Heading into the bye week with points in three straight games is a good thing. Last night’s 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers was driven by taking advantage of the opportunities presented.
Edmonton did not exactly come out strong in the first period and the Predators took advantage of it, scoring two goals by supplying netfront presence and converting by jumping on rebounds… first from Craig Smith, on a power play, poked home his 15th of the year on a loose puck that Oiler goaltender Cam Talbot lost sight of, putting the Preds up 1-0 just 8:26 in.
Then, seven minutes later, Viktor Arvidsson was in front of the net again… jumped on a loose puck at the goal line and slammed it home for his 13th of the season and snapping a bit of a scoring drought for the winger.
Then… it was up to Pekka Rinne and Lawrence Feloney.
Rinne was stellar, especially stoning Connor McDavid on a breakaway late in the first period. When the defense buckled a bit, Rinne was there, posting 25 saves on the game, but none was bigger than the McDavid stop.
Wait… who is this Lawrence Feloney guy you speak of?
Feloney is the Video Coach for Nashville… he has been in the role for about six years now and has definitely taken it to new heights. When Edmonton’s Mark Letestu appeared to score the game tying goal, Feloney and video coordinator Andrew Meloche saw something… they thought the play was offside and they let Peter Laviolette know it.
It’s a tough call to challenge that goal, win the challenge and you maintain your lead… lose the challenge and you give the Oilers a power play right after tying the game.
Laviolette challenged… and the team of Felony and Meloche were right… the play was offside. It took some guts to challenge it as the call was close… but it was offside. The Preds won the challenge and locked the game down from there. So give the game puck to the video crew!
The win puts the Preds back in second in the Central as they head off for their five day break. They are back in action next Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena taking on the Vegas Golden Knights.
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“Where We Stand” update… a daily tracking of where the Preds are in the standings and the games that impact them most, brought to you by Mark Lonsway - THE real estate professional for hockey fans!
After last night’s play, the Predators stand second in the Central Division with 56 points, three points behind Winnipeg (2 GIH) and one point ahead of St. Louis (4 GIH) … the Preds lead Dallas by five points (1 GIH)… and lead Chicago (0 GIH) and Minnesota by eight points (1 GIH.)
Impact games tonight (all times Central) – 7pm - Minnesota @ Chicago
Playoff Odds Courtesy SportsClubStats.com - The Predators playoff chances are now at 96.8% after yesterday’s play.
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Random Notes
- Last night was the 11th straight win over Edmonton for the Predators.
- Roman Josi’s assist on Arvidsson’s goal put him in sole possession of 6th place on the Predators all-time scoring list.
- Pekka Rinne is 10-0 against the Oilers in his last 10 starts… his save percentage? Oh just .955
- The Predators extended three defensemen’s contract yesterday, Anthony Bitetto extended a year, Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin extended two each.
- Eeli Watch – Eeli Tolvanen returned to the Jokerit lineup yesterday and promptly posted an assist to break the KHL record for scoring by an 18 year old in Jokerit’s 3-0 win over Traktor. Jokerit is back in action today against Kunlun RS. Tolvanen has 17 goals and 16 assists in 40 games.
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SlapShot Radio’s tenth anniversary season is on. As the longest running hockey show in the region, SSR feeds hockey fans what they crave… intelligent, fun, entertaining talk about their favorite sport and we do it from the opening of training camp all the way through UFA day… the only local hockey show that does that.
We are on every Wednesday night at 7pm on the Predators flagship station, 102.5 the Game. Our co-hosts, Dan Keczmer and JP Dumont bring a true insiders perspective to the show. Dan Keczmer is back in the co-host chair. Our guest tonight is ESPN hockey writer Greg Wyshynski and Zack will have another of his “StatShot” segments.
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TurfMasters.com. Also… The Crag… Nashville’s premiere location for indoor rock climbing. Newton Dominey and his awesome crew have a great location in Cool Springs and they are opening a new location in South Nashville at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd and Nolensville Rd. Check out their website at
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