In this observer’s opinion, only the Predators can stop themselves from winning this series. If they get careless with the puck, if they come out flat, if they don’t use their speed… they can be beaten… and have been by teams that are no longer playing this season… but… If the Predators engage a killer instinct early, this series is over in no more than five.
I hate to say I told you so… well… not really. Don’t be fooled by the score, last night’s 5-2 game one win over Colorado had all the hallmarks of an upset of a number one seed. The Nashville Predators came out a little flat, got careless with the puck early and found themselves in 1-0 and 2-1 holes. They seemed a little off, a step behind and frankly… a tad nervous. Heck, even Pekka Rinne looked a little off, slightly overplaying the puck at times.
Untill…
A nice stop on Ratanen from Rinne seemed to turn the game… you could see Rinne visibly relax and settle in to the calm game we have seen from him for most of the season. A penalty call on Nathan MacKinnon at 8:40 put the Preds on the power play and the Craig Smith took only :10 seconds to make the Av’s pay for their mis-deeds.
Smith went to the front of the net and took a beauty of a pass from Ryan Johansen, beating Jonathan Bernier and tying the game. The game settled down at that point from a scoring standpoint, but the nasty factor began to creep up as both teams looked for an advantage with behind the play shenanigans.
I mentioned a nice stop on Rantanen earlier… you knew the real Pekka Rinne was back when Rantanen took the puck at the Av’s blueline, went straight down Broadway and split the Preds defensemen with a simply gorgeous rush that had goal written all over until the Eraser made a simply amazing toe save, preserving the tie late in the second period. Rinne did it again four minutes into the third, gloving a glorious 2-on-1 chance from Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon.
And then… it was all about Forsberg. Filip Forsberg simply took over the game.
At 6:08 of the third, Forsberg converted a slap pass from Roman Josi to put the Preds up for the first time in the game and four minutes later… he, well… he took the puck through the neutral zone, made Sam Girard look silly and well… there aren’t any words for this one… so watch…
Wow… just wow.
That effectively did it… the Avalanche knew they were done at that point. An empty netter from Colton Sissons gave the Predators the final margin and a 1-0 lead in the series. The frustration boiled over as the clock hit zero and a “let’s send a message” scrum ensued as former Pred Colin Wilson took exception to the last shot taken with 2 ticks remaining on the clock.
There was a message sent last night, and that message may have been that Nashville can take a couple of body blows from the Av’s, not play their best game… and still come out on the winning side.
Game Two is Saturday at 2pm… here are the highlights from last night.
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The Playoff Tracker … a daily update of the Stanley Cup Playoffs brought to you by Mark Lonsway - THE real estate professional for hockey fans!
All five series are underway, only two road teams won their game one, Columbus and San Jose.
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New Jersey Devils – TBL leads 1-0 – Game two is tomorrow
Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – CBJ leads 1-0 – Game two is Sunday
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers – PIT leads 1-0 – Game two is tonight
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – BOS leads 1-0 – Game two is tomorrow
Western Conference
Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche – NSH leads 1-0 – Game two is tomorrow
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings – VGK leads 1-0 – Game two is tonight
Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild – WPG leads 1-0 – Game two is tonight
Anaheim Ducks vs San Jose Sharks – SJS lead 1-0 – Game two is tomorrow
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SlapShot Radio's Playoff Preview Show
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Random Notes
- Smashville… you brought it HARD last night… my ears are still ringing from the noise. Two TV Timeout Standing O’s!
- Shoutout to Matt Irwin, he had an outstanding game last night… also one to Ryan Hartman who was everywhere, getting on the Av’s last nerve.
- Filip Forsberg’s second goal is already being called the goal of the playoffs… and it’s only game one, round one… bet there is a LOT more to come… who knows? Maybe Filbruary has been moved this year?
- Kudos to the Predators Game Ops leadership… the game opeing last night was imaginative, creative and freakin’ awesome!!!
- It was old home day as former Preds Gabriel Bourque, Colin Wilson and Sam Girard were all in the lineup for Colorado.
- Yesterday the Predators revealed a catfish tank outside of section 117 at Bridgestone Arena… the first two catfish have been named. The first one is named Gill… the second one is named Ben… after Big Ben Butzbach, a fitting tribute to one of the Preds biggest fans.
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