Predators Shoot Down the Capitals In a Shoot Out

Our elected leaders in Washington are a pretty dysfunctional bunch.

The hockey team in Washington is pretty dang good.

The Capitals brought their high octane offense to Smashville to face the Predators, who were struggling to get above .500, and the Predators managed to find enough offense to outlast the Capital in a shootout to win 4-3.

Patric Hornqvist scored two goals for the Predators, His effort was matched by Troy Brouwer of the Capitals, as he scored twice as well.

Hornqvist tallied his first goal by driving the net and chipping a rebound over the pad of Jaroslav Halak to tie the game at 1.

Hornqvist gave the Predators a 2-1 lead as he carried the puck into the offensive zone, drove the net, and roofed a backhand under the crossbar.

After Brouwer tied the game with a power play goal in the second period, Shea Weber beat Halak with a rocket from just outside the face off circle to make it 3-2 at 8:23 of the third period.

With Washington again on the power play, Nicklas Backstrom snapped a shot past Carter Hutton to tie the game at 3 at 12:20 of the third.

The remainder of the period was scoreless, as was the overtime.

In the shootout, Craig Smith was the lone goal scorer. Hutton stopped Evgeny Kuznetsov, Mikhail Grabovski, and Backstrom to secure the win for the Predators.

Some observations:

• The Predators shootout win was only their second win of the season in the skills competition. They are now 2-8 in shootouts.

• Hutton stopped 23 of 26 shots and all three shooters in the shootout. Hutton is now 10-5-2 in 2014.

• Mark Van Guilder made his NHL debut for the Predators. The 30 year old rookie was called into action with injuries to Nick Spaling and Paul Gaustad.

• Patric Hornqvist played an excellent game tonight. His energy helped propel the Predators to the win, and his first goal of the night was a typical Hornqvist play, driving the net and capitalizing (pardon the pun) on a rebound. His second goal was a thing of beauty, carrying the puck on the breakaway and lifting the shot under the crossbar. His two goal tonight give him 101 goals for his career. He now has 10 points (5G-5A) in his last 9 games.

• Rich Clune destroyed the Capitals Patrick Wey in a first period fight, and that seemed to energize the Predators. Wey did not return to the game after the scrap.

• Weber's goal gives him 21 for the season, tops among NHL defensemen. He also lead the Predators in TOI, with 27:47.

• The Capitals have the best power play in the NHL, and they showed it tonight, going 2-4. The Predators did not have a power play in the game.

This was a scrappy win by the Predators against a more talented team, a win that showed this team refused to quit under the pressure the Caps brought.

This is the kind of effort that this team needs to end the season on a positive note.

My three stars:

1. Patric Hornqvist

2. Shea Weber

3. Troy Brouwer

Stars Stomp the Predators 7-3

The Dallas Stars are a hungry team, fighting for a playoff spot.

The Nashville Predators are a team that is playing out the string, waiting for a long offseason.

Both teams played their part in their contest at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The Predators were absolutely embarrassed by the Stars 7-3 in a game where the Predators defense was a sieve and Pekka Rinne had a miserable night.

The Stars jumped on the Predators early, establishing a two goal lead in the first period on goals by Ryan Garbutt and Vernon Fiddler.

The Predators tried to answer early in the second period on a goal by Patric Hornqvist. They added to that tally as Michel Del Zotto scored from the blue line.

Unfortunately, the Predators gave up three more goals in the second period as Colton Sceviour, Alex Chiasson, and Trevor Daley tallied for the Stars.

Eric Nystrom made it 5-3 shortly after the third period started. The Stars then scored two goals 9 seconds apart as Valeri Nichuskin and Cody Eakin abused the Predators defense.

Mercifully, the clock ran out before the Stars could abuse the Predators any further.

Some observations:

• Hard to find anything positive about this game, but I did like the hustle and fire of Patric Hornqvist. he competed and battled all game, one of the few Predators that did in this contest.

• Calle Jarnkrok picked up an assist, his fifth point in five games.

• Rinne was under a lot of pressure all game long, but he looked bad on several of the Stars goals. Yes, the Stars got some goals off deflections on which Rinne had no chance, but there were several goals that were stoppable and Rinne did not make the save. For this team to have a chance to win a game, he has to be on top of his game, and he certainly was not tonight.

• The Predators defense was non-existent tonight, often looking like Keystone Cops running around on the ice. Hard to figure out the reason for the consistent breakdowns.

This is the first game in a while where the Predators appeared to have little heart and push back.

Hopefully, this will the last time they look this way.

My three stars:

1. Alex Goligoski

2. Ryan Garbutt

3. Colton Sceviour

My View

Random ruminations from your resident curmudgeon...

With the April 15th filing deadline approaching, many of us turn our attention to filing our tax return and, for some, paying a tax bill.

Americans will spend more than 7 billion hours gathering information and preparing tax returns this year, according to the National Taxpayers Union. And this year it is estimated that taxpayers will hand over more than $4 TRILLION in local, state, and federal taxes.

On average, taxpayers will surrender nearly 30% of what they make to pay taxes.

And yet our nation is drowning in debt and Washington is demanding more of our money to pay for their profligate spending and questionable decisions.

And our convoluted tax system allows Washington to play "gotcha" with law abiding taxpayers that make a mistake when attempting to comply with the monstrosity of the tax code as well as hide taxes and fees that we pay..

Consider that the U.S. tax code is now 3.8 million words long. For comparison, the entire works of Shakespeare is about 900,000 words. 75 years ago, the instructions for the basic form 1040 were two pages long. Today, they are 189 pages.

The IRS has 1,999 different forms, instruction sheets and publications that taxpayers can download from their website

When the income tax was first implemented in 1913, the rate was 1% and the top marginal rate was 7%. Now the lowest rate is 15% and the top marginal rate is 55%. And according to the Tax Foundation, Americans have to now work until April 17th to pay all their taxes at all levels- the so called "tax freedom" day.

The current mutation of the tax code allows Washington to punish those that are out of political favor (See: IRS vs. Tea Party) and to use it as a tool for social planning. Remember the "marriage tax" that existed for years, a higher tax on married couples than on those who co-habituated?

The complexity of the code ensnares taxpayers that make innocent mistakes and is punitive in its response.

Okay, we all know these facts. And we can all vent until we are blue in the face.

But here is what we need to keep in mind:

Our elected leaders continue to spend beyond the means and resources of the country and the tax paying populace. In fact, there is NO fiscal discipline in Washington. We have come to expect that from liberals and Democrats, but frankly, the "conservatives" and Republicans have gotten just as bad about spending.

And until that changes, until WE make it change, Washington will continue to overspend and waste our money.

Know this, it is fun and politically expedient for those in Washington to spend our money. And it certainly isn't painful for them to spend our money.

So we need to make it painful. We need people in Washington that have some fiscal common sense, that have some spending discipline, and that have our interests at heart.

We don't have that now.

Because we let it happen.

So we as voters and taxpayers need to reverse course and demand that fiscal accountability from our elected leaders.

Or we work to remove them from office.

If we don't, we as taxpayers will be the ones that continue to bear the brunt and the pain of our current course.

And that, my friends, is my view.

Predators Blast Buffalo 6-1

The Nashville Predators needed a home win. Dropping 6 straight home games had sapped the energy of the home crowd not to mention the team.

The Buffalo Sabres were just what the doctor ordered.

The Predators pounded the Sabres 6-1 in front of a happy home crowd at Bridgestone Arena.

There was scoring early and often, and Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok participated in the scoring deluge as both of the young forwards tallied their first NHL goals. They were joined in the scoring fest by Colin Wilson (YEAH!), Eric Nystrom, and Shea Weber with two markers.

Matt Hackett was in net for the visitors and was under siege, giving up 4 first period goals. He would give way in the second period to Nathan Lieuwen.

Carter Hutton was rarely challenged and gave up one goal to Rasmus Ristolainen in the second period.

Sissons opened the scoring by banging home a rebound under the crossbar at 6:26 of the first period. Colin Wilson scored from the slot at 11:44 of the first. Just 9 seconds later, Jarnkrok snapped a shot from the slot past Hackett. Weber finished the scoring in the first period with a bomb from the blue line with the Predators on a 5 on 3 power play at 19:17.

After Ristolainen scored a 2:06 of the second, Weber notched his 20th goal of the season at 6:18 to make it 5-1.

Eric Nystrom finished the scoring, taking a pass from Rich Clune a firing a shot from the slot at 19:20 of the third period.

Some observations:

• Good to see Colin Wilson finally tally a goal. it has been 33 games since Wilson last scored. I like his jump and tonight he skated hard and handled the puck well, creating some quality opportunities in the offensive zone. It was good to him finally break the longest goalless drought of his career.

• Congratulations to Jarnkrok and Sissons on their goals. They were rewarded for their hard work with the scores. Sissons scored by going hard to the net and jarnkrok worked his way to an open spot to capitalize on his scoring opportunity. Both of these young players have been logging some quality minutes and have been productive with their ice time.

• How critical is it for the Predators to score first? After tonight's game, the Predators are 24-3-6 when they score first.

• This was the first time this season that the Predators have scored 4 goals in a period.

• All 12 forwards picked up a point in tonight's game.

• Weber is now tied with Ottawa's Eric Karlsson for the lead in goals by defensemen. This is the second time in Weber's career that he has hit 20 goals in a season (2008-09).

• Eric Nystrom picked up two points tonight (1G-1A) to give him 20 points for the season. That is one shy of his career high of 21 points in the 2011-12 season with Dallas.
• Seth Jones missed his third game with an upper body injury.

This was a fun game for the team and for the fans. make no mistake, the Sabres are struggling, but the Predators did what they had to do to win this game.

No, they exploded and exploited a weak Sabres squad.

Now they need to bring this kind of effort in their remaining games.

My three stars:

1. Shea Weber

2. Colton Sissons

3. Calle Jarnkrok

Predators Blow Three Leads, Fall to the Avalanche in a SO

The Nashville Predators had every chance to get their first win of the season against the Colorado Avalanche. All they had to do was hold a lead.

Yeah...about that "holding the lead" thing.

The Predators blew three leads in this game on their way to a disappointing shoot out loss to the Avs. The Predators dropped the shootout 2-1 to fall to the Avalanche 5-4 at Bridgestone Arena.

Roman Josi showed why he is quickly emerging as an very good defenseman. Josi scored the first two goals of the game, launching shots from the blue line that beat Semyon Varlamov with traffic in front. Josi's goals came at 3:33 and 9:49 of the first period.

The Predators allowed the Avalanche to close within one goal with just 54 seconds left in the period as Gabriel Landeskog skated uncontested into the high slot and beat Pekka Rinne to make it 2-1.

The Predators outplayed the Avs in the first period, out shooting them 13-3 and generating some great scoring chances down low. Landeskog's goal had the potential to swing momentum back to the Avs, though, and it was going to be critical that the Predators bring that same effort in the second period.

Instead, Landeskog struck again, tying the game at 2 with his second goal at 8:41 of the second period. Landeskog was once again able to skate into the high slot and was not challenged by the Predators, and he beat Rinne with a wrist shot.

The Predators regained the lead at 14:43 of the second as Matt Cullen scored with a wrist shot under the crossbar from in close.

Cody McLeod out worked the Predators defense and gathered in a rebound and beat Rinne to tie the game at 3 at 14:43 of the third period.

The Predators once again took the lead as Matt Cullen re-directed a pass from Patric Hornqvist past Varlamov at 15:17.

And once again, the Predators gave up the lead as Nick Holden blew past Colin Wilson and beat Rinne to tie the game at 4 at 16:01 of the third.

After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout. Calle Jarnkrok scored for the Predators while Ryan O'Reilly scored and then Landeskog netted the game winner.

Some observations:

• The Predators fell to 1-8 in shootouts this season.

• Josi now has 11 goals on the season, and has 18 points (7G-11A) in his last 25 games. Josi now joins a group of only 16 defensemen with double digits in goals. The Predators are one of three teams (Boston, Pittsburgh) with more than one defenseman with double digits in goals. Josi's partner Shea Weber has 18 goals.

• I really, REALLY like the play of Jarnkrok. He picked up an assist for his third point in three NHL games and scored the Predators only goal in the shootout with a sweet move. Jarnkrok skates well and is poised on the ice and gets himself into good scoring position.

• Gabriel Bourque has points in three straight games. Mike Fisher also has a three game point streak.

• Matt Cullen had his first multi-goal game as a Predator and has 6 points in his last three games (3G-3A).

• The defensive gaffes by the Predators wound up in the back of their net. Leaving Landeskog alone twice in prime scoring territory bit the Predators and is really inexcusable. Perhaps the most egregious mistake of all was Colin Wilson allowing Nick Holden to skate right past him for the game tying goal. On the night, Wilson was -2; Eric Nystrom was -2; Nick Spaling was -3; Victor Bartley was -2; and Mattias Ekholm and Michael Del Zotto were -1.

• Seth Jones missed his first game of the season after leaving the previous game against Chicago in the first period.

• For a team that prides itself for playing tight defense, the inability to hold a lead this season has been troubling. Especially giving up a goal quickly after scoring themselves has bitten the Predators in the butt. Whether it is a lack of focus or talent, this has cost the Predators in too many games this season.

This is a game that the Predators should have won.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

This game encapsulates the entire Predators season: on the cusp of doing something good and giving it away in a frustrating loss.

My three stars:

1. Gabriel Landeskog

2. Roman Josi

3. Matt Cullen

Rinne Leads the Predators to 2-0 Win Over the Blackhawks

The last time the Nashville Predators played the Chicago Blackhawks, it took them about a half period to get their legs going and to make a game of it.

In tonight's contest at the United Center, it took the Predators a bit longer, but once they did, it was good enough to jump out to another lead against the talented Hawks.

Mike Fisher re-directed a shoot from Ryan Ellis past Corey Crawford at 18:38 of the first period to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

Pekka Rinne stopped 11 shots in the first period and had to be sharp to thwart some quality scoring chances by the Blackhawks.

The Predators extended their lead to 2-0 in the second period when Gabriel Bourque used his speed down the wing to get open. Bourque ripped a shot over the shoulder of Crawford and inside the far post at 17:35. Calle Jarnkrok picked up his second NHL point with an assist on the goal.

Rinne stopped 9 shots in the second period and made several solid saves with traffic in front.

The Predators were going to have to withstand the push that the Blackhawks would inevitably bring in the third period if they were going to capture this win.

The Predators did a very good job of doing just that, limiting the Blackhawks to just 6 shots through 17:46 of the third period, when the Hawks pulled Crawford for the extra attacker.

Rinne stood tall and made some great saves and the defense did a good job of clearing the puck out of the zone and as improbable as it might sound, the Predators shut out the high powered Blackhawks 2-0.

Some observations:

• Patric Hornqvist was not in the line up as he returned home to welcome the birth of his first child. Daughter Isabella was welcomed into the world today and congratulations to Patric and his family.

• Filip Forsberg was called up to replace Hornqvist, and he played on the fourth line with Colton Sissons and Rich Clune. Logic of that line placement eludes me.

• The Predators lost the service of Seth Jones after the first period with an upper body injury. Jones was the recipient of a thunderous hit along the boards that up ended him onto the ice. The extent of Jones' injury is unknown.

• I really liked the play of the line of Jarnkrok, Bourrque, and Craig smith. They showed some good jump and created some good chances. Bourque in particular has raised his game over the last 4 contests and is skating hard and driving the net. This is something that the Predators have needed all season, and it good to see Bourque playing the way many thought he could.

• The Predators captured the season series with the Blackhawks with a 3-1 record.

• This was only the second time this season that the Blackhawks had been shut out.

• Rinne was superb tonight. He looked calm in net and tracked the puck well through traffic. He made some high quality saves and this game was a 180 degree turn around from his effort against Calgary. This was Rinne's first shut out of the season.

A solid effort by the Predators tonight as they skated well, got good goaltending from Rinne, and some opportunistic scoring.

Sounds like Predator hockey.

Now the boys need to finish the season playing this way.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Mike Fisher

3. Gabriel Bourque

Predators Win a Wild One Over the Flames 6-5

The Nashville Predators offense can score against the Calgary Flames.

Unfortunately, the Predators defense can't seem to stop the Flames from scoring.

The Predators played a wild affair with the Flames at the ScotiaBank Saddledome that saw both teams light up the scoreboard and pull their starting goalies in a game that the Predators eventually won 6-5.

The Predators opened the game with good jump and skating well. That effort gave them a two goal lead as they tallied two goals just 49 seconds apart. Victor Bartley opened the scoring with a drive from outside the faceoff circle that beat Flames netminder Joni Ortio.. The play was set up by the speed of Craig Smith, who beat the Calgary defense down the ice and set up Bartley with a nice pass.

Bartley's first NHL goal came at 5:10 of the first period.

Shea Weber made it 2-0 as he drove the net and took a pass from Mike Fisher and lifted the puck over the shoulder of Ortio at 5:59 of the first.

The Flames scored on the power play with 34 seconds remaining in the first period as Kris Russell beat Pekka Rinne over the glove with a shot from the face off circle.

The Predators would notch two more goals in the second period. Michael Del Zotto hit Patric Hornqvist with a perfect lead pass that he re-directed past Ortio at 4:20 of the second to give the Predators a 3-1 lead.

That lead evaporated in just 51 seconds as the Flames scored two quick goals.

Mike Cammalleri scored at 6:23 and Jiri Hudler scored at 7:14. All of a sudden, the Predators had lost control of momentum and of the game.

Viktor Stalberg gave the Predators that momentum back as well as the lead as he stuffed a puck past MacDonald on a wrap around at 8:06.

That was it for Ortio as he was pulled and Joey MacDonald came in to tend the net for the Flames

The Flames tied the game on an egregious play by Rinne as he was caught behind the net and the Flames gained possession of the puck. Lance Bouma got control of the puck and passed it to Mikael Backlund in the slot and he fired it into the open net at 13:31.

That would be it for Rinne as Carter Hutton came in net. Not the sharpest night for Rinne, especially on the play that gave the Flames the tying goal.

The Predators broke the tie on the power play as Shea Weber hammered a shot from the face off circle past MacDonald to give the Predators a 5-4 lead at 14:28 of the third period.

Now, could the Predators make the lead stand up?

The Predators made their case to do just that as Patric Hornqvist carried the puck into the zone and dropped the puck for Roman Josi. Josi took a shot toward the net that was re-directed past MacDonald by Matt Cullen to give the Predators a 6-4 lead at 17:08.

The Predators are... the Predators, however.

Mike Cammalleri took a shot from almost on the goal line that got between Hutton's pads and barely dribbled over the goal line to make it 6-5 at 17:36 of the third.

Wow. Just wow.

With the Flames goalie pulled for the extra attacker, Hutton made a huge save on Sean Monahan. The Predators managed to keep the Flames off the board and secured a wild 6-5 victory.


Some observations:

• Congratulations to Victor Bartley, who got his first NHL goal. Bartley has been a perma scratch this season but has maintained a good attitude and I think can be a solid contributor for the Predators blue line.

• Calle Jarnkrok picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Stalberg's goal. Jarnkrok looked good in his NHL debut, playing with poise and good jump. He showed some good puck handling skills and vision on the ice and has a lot of promise. He played on a line with Craig Smith and Gabriel Bourque and they looked good all night.

• Rinne had a brutal night. Those games happen, but tonight Rinne just didn't look comfortable in net.

• Shea Weber continues to have a stellar season. His two goals tonight give him 18 for the season to lead all NHL defensemen. He has played solid all season long and has to be in consideration for the Norris Trophy.

• This Predators team cannot seem to develop a killer instinct. Twice they surrendered two goal leads, and against most opponents that does not bode well. Kudos to the Predators, though, for battling back and eventually winning this game.

• Several players for the Predators had big nights. Matt Cullen had 4 points (1G-3A); Patric Hornqvist had 3 points (1G-2A); and Shea Weber had 2 points (2G). It was also good to see Viktor Stalberg get a goal. he has been working hard and is more productive off the 4th line.

This was a game the Predators did not need to lose, and congratulations to them for staying with it and capturing the win.

Hopefully the offense that showed up tonight will stick around for the rest of the season.

My three stars:

1. Matt Cullen

2. Patric Hornqvist

3. Mike Cammalleri