Well… just like the cataclysmic storms that were supposed to ravage middle Tennessee, the Nashville Predators didn’t show up until later and were much less than predicted in their 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs… bad penalties, bad bounces and just a little bit of an underwhelming defense cost Nashville two critical points in the Central Division race.
All that being said… give the Toronto Maple Leafs full marks. They have speed, young talent and are playing with a reckless abandon that belies the position they are in. They are a very good hockey team… and will be that way for a long time. Oh, and Frederik Andersen is good… very good and was the main reason Toronto came away with the win.
Let’s get to the good, the bad and the ugly from last night…
The Good - Filip Forsberg cracking 30 goals for the second straight season.
The Bad - Discipline… two bad penalties, two power play goals… that’s how they go when you are facing the 2nd best power play in the NHL.
The Ugly - Bad in the faceoff circle… Peter Laviolette warned about the danger of playing such a high-possession team. He was right.
The Preds are back in action tomorrow at 1pm against the Minnesota Wild.
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Random Notes
- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 89 points in 76 games played and are now in the 2nd Wild Card slot, one point behind St. Louis for 3rd spot in the Central and one point behind Calgary for the first Wild Card slot. Per sportsclubstats.com, the Predators playoff chances are at 99.8%.
- Impact Game(s) Tonight - STL @ COL – this is huge… oh hell who am I kidding? Give the Blues the two points already. Second impact game is the LA Kings at Vancouver… a Kings loss puts the Preds in a clinch scenario tomorrow against Minnesota.
- If the Playoffs Started Today - As the 8 seed in the West, the Predators would play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
- Teams that have clinched playoff spots - Montreal returns to the playoffs having clinched their spot last night, ten down, six to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Anaheim, San Jose, and Edmonton have punched their tickets.
- Playoff “Tragic Numbers… - In the West… Los Angeles = 3. In the East… Carolina = 9, Tampa Bay = 10, New York Islanders = 6. (Stick tap to Damian Echecarrieta for this data)
- How Frederik Andersen wasn’t selected as the first star in last night’s game was baffling.
- Not only did penalties hurt the Preds last night, but so did giveaways.
- I actually liked how Nashville matched the Leafs speed last night, but the team does continue struggling to succeed against speed teams.
- Seven games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – PIT @ NYR. 6:30pm – NJD @ NYI. 7:30pm – CBJ @ CHI. 8pm – STL @ COL, SJS @ CGY. 9pm – LAK @ VAN, WSH @ ARI.
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