We are seeing the ascension of Ryan Ellis on this five game western swing. The latest example came in last night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers, the Predators seventh consecutive victory over the Oilers. Ellis had his second consecutive night of having a major offensive impact on the team, tickling the twine twice, first putting the Predators up 2-1, then scoring in the shootout that was iced by James Neal in the second round.
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. The Nashville Predators won in a shootout last night… and there was much rejoicing.
I am impressed by how this team is turning things around and even more impressed by the methodical way the coaching staff is driving it. Peter Laviolette and his staff aren’t trying to fix everything at once. They have simplified their game, sent messages to veterans that have responded, locked down the defense a bit, managed the goaltenders well… the power play needs a little work, but that can be next.
Yeah… I mentioned goaltending. Pekka Rinne was outstanding again last night, especially in the overtime. I know that haters are going to hate, but his performance this year should shut up most of his critics. Rinne stopped 30 of 32 shots in the game, stoning both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on consecutive chances in overtime and shutting down Mark Letestu and Patrick Maroon in the shootout. The Predators goaltending tandem has become a real strength of this team and a major reason for the turnaround.
So… let’s get to the good the bad and the ugly from last night…
The Good – Nashville pushed the pace most of the night and showed an incredible amount of jump in their 4th game of five on the road and their third in four nights. Ryan Ellis was outstanding again…
The Bad - The power play continues to struggle, but the return of PK Subban certainly helped it last night… it’s still not good, but it seems on the way to recovery.
The Ugly - Austin Watson’s ill-advised retaliation in the third period that led to the game tying power play goal. The other ugly… Milan Lucic ugly play and Matt Hendricks elbow to PK SUbban’s head… ugly indeed.
The Predators are back stateside, prepping for tomorrow night’s Central Division showdown in St. Paul as the Wild play tonight. Catching the Wild on the back end of a back-to-back may or may not be an advantage (see last night in Edmonton.) Minnesota is currently leading the Central Division as I write this with 63 points, tied in points with Chicago, but they have a massive four games in hand over the Blackhawks. The Predators trail the division leaders by 12 points, the Wild have two games in hand on Nashville, Nashville has two games in hand over Chicago.
Game time is 7pm central as the team goes for its third consecutive win and sixth in their last seven.
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Random Notes
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Where We Stand – After last night’s play, the Nashville Predators have 51 points in 46 games played and stand 4th in the Central Division, tied in points with 3rd place St. Louis, the Blues hold the tie-breaker. Nashville is now in the 1st wild card spot, tied in points with Calgary with two games in hand. leading Vancouver by one point with a game in hand and leading LA by three points, the Kings hold a game in hand over the Predators.
- The Predators scored first again last night and improved their record to 15-0-4 when scoring first.
- The Predators next victory will be Peter Laviolette’s 500th NHL win.
- Don’t look now, but the Predators road record is rapidly approaching the .500 mark. They are now 10-12-2 on the road, after only three road wins through mid-December.
- Eleven games in the NHL today, all times CST – 3pm – STL @ WPG. 4pm – CAR @ CBJ. 6pm – OTT @ TOR, BUF@MTL, LAK @ NYI, NJD @ PHI. 7pm – TBL @ ARI, WSH @ DAL. 8pm – ANA @ MIN. 9pm – EDM @ CGY. 9:30pm – COL @ SJS.
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