Well… it was a typical Anaheim / Nashville game… gritty, chippy and just a little bit nasty. The Predators 4-2 win is their sixth consecutive home win and showed a nice bounce back from a bad performance on Black Friday. Another example of how this team learns its’ lessons, and more importantly… applies them.
The star of the night was Austin Watson, his hat trick was the fourth one of the season for Nashville. The rugged winger was moved up to the first line and took full advantage of the opportunity. His first goal was a goal that youth hockey coaches will be using as an example… Watson drove the net, tried to poke home the rebound off Nick Bonino’s shot, then slammed home his second attempt to put the Preds up 1-0.
Nick Bonino put the Preds up two with his fourth of the season. Bonino is heating up as all four of his goals have come in the last six games. With Kyle Turris on IR for an unknown amount of time, the Predators will need him to continue to show his scoring capabilities. The second period was fairly chippy as these two teams showed their dislike for each other. The officials were desperate to keep the game from spinning out of control, which culminated in a silly sequence where a hook and a holding the stick call were made concurrently, resulting in a bit of a shouting match between official and player. The inevitable “Mary Kay… call came, giving the Preds a late power play that Watson converted on, putting the Preds up 3-1, in the ensuing celebration, the Ducks closed the gap to one again on a goal just eight seconds before the end of the second period.
Craig Smith got the eventual game-winner, again on the power play as Smith was johnny-on-the-spot, depositing a rebound. Watson put the cherry on the cake with his third on an empty net with 1:06 remaining and that was all she wrote.
Nashville’s week continues with Colorado invading Bridgestone Arena tomorrow night. Since the Predators 4-1 win at Pepsi Center earlier this month, the Av’s have gone on a 6-1-1 tear, only losing in Winnipeg and dropping an overtime decision to Washington. Then the Predators will be looking for a little payback as they welcome the slumping Arizona Coyotes to town on Thursday. Since beating Nashville at Gila River Arena on the 15th, the Yotes have gone 0-3-1 and have a game in Minnesota tomorrow.
Finishing out the week is our old friends, the Chicago Blackhawks for the first matchup of the season between these two rivals. The Hawks have a new head coach as Joel Quinneville was let go after a less than stellar start. Since his firing the Blackhawks are 2-3-1 as of this writing. Chicago will face Veags tomorrow night, then travel to Winnipeg before Saturday’s game.
The Predators are inside their longest homestand of the season, last night’s win was the first of five consecutive games at Bridgestone, concluding next Monday as the Preds will welcome the surprising Buffalo Sabres to town.
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Random Notes
- Milwaukee Update – The Ad’s had a successful holiday weekend… after taking down Iowa on Thanksgiving Eve, they then beat Grand Rapids in overtime and took down Rockford in a shootout. The Admirals are back in action on Friday night as they host the Texas Stars.
- Last night’s hat trick was the fourth one of the season for the Predators, tying a franchise record for hatties in a season.
- 2-3 for the power play last night. The recovery continues as Nashville is no longer at the bottom of the league. Their conversion rate is up to 15.2%.
- Even though the Predators gave up a goal on the PK last night, their kill rate is also steadily improving. It is now 82%, good for 7th in the league.
- And so the trades begin… Arizona acquires Nick Schmaltz from Chicago for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. Interesting move, three first rounders exchanged in this one.
- Barry Trotz gets his ring tonight as the Islanders and Capitals play. It’s the first game back for the former Caps coach.
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