Once again… the Nashville Predators use a rookie goalie for target practice. In last night’s dismal 3-0 loss to Arizona, the Predators hit rookie netminder Adin Hill 29 times on 29 shots giving the rookie his second NHL win. The Coyotes netminder was not seriously challenged all night as the Predators used the goalie’s chest pad as a target. It was not a stellar effort from Nashville in front of another sellout in Smashville… and that may be a small part of the problem… long home stands can be just as challenging, maybe even more challenging that long road trips. Last night’s loss was the sixth home game out of the Preds last seven played… and there are two more to come.
There are plenty of reasons for this team to struggle right now… they are missing a third of their top two lines and one of their best defensemen to injury. Role players can step up for short periods of time, but these injuries do take a bit of a toll, and two straight home losses can cause a fan to pause… but…
Frankly; the panic you see from some sections of Pred Nation is unwarranted. The notions that this team needs to be blown up, major deals made, send everyone but Forsberg to Toronto for Nylander or to Philly for Simmonds is just silly. There will be ups and downs in an 82 game season, it is definitely a marathon… not a sprint.
The Preds finished their November schedule leading the Central Division and leading the Western Conference posting an 8-5-1 record and heading into December with 35 points. The record in the last ten is 4-5-1… that is a reason for some concern, but you would think that the Predators are in last place, far behind the pack.
Simple focus on detail is going to be a critical piece of the next few weeks as Nashville gets healthy. What details? Let’s start with giveaways… last night was another horrendous display of not taking care of the puck. The official giveaway number was 17 last night (adding to a 21 giveaway performance on Tuesday) and to be honest… that 17 number feels low… really low. Pekka Rinne was hung out to dry on so many defensive zone giveaways in the last two games he’s thinking about opening up a chain of laundromats.
Discipline is rearing its’ ugly head as an issue as well, especially last night. The Predators frustration with the game officials really got in their way. I’m not saying that they were wrong, there was certainly some… shall we say “refreshing… rule interpretations and no calls. However, that kind of frustration never helps in a comeback bid.
Nashville needs to turn the page on these two stinkers and focus on the Blackhawks who are in town tomorrow night. No matter where these teams are in the standings, Saturday night Chicago games bring out a raucous atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena. Very limited tickets remain for this one.
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Random Notes
- Milwaukee Update –The Admirals are back in action tonight as they host the Texas Stars.
- A rare loss in the faceoff circle last night as Arizona won 54% of the draws.
- Another streak busted as Nashville’s seven game home win streak over Arizona was snapped last night.
- An obviously displeased Peter Laviolette called the team out post game using the phrase “not enough guys pulling on the rope.…
- Buffalo’s win streak ended at 10 game as the Sabres lost to Tampa last night… they are in town on Monday night to close out the home stand.
- Chicago dropped a 6-5 decision to Winnipeg last night as Patrik Laine scored his 100th career goal, he becomes the 4th youngest player to score 100 regular season goals.
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