The Nashville Predators dropped their 4th straight game this evening. Yet, despite another marker in the loss column, this game had to make fans a little less uneasy. Playing a playoff team for the first time this season the Preds held their own for some time before the Chicago Blackhawks found their winning way. 13,103 looked on at the Sommet Center as the Hawks showed just enough offensive pop to win 3-1.
Felder’s FRUSTRATED Five:
1. SHOTS ON GOAL! - After a couple of games in which the Preds were really throwing the puck at the net, tonight, someone turned the faucet off. A total of 13 shots were put up by Nashville. The worst period by far was the 3rd. Down 2 to 1 heading into the 3rd period you had to think the Preds would come out firing. Nope. How does 2 shots on goal in the entire period sit with you? This has been a trend with the Predators over the last couple of seasons (as I have wrote this same type of Frustration many a time) and every time the shots on goal are below 10 in the 3rd period I can't help but shake my head. It's something that makes no sense to me.
2. That 2nd D-Pair Again… - I won't go into details about their night (again) but the stats speak for themselves. Hamhuis and Klein were on the ice for all 3 Chicago goals. They each ended the night -2. Why, after seeing this pairing the last couple of games, Barry Trotz put them back together is beyond me. The communication doesn't seem to be working with these two this season. On top of that, they both seem to be trying to make the big defensive play each time out, but that just ends up leaving the other D-man in a precarious position. Needless to say, playing a speedy and high velocity offense like Washington next, I'd break up the band for now on this D-pairing.
3. Clearing Your End When A Line Change Is Occurring - This is something I've noticed more and more lately. Whenever the opponent dumps the puck in the Preds zone for a line change, somehow the D ends up not getting it back out quick enough. I don't know how many times you will see a guy along the boards or in the corner working for the puck, unable to secure it, and then the line change is complete and fresh forwards come out and blister shots at the net minder. The breakouts are one thing, but simply getting the puck up ice while the other team basically concedes the puck to you should be basic. Again, I'm not a coach, and I am aware how an effective forecheck plays into this situation, but more often than not it just takes one guy to disrupt this teams D and that can't happen so frequently.
4. Shoot The Puck - It's that important. It deserved two of my frustrations. Jason Arnott admitted in the QUOTES (further below on this column) that all too often the team was guilty of making the extra pass tonight. We've all become accustom to seeing that while the Preds have a man advantage, but when it starts seeping into 5 on 5 play… well trouble is ahead. This is something that can easily be corrected and I expect that to happen.
5. Shot Selection Yet Again - I've discussed it previous columns this young season. I'll just give you the stats instead of yet another long winded talk. 16 shots blocked by Chicago and 13 shots missed the net completely. That's right, the shots on goal and missed shots are the exact same amount for Nashville tonight. Enough said.
Other Notes:
* Tonight’s scratches were Wade Belak and Ben Guite.
* 1ST PERIOD
* 16:35 to go. Colin Wilson is learning how to play at NHL speed and he is doing so quickly. He took the puck with speed along the boards and flicked out a great backhand pass to Marty Erat in the slot. Again a beautiful set up (like we saw him do for Wardo in the Edmonton game) and it is becoming apparent that this kid has real hockey smarts.
* 10:15 to go and Jerred Smithson blocks a shot from the point. This one had to hurt as it was a fully wound up slapper. Smithers clearly skated to the bench a bit slower than normal. The man is a warrior of course and didn't even miss a shift.
* END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 0 CHI 0:Positives - Rinne is looking solid so far. The defense is making a concerted effort to clear the crease of Hawks and pucks. Negatives - Only 5 shots on goal for the Preds compared to Chicago's 12. Hawks winning the faceoffs 57% of the time.
* 2ND PERIOD
* POWER PLAY GOAL for CHICAGO - 17:39 to go. Francis Bouillon was in the box for a hooking penalty. Brent Seabrook fires a puck right at the net with Dustin Byfuglien screening Rinne. The puck hits Kevin Klein on the way to the net and then deflects down and off the pipe to Rinne's stick side. The bounce from the post travels almost no distance and Byfuglien is able to easily slide the rebound in past Rinne. Byfuglien (4) from Seabrook (5) and Brian Campbell (6). The Blackhawks control the 1-0 lead.
* GOAL for CHICAGO - 17:11 to go. The speedy Chicago forwards have the Preds D searching for them as 3 players converge on the crease with Dan Hamhuis being the lone defender in the middle of this Chicago diamond. A Colin Fraser pass to Tomas Kopecky from Peks glove side to his stick side is all that's needed to connect again. Rinne had no chance on this one since his D left him hanging. Kopecky (1) from Fraser (1). Chicago now leads 2-0.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 16:24 to go. Suter puts the puck on net from a shot deep along the boards. Huet makes the stop with Erat on the doorstep. The puck falls and it appeared that Erat tried to pass it to the glove side. The puck got tied up somewhere and fell just behind Huet. Erat quickly shoveled the puck in for an easy goal and one that gets the proverbial monkey off his back. Erat (1) from Suter (3) and Weber (2). The Hawks lead is cut in half to 2-1.
* END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: 1 CHI: 2Positives - . Kept the Hawks from putting up double digit shots on goal. Got the faceoff winning percentage back to 50%. Negatives - Only 6 shots on goal that period for Nashville. The Hawks committed 2 penalties, forcing the Predators man advantage unit onto the ice.
* 3RD PERIOD
* GOAL for CHICAGO - 12:53 to go. Duncan Keith gets a cross ice pass from Jonathan Toews at the top of the faceoff circle to Rinne glove side. Keith tees up a slap shot and wires it past Rinne high stick side. Peks stick did catch a piece of the puck but it wasn't enough to prevent the goal from occurring. Keith (2) from Toews (4) and Seabrook (6). Hawks up their lead to 3-1.
* 8:21 to go and the Hawks call a timeout after an icing call.
* 46 seconds left and Rinne hits the bench for the extra attacker.
* FINAL SCORE – NSH - 1 CHI - 3.
My Three Stars:
1. Keith - 1 goal, a +1 rating, 3 shots on goal, 2 takeaways, and 3 blocked shots.
2. Seabrook - 2 assists, +1, team leading 4 shots on goal, 1 hit, and 2 blocked shots.
3. Byfuglien - 1 goal, 3 shots on goal, and 1 takeaway.
Goalie Grade:B+ – The starting goaltender tonight was Pekka Rinne. I thought Peks played a solid game, but again, the offense and defense in front of him didn't do enough to support him. The little details that the Preds seem to be missing right now are contributing to the pucks getting in the net more than the goalies play is.
Quotes:
Brandon Felder - "This obviously wasn't the result that you wanted, but talk about coming back tonight and how you felt out there."
J.P. Dumont - "Oh not too bad. It just was not the result that we were looking for. After being out for awhile and coming back in this situation playing a team like Chicago where the defenseman are involved pretty much all the time, it's feeling pretty good. I'm glad that this one is past and now we have to look forward to Saturday."
Felder - "It sounded like Barry said that you were the one that chose to come back tonight. Talk about deciding to make that choice."
Dumont - "I had some up and downs right after it (the concussion) happened almost two weeks ago. After a few days I felt pretty good but I had a little bit of a step back and felt… just off. It's hard to describe but I didn't feel like myself and took a few days off. I skated pretty hard with the guys and felt pretty good. As a hockey player you want to be involved and want to help your teammates and I'm glad that I was able to come back that quick."
*
Felder - "From my viewpoint it seems that with each game you are adapting to the speed and making even better decisions. Talk about being able to adapt to the game from the mental standpoint."
Colin Wilson - "I think I've played the same at every level. I just have to adapt, things are a little faster and you don't have as much room. I have to get my head up a little bit quicker and take a look around."
Felder - "With Barry switching around lines so much is it harder for you since you don't know the guys as well yet?"
Wilson - "I do pay attention to the game and I watch each shift. I'm starting to know each player whether I'm playing with him or just watching him. Whenever he (Trotz) moves me around I think I can still find where they are going to be and where they are."
Felder - "This will be your first big road trip in the NHL. You looking forward to seeing what it will be like?"
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to a lot of things. I think today was a step in the right direction, a lot of guys had a lot of passion, and played real hard so hopefully we can build off this and get going on the road."
*
Felder - "Jason this obviously wasn't the result that you wanted but there were at least some improvements over the last couple of games."
Jason Arnott - "Yeah. The guys worked hard tonight. We had opportunities to score, and myself included, we passed up opportunities. Maybe should have shot it but looking for that back door play…. You know the guys worked hard tonight and we just didn't come out with the win. We have to stay up in here and it's not going to get any easier going into Washington. We have to keep our heads up and keep moving forward but for the most part we have to get more shots on net. We are passing up too many quality shots."
Felder - "It seems like the past couple of games you guys had plenty of shots on goal, but then tonight it was as if someone turned the faucet off. What do you attribute that to?"
Arnott - "I don't know. I think (with our) lack of scoring sometimes you want to make that extra play to put it in the net. Sometimes that always doesn't work for the most part. We just have to get back to putting pucks on net and crashing the net. The work ethic and our defensive play was a lot better tonight then it has been but we just didn't capitalize on our chances. We played a great team and a really good system and they are tough to play against. For the most part we have to stay positive and just keep going."
*
Felder - "What kind of improvements do you need to see from your special team on both sides of the ice?"
Barry Trotz - "One of the problems is that when you get a little bit frustrated you try to look for the perfect play. On the power play we have to do things with a little more quickness. If you can do things quickly and execute, there are portals of time. When you make a pass there is a very short window, a portal, that you can jump thru and you have to attack that portal. If you don't, then it closes up very quickly. We are just hesitating to do that, and therefore everybody recovers and we are trying to look for that perfect play. We definitely need to have a better attacking mentality. I thought we did a little bit of that earlier in the game when we started to move around a little bit but we didn't get a result from it. On the penalty kill, it starts with A) getting in the shooting lanes and B) we've got to do a better job boxing out, something that I consider to be a strength for us. Our defenseman aren't as sharp as they need to be. Playing defense is not just the two defenseman. They need help from everybody on the ice. They can be a little sharper. They're good players but they can be sharper."
Felder - "What were your thoughts on Dumont's return?"
Trotz - "I thought he looked ok. You could tell he's missed a little time. He was just a little bit slow but J.P.'s got those good hands and he can make pretty good decisions. You could tell he's missed a little time and there is some rust there so hopefully every game he plays he'll get a little bit better."
Final Thoughts:
It was better than the previous 2 games. Still not the result people wanted but at the same time this was a more respectable defensive performance from the 1st and 3rd D-pair. Of course the glaring need was shots on goal (as I've visited and revisited above) but with this team it appears it will take step by step to get them back to consistent efforts from all facets.
The Predators next game is this Saturday night in Washington. A rare visit to an Eastern Conference city. Faceoff at the Verizon Center will drop at 6 pm CST. Considering the offensive firepower on the Caps roster the Preds will certainly have to put up more than just 13 shots on goal to hang in this one. This game will not be on FS-TN so you'll need some sort of Center Ice to view it.
Till then, take care.
Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.
Join the Discussion:
»