History has not been too kind to the Preds when it comes to games in Dallas. Tonight, the Preds put the history behind them as they opened their season with a 3-2 shootout win. A night of ups and downs by both teams that saw both teams get a point, and Razor purchasing a lot of tickets for an upcoming game.
Felder’s FANTASTIC Five:
1. Arnott Leads the Way - Big night for the Captain. He really led the way and set the example for his team tonight. From scoring early on the PP to being physical when needed, Arnott's overall game was pretty impressive. Head to my 3 Stars selections to see his stats.
2. Being Physical - It may not have shown up through the TV screen, but the Preds were delivering the hits tonight. 35 total hits with newly signed Francis Bouillon leading the team with 7 total hits. Also, Ben Guite and Jerred Smithson posted up 5 hits apiece and Weber had 4 as well. I'm big on delivering the physical play if you can't get the shots on goal so tonight I was pretty pleased to see the Preds dishing out the hits when the offense was lacking.
3. Sacrificing the Body - 15 total blocked shots is nothing to sneeze at. Giving up 79 total shots isn't either, but at least the Preds D was willing to sacrifice the body to help out Dan Ellis. Kevin Klein put up 3 blocked shots to lead the team . Dan Hamhuis, Shea Weber, and David Legwand each blocked a pair as well.
4. A Surprising Shootout Result - I will admit I was pretty uneasy going into the shootout considering some of the Preds traditional shooters moved on this offseason. The surprising results came from some pretty goals by Legwand and Santorelli. Ellis made the necessary saves and after 5 rounds the Preds prevailed. I was pleased with what I saw considering some of the shooters were taking their 1st NHL shootout attempts ever.
5. Solid Goaltending - Despite the bad clearing that resulted in a goal, I thought Ellis played well considering the sheer volume of pucks thrown at the Nashville net. While some may have preferred to see Pekka Rinne in net, Ellis proved that he should continue to be in the starting conversation.
Other Notes:
* Tonight’s healthy scratch was Jordin Tootoo. On injured reserve are Joel Ward and Colin Wilson.
* 1ST PERIOD
* POWER PLAY GOAL for NASHVILLE - 18:12 to go. The captain Jason Arnott starts the season off right with a goal on the man advantage. Arnott worked along the boards behind Marty Turco and after gaining separation drives to the net for a wraparound. The puck is stopped by Turco but Arnott kept hammering at the rebound and the puck squeaked through for the tally. Arnott from J.P. Dumont. Preds take an early 1-0 lead.
* 6:49 to go. Dan Ellis makes a couple of big saves as Dallas mounts some good offensive pressure. So far, the Preds D had done well to limit quality scoring chances.
* 5:46 to go. The Preds have to face down 55 seconds of a Dallas 5 on 3. Suter was in the box for cross checking. Then the Preds got tabbed for too many men on the ice halfway through the penalty. Mental mistake there but it's still early in the season.
* END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 1 DAL: 0.Positives - A goal on the man advantage to start the night off right. 55% winning percentage in the faceoffs. 6 blocked shots. Ellis playing really well, stopping all 14 Dallas shots so far. PK looked good as well with a couple of big kills. Negatives - A bad penalty with the too many men on the ice minor. Giving up a few too many shots to be comfortable and the traffic in front of Ellis could be bothersome down the road.
* 2ND PERIOD
* 17:17 to go. J.P. Dumont is down on the ice after getting checked into the boards by Stephane Robidas. A bit of a questionable hit as Robidas led with his right elbow and even left one of his skates. Not a clean hit, but not necessarily a dirty one either. Questionable hit and we'll leave it at that.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 15:13 to go. Great traffic at the net as Jason Arnott barrels in and fires off a low shot at Turco. The rebound comes out and Sullivan reaches behind himself and gives it a soft backhand. Turco was sliding to his left to adjust for what he thought would be a wrister from Sully put Marty lost the puck and failed to realize the puck hadn't gone very far. Somehow, the puck trickles in 5-hole on Turco as he made the slide to the other post. Sullivan from Arnott and Patric Hornqvist.
* GOAL for DALLAS - 9.3 to go. Fabian Brunnstrom glides into the zone and gets Hamhuis sucked into the boards. Brunnstrom faked a run along the boards and then fired off a low shot as he crossed into the slot. A rebound pops out after Ellis makes a leg pad save. Sullivan cleared his man from the slot but Francis Bouillon didn't quite tie up James Neal. Neal makes a really great shot as he is falling and places the puck just above a sprawling Ellis. Really nice goal considering Bouillon was taking Neal down. Neal from Brunnstrom and Richards. Dallas cuts the Nashville lead to 2-1.
* END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: 2 DAL: 1.Positives - Kept the shots down to just 8 by Dallas that period. No penalties that period. Negatives - The traffic in front and rebound control was lacking that period. Dallas is starting to muscle the Preds around.
* 3RD PERIOD
* POWER PLAY GOAL for DALLAS - 15:55 to go. Dan Ellis gloves down a Loui Eriksson wrister. Ellis didn't cover it up and instead put the puck in his crease and cleared it up the middle of the ice. The problem was that the puck went straight to James Neal who quickly buried the puck on Ellis uncovered stick side. Bad decision by Elly to try and clear the puck off his stick. Neal gets the goal unassisted. This game is now tied at 2.
* 5:25 to go and Ellis makes a huge save. The Dallas player had Dan frozen and chose to go high stick side. Ellis made a huge save to keep this game tied late.
* 33.8 to go. Brad Richards goes to the box for a slashing penalty. Richards was aggressively trying to stop Hornqvist from getting to a rebound left by Turco. This gives the man advantage a chance to win the game for Nashville.
* END OF THE 3RD PERIOD - TO OT WE GO.
* The Preds will have 1:27 of PP time to start the extra frame.
* 3:46 to go in OT and Erat takes a hooking penalty. This was a questionable one because upon viewing the replay, it looked like the Stars player shoved Marty off him and somehow drew the penalty. Not sure where the hook was on that one.
* 1:46 to go and the Preds successfully kill the Erat penalty. Back to 4 on 4 action.
* TO THE SHOOTOUT WE GO
* NASHVILLE'S 1ST SHOOTER was Steve Sullivan. Sully went straight at Turco and faked stick side and then went 5-hole with a wrister. Turco made the stop.
* DALLAS' 1ST SHOOTER was James Neal. Neal barreled in straight ahead and fired off a quick wrister high stick side. The post saves the day.
* NASHVILLE'S 2ND SHOOTER was Marcel Goc. Turco was down and to after a beautiful deke that looked glove side. Then as he switched to the backhand Turco stick poked the puck before Goc could lift the puck up and in.
* DALLAS' 2ND SHOOTER was Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro faked stick side, went across Ellis and tucked it glove side on the backhand. A goal that is hard to stop.
* NASHVILLE'S 3RD SHOOTER was David Legwand. Legwand faked stick side, got Turco to drop, and then roofed the puck right up against the crossbar and in with the backhander. A beautiful shootout goal for Leggy.
* DALLAS' 3RD SHOOTER was Brad Richards. Richards had Ellis beat but just flubbed the execution. The puck came off Richards stick and went right into Dan's glove along the ice.
* NASHVILLE'S 4TH SHOOTER was Martin Erat - Deke, fake glove high, tried high stick and Turco makes a pretty impressive save with the end of his stick.
* DALLAS' 4TH SHOOTER was Mike Modano - A really awful attempt as Modano simply skated in and went 5-hole. Bad move as Elly saw it coming and made an easy stop.
* NASHVILLE'S 5TH SHOOTER was Mike Santorelli - The rookie blazes in, fakes high glove, and then sticks the puck in 5-hole with a quick wrister.
* DALLAS' 5TH SHOOTER was Loui Eriksson - Deked towards the glove side and then went high stick side. Ellis made the save and the Preds win the game by winning the shootout 2-1.
* FINAL SCORE – NSH - 3 DAL - 2.
My Three Stars:
1. Jason Arnott - 1 PP goal, 1 assist, 7 shots on goal, 2 hits, 1 takeaway, and won 43% of his faceoffs.
2. James Neal - 2 goals, 5 shots on goal, 3 hits, and 2 giveaways.
3. Mike Santorelli - Game winning shootout goal, 3 shots on goal, 1 takeaway, and 1 blocked shot.
Goalie Grade:B – The starting goaltender tonight was Dan Ellis. Ellis faced plenty of shots tonight. The 2nd Dallas goal was completely Dan's fault so that's one he would love to have back. The 1st Dallas goal was a rebound that would have been real tough to stop. All in all, Ellis finished the night with 38 saves on 40 Dallas shots on goal. The D helped out a little with 15 blocked shots, but by the end of the night the Stars had a total of 79 shots. The choice to put Dan in over Pekka may have been somewhat controversial, but the Preds got the 2 points so Trotz was justified in his decision.
Final Thoughts:
Some good and some bad tonight but that's what you usually get from a season opener. While I would love to see less shots on goal by the opposition, you do have to be impressed with the offense considering Dumont's injury.
The Predators next game will be their home opener this Thursday night. A normal 7 pm faceoff at the Sommet Center where the Colorado Avalanche will be in town.
Till next time, take care.
Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.
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