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The Final Regulation Minute Bites the Preds in San Jose

November 11, 2009, 8:56 AM ET [ Comments]

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Halfway through the 3rd period and things started to look up for the Nashville Predators. They finally took full advantage of Thomas Greiss being in net instead of Evgeni Nabokov and took a 3-2 lead with ten and a half minutes to go. Then an ugly trend reared it's head again, the Preds gave up the lead, and the San Jose Sharks gave their 17,562 fans at the HP Pavilion a thrilling 4-3 win in regulation.



Felder’s FRUSTRATED Five:

1. 3rd Period Goaltending - Both the Setoguchi goal and especially the Boyle goal have to be ones that Dan Ellis would like to have back. I'm not going to belabor the point because I'm sure he's going to be kicking himself as much as everyone else will do in the comments.

2. Giving Up A Lead… Again - Question: Which number is greater? The number of times the Preds held onto a 3rd period lead or the number of times an opponent has come back in the 3rd period? I don't have the stats to fully answer it (and the real numbers would show they've held onto win just a few more times), but all too often we've seen this team struggle to clamp down in the final frame. I'm not sure why this trend is occurring, but it needs to be fixed.

3. Oh Those Offensive Woes - Don't get me wrong, because 3 goals is a nice showing. The problem is this is a game in which the Predators should have scored 5 goals (as should the Sharks considering a post that Marleau hit) but with poor shot selection and an even worse 2nd period they didn't put away San Jose. 4 shots on goal during an entire period is pitiful. Luckily, Goc did score on the 2nd shot on goal in the 2nd period, but beyond that the offense was invisible that period. You can't help but think that if this team put together a full 60 they win the game.

4. Defense Doesn't Clamp Down in the 3rd - As much flak as Ellis will surely get, let me also point out another fact. At the 2nd intermission the Sharks (and the Preds) had 15 shots on goal. Within the 3rd period the D let the Sharks pepper 14 shots on net. Suddenly you have the work load doubled and the goals get doubled as well. The obvious factor to the loss is some weak goals given up, but the Preds D didn't do Dan any favors in the 3rd period either. Weber, Klein, and Suter all ended the game in the negative side of the +/- category and all three logged 20+ minutes.

5. The Things I Always Seem to Harp On - 16 missed shots, 9 giveaways, lost 60% of the faceoffs. The man advantage went 0-2, but the worst part of that one was the first time they were on the advantage and registered 0 shots on goal in that two minute span. Also, 2 shots on goal by Erat, just one from Legwand, and only 2 from Arnott. The depth scoring was there tonight, but the top guys didn't find their names on the scoreboard.




Other Notes:

* Tonight’s scratches were Belak, Dumont, Sulzer, and Wilson. Wilson and Dumont remain injured.

* 1ST PERIOD

* GOAL for SAN JOSE - 9:59 to go. Patrick Marleau wheels around behind the Preds net and then finds Joe Pavelski all alone on the crease's door step. Jerred Smithson lost track of Pavelski and let him sneak in behind him. Pavelski lets Ellis drop and wires a quick one high glove. Pavelski (2) from Marleau (12) and Heatley (9). San Jose takes a 1-0 lead.

* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 1:40 to go. Martin Erat flings the puck at the net from the boards. Off a deflection, the puck goes high in the air and falls just behind Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss. Mike Santorelli was battling with Manny Malhotra for the rebound and Manny helped the puck cross the line by accident. Just goes to prove that throwing pucks at the net can have good results. Santorelli (2) from Erat (3) and Thuresson (2). This game is tied at 1 all.

* END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 1 SJ: 1. Positives - Preds out shot the Sharks 11-8. Getting some solid net minding from Ellis so far. Negatives - San Jose winning 61% of faceoffs. Preds not converting on a couple of great scoring chances.

* 2ND PERIOD

* GOAL for SAN JOSE - 17:27 to go. Marc-Edouard Vlasic tees up a slap shot from the point. Whether intentional or not, Brad Staubitz redirects the puck to the glove side of Ellis with Jamie McGinn waiting to fire off the one-timer. McGinn deposits the puck over an outstretched Ellis to take the lead. The redirection of that puck in the slot caused all sorts of problems. Credit to Staubitz for finding a way to effectively do that. McGinn (3) from Staubitz (1) and Vlasic (5). Sharks now lead 2-1.

* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 5:11 to go. Marcel Goc makes his return to San Jose count. Goc used a deke across the faceoff circle to get Greiss cheating towards him. Goc lasered the puck just under the glove of Greiss to tie this game. Very nice to see Goc get rewarded for all his hard work. Now if he could just see some increased TOI…. Goc (1) from Tootoo (1) and Franson (3). This game is all square at 2 apiece.

* END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: 2 SJ: 2. Positives - Tied despite a lack of shots on goal. Tied at 15 SOG for the game. Negatives - Only 4 shots on goal for Nashville that period. Sharks have won 60% of the faceoffs.

* 3RD PERIOD

* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 10:31 to go. Dan Hamhuis keeps the puck in the zone and then tees off from the blueline. Patric Hornqvist was screening Greiss in front and the puck apparently caught a piece of Horny since he was awarded the go ahead goal. Hornqvist (4) from Hamhuis (4). Preds now take their first lead of the game, 3-2.

* GOAL for SAN JOSE - 6:34 to go. Devin Setoguchi finally finds his mark against the Preds (as he almost always does). A wired shot from the top of the faceoff circle to Ellis stick side, Seto just rammed the puck home. A weak goal to give up that late in the game. Setoguchi (8) from Boyle (14). Tied at 3.

* GOAL for SAN JOSE - 59.4 to go. Dan Boyle gets his 4th of the season with just an eyelash under a minute to go. A very weak goal where Boyle simply puts a wrister on net and the puck rolls in under Ellis thru the five-hole. Boyle (4) from Cloew (8) and Pavelski (4). The Sharks jump ahead 4 to 3.

* 28 seconds left and Ellis gets to the bench for the extra attacker.

* FINAL SCORE – NSH - 3 SJ - 4.



My Three Stars:

1. Dan Boyle - 1 game winning goal, 1 assist, +2 rating, 3 shots on goal, 1 takeaway, and 2 blocked shots.

2. Joe Pavelski - 1 goal, 1 assist, tied for a team lead with 5 shots on goal, 1 hit, 1 takeaway, 1 blocked shot, and won 4 of his 7 faceoffs taken.

3. Patric Hornqvist - 1 goal, a team leading 5 shots on goal, 1 hit, 1 takeaway, and 1 blocked shot.



Goalie Grade: D – The starting goaltender tonight was Dan Ellis. Those 3rd period goals were quite poor. That cost them the game and hurt the grade for tonight. The final stats for Ellis were 25 saves on 29 shots against.



Final Thoughts:

If you take away that last 60 seconds of the game the Predators played well enough to win. It's just unfortunate for them that they were unable to force OT and get a point. Despite their place in the standings, this is a competitive team night in and out. I still can't quite define who they are since they have had so many injuries (much like almost every NHL team this year). On that front, I'm hearing Dumont may return on Thursday. No word on Wilson though.

The Predators next game is Thursday night in St. Louis. This will be the first time this season the Preds will face the Blues. Faceoff set for 7 pm CST and the game is scheduled to be on FS-TN HD.

Till the next time, take care.





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