations:

• This is a game the Predators have to win if they are going to get back into the playoff hunt. The defensive lapses that cost the Predators this game was a bit of bad luck and momentary lapses of focus.

• The compete level in the third in the offensive zone was good. It is encouraging to seeing the team battle back and at least get the tie.

• I can't fault Mazanec on the goals that he gave up. The defense broke down in front of him and hung him out to dry.

• I like the compete level and the offensive presence of Craig Smith. He is showing the offensive skills that make him the most dangerous player for the Predators.

• Viktor Stalberg was relegated to the 4th line. Frankly, this makes no sense to me. He had shown good jump offensively and has been responsible in all zones. In my opinion, this is a waste of his talent and what he can bring to the team. He had 13:02 TOI tonight.

This was a squandered opportunity by the Predators for the two points. Kudos for fighting back to get at least one.

At this point of the season, the Predators cannot afford to give away points.

My three stars:

1. Tomas Kopecky

2. Mike Fisher

3. Shea Weber

Impotent Predators Fall to Blackhawks 3-0

The Chicago Blackhawks evened their season series with the Predators at three apiece with a 3-0 shutout at the Bridgestone Arena.Tomas Kopecky, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Sharp (empty netter) scored for the Hawks. No one showed up for the Predators on offense.

The shot totals for this game showed that the Predators outshot the Blackhawks by a 31-25 margin, but the Predators rarely made Corey Crawford work hard for a save. Yes, there was some desperation in the waning minutes of the contest, and Crawford had to make some key saves late. The fact remains that for the most, the Predators shot the puck right into the chest of Crawford and generated rare traffic in front of the net.

Pekka Rinne made some outstanding saves for the Predators, and without his effort, the score would have been much worse.

I feel badly for Pekka. He is an outstanding netminder that is getting absolutely zero offensive support in the last couple of games.

The Predators have fallen from 4th in the Western Conference to 8th, and run the risk of playing themselves out of the playoffs. The troubling aspect of the Predators play of late has been the impotent offensive effort. The offense has not challenged in the last two games- both shutout losses- and has struggled over their last 8 games, tallying a meager 12 goals over that span.

Here are the damning totals for the game tonight: Erat 3 SOG; Legwand 2 SOG; Fisher 2 SOG; Wilson 1 SOG; Dumont 1 SOG; Spaling 1 SOG; Sullivan, Tootoo, Kostitsyn, Spaling- all 0 SOG. The top line for the Predators mustered only five shots on goal.

This team is successful when they shoot the puck, crash the net, and score dirty goals. Inexplicably, the Predators have stopped doing that. This team has developed a mentality of pass first and shoot only when you have to, and boys, this is a formula for an early tee time in April.

This is a team that has currently lost its identity. There is not an edge to their play; the grit is gone. They have gotten away from shooting the puck and generating traffic. Yes, I know they outshot the Hawks, but they did not put pressure on the net. Traffic in front of these shots and in front of Crawford was virtually non-existent, and Crawford was given a clean look at the puck most of the night. With the offensive make up of this team, this type of play will not yield success.

So what to do?

In my view, this team has to shoot the puck. Stop passing up shots. More importantly, they have to crash the net and generate the traffic in front of an opposing goaltender. Make his life miserable. right now, they have it easy when they play the Predators.

Perhaps more importantly, this team had better develop a sense of urgency. They are risking missing the playoffs with this kind of play.

This is the playoffs right now guys.

And the question that all your fans are asking is "How badly do you want it?"

Frankly, I don't know the answer to that question.

I do know that you have the next few games to answer that question.

My three stars:

1. Tomas Kopecky

2. Patrick Kane

3. Corey Crawford

Predators Burn the Blackhawks in a Shootout 3-2

For two periods, the Nashville Predators were outplayed by the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves in a 2-0 hole going into the third period. Fortunately for the Predators, the hockey game lasted three periods, and tonight went to overtime and a shootout before the Predators prevailed to win 3-2.

With this win, the Predators have won three of four games this season against the Blackhawks and 7 of their last 8 games.

The first period saw both teams skate well and generate some scoring chances. Both Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne and Chicago's Corey Crawford were solid in the net and thwarted scoring opportunities.

Chicago would draw first blood after Patric Hornqvist was called for a weak boarding call against Jack Skille. Skille was at least five feet from the boards when he was cleanly checked by Hornqvist, but the refs deemed it to be a boarding infraction. On the ensuing power play, Tomas Kopecky walked in from deep in the zone and lifted a puck over the shoulder of Rinne at 14:59 to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.

Something happened to the Predators during intermission, and it was not good. After being outshot 9-7 in an uptempo first period, the Predators were absolutely dominated in the second period.Chicago controlled the puck for much of the period and the Predators had no offensive flow. This was evidenced by the 14-5 shot advantage that the Hawks owned in the second. Without a strong effort from Rinne, the score could have easily gotten out of hand.

The Blackhawks would add to their advantage in the second as Viktor Stalberg would bank a puck off the back of Rinne to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead at 4:29 of the period. Rinne slid to the post but left a gap between his shoulder and the post. Stalberg threw a bad angle shot that hit Rinne in the shoulder and caromed into the net.

The remainder of the period was spent watching the Predators turn the puck over and ineptly try to skate through the neutral zone. This was a frustrating period of hockey to watch and was as poor of a period of hockey that the Predators have played in a long time.

One can only imagine the blistering the Predators took in the locker room from Head Coach Barry Trotz.

In the third period, the Predators were looking for any spark, anything that would ignite the team and get them going. Something that would show they had some fire.

That first spark would come from Cody Franson as he went deep in the zone on an offensive rush. Franson was met by a Chicago forward who was immediately slapped to the ice by Franson. Maybe this team did have some fight in them.

The spark would fan into a flame as Nick Spaling dug a puck out from behind the Hawks net and sent a nice backhand pass to Jerred Smithson, who was cruising down the slot. Smithson snapped a wrist shot that beat Crawford high glove side. 2-1 Hawks, but now the Predators had some life.

The flame would become an inferno at the 12:00 minute mark. A television timeout would usher in the standing ovation from the crowd that would last the duration of the stoppage in play. Hawks fans can cheer through the anthem, but Predator fans cheer the loudest when it matters most, when their team needs them.

The energy of the crowd flowed to the Predators on the ice. The Preds won an offensive zone face off. Joel Ward tapped the puck to Ryan Suter, who then slid the puck to Shea Weber at the high point. Weber unleashed a slapshot that Crawford never saw until it was in the back of the net, and improbable as it seemed, the Predators had tied the game at 12:20 of the third period.

Neither team could find the twine during the remainder of regulation, and we were heading to overtime tied at 2.

The game was tied because the Predators decided to play Predator hockey in the third period. The Predators forecheck finally started working and created turnovers throughout the period. The defense stymied the Hawks potent offense and controlled the neutral zone. For the period, the Predators outshot the Blackhawks 13-5.

The overtime period was scoreless, but not for lack of effort. Chicago's Patrick Sharp had a glorious scoring opportunity on a breakaway, but was shut down by Rinne. The Hawks had a 3-1 shot advantage in the overtime session.

Going into the shootout, the Predators elected to have Chicago shoot first, and we have seen this story before. Rinne was outstanding, blanking Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp. Marcel Goc, the first shooter for the Predators, shot a puck that went through Crawford and into the net for the only goal of the shootout.

There was a fungus of Chicago fans in the arena, as many had journeyed to Nashville for a big high school hockey tournament. It was certainly good to see them leaving the arena with sad faces.

In the Florida game, the Predators were out skated throughout the contest and suffered a loss as a result. Tonight, the Predators were on the verge of losing their second in a row after a horrid second period when they were beaten in all facets of the game.

Without a solid third period, the Predators would have suffered their second defeat. The second period of tonight's contest is vivid demonstration of the fact that this team has to skate hard and do the little things to be successful. They did not, and it almost cost them.

It doesn't get any easier for the Predators as they embark on a six game road trip, starting tomorrow night against these same Blackhawks.

Take the lesson learned from this awful period of hockey tonight and learn from it. Do the little things, skate hard, and you will enjoy a good road trip.

And burn a few teams along the way.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Jerred Smithson

3. Joel Ward