After 20 minutes of play in last night’s 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, I have to admit, I felt pretty good. Nashville came out strong, skated well, played with some grit and ended the first period with a 1-1 tie on the road. Plus they scored the first goal… which up until yesterday, meant at least a point. Considering that the second period has been the Predators best period all season long, you had to feel pretty good, right?
Ummmm… Then the second period started. The Pens came out on fire, the Preds… not so much.
Twenty minutes later, Nashville was down 4-1 and the game was basically over. Former Pred Patric Hornqvist did many Patric Hornqvist things last night, camping out in front of Pekka Rinne, causing havoc and potting two in the second period. Hornqvist certainly earned first star honors.
Oh sure, Nashville played well in the third, controlled the play for most of it, poured shot after shot on Matt Murray, got the lead down to two on Colin Wilson’s goal but could not complete an improbable comeback, however, they did get a first hand look at how not to give up a lead. The Pens did a great job keeping Nashville on the perimeter, not allowing a lot of great scoring chances even as Nashville built significant zone time. Classic lead preservation and surviving the inevitable push with the occasional counter punch to make sure too much momentum wasn't built.
OK… let’s get to the good the bad and the ugly from last night…
The Good – Calle Jarnkrok and Colin Wilson… each with a goal and an assist. Their line was strong most of the night.
The Bad - Three hooking penalties in the second period, putting the Penguins lethal power play on the ice, finally burning them on Mike Fisher’s call. That many hooks is a sure sign that you aren’t keeping up with your opponent.
The Ugly - The entire second period… incredibly ugly.
So, the Predators are already back in Nashville and are scheduled to practice today. It should be an interesting one as head coach Peter Laviolette was clearly displeased in his post-game presser. The team is back in action tomorrow night for the first of three straight at home. The stretch gets no easier as Edmonton comes into town with a chip on their shoulder after losing at home to the Preds pre All-Star break and starting the stretch run with a loss last night to Minnesota. Limited tickets remain.
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Random Notes
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Where We Stand – After last night’s play, the Nashville Predators have 56 points in 50 games played and stand 3rd in the Central Division. Nashville trails the division leading Minnesota Wild by 15 points (-1 GIH) and 2nd place Chicago by 9 points with two games in hand. Nashville leads 4th place St. Louis by three points, the Blues are in the second Wild Card slot, Los Angeles is in the first slot, leading the Blues by one point.
- Limited standings damage from last night’s loss as Chicago and St. Louis both lost in regulation.
- Last night was the first time this season that the Predators lost in regulation when scoring first.
- I know that there has been a lot of comments about Evgeny Malkin being left off the NHL’s 100 list… Well, who do you remove? Unfortunately, lists like this take the benefit of time, when comparing eras it is very difficult and active players can be at a disadvantage. The NHL's 125th anniversary list will probably include Malkin.
- Three games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 7pm – BOS @ WSH. 9pm – MIN @ CGY. 9:30pm – COL @ LAK.
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