The last home game of the regular season saw the Nashville Predators drop a 2-1 overtime decision to the New York Islanders. The loss hurts a little more as St. Louis lost to Winnipeg last night, allowing the Preds to creep up to a single point behind the Blues.
The game followed a familiar path, tight first period, Preds go up in the second… usually the recipe for two points, but the Islanders didn’t cooperate. They tied the game early in the third, turning the game into a tight affair, where New York hung on and Nashville just couldn’t seem to convert their chances.
Last night saw the return to the lineup of Miikka Salomaki, who immediately brought the physical and also saw the debut in gold for Brad Hunt who comported himself well. You can see why the Preds picked him up.
Let’s get to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly…
The Good - The Fisher/Wilson/Smith line played very well and got the only goal of the game for Nashville.
The Bad - As head coach Laviolette mentioned in postgame… the edge wasn’t there last night… the post playoff clinch letdown was in effect.
The Ugly - Turnovers… way too many. Puck possession was not great.
The Predators head to Dallas today after a practice for the last roadie of the regular season.
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Don’t forget to join us for SlapShot Radio tonight at 7pm on 12.5 the Game. We will be preview ing both the Stars and Jets games as the Predators close out the regular season and prep for the playoffs.
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Random Notes
- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 92 points in 80 games played and remain in the 2nd Wild Card slot, they trail St. Louis for 3rd spot in the Central by one point, the Blues have a game in hand. The Preds are tied with Calgary for the first Wild Card slot, Calgary owns the tiebreaker..
- Impact Game(s) Tonight - None
- Preds Matchup Chances - Chicago – 52.3% (down 5.9), Anaheim – 32.7% (up 11.4), Minnesota – 6.2% (up 2.7) Edmonton – 6.2% (down 9.5), San Jose – 1.7% (up .5).
- 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 - Welcome to the playoffs Boston.. 14 down, 2 to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Anaheim, San Jose, Edmonton, Montreal, Calgary, St. Louis, Nashville and Boston have punched their tickets.
- Playoff “Tragic Numbers… - In the East… Tampa Bay = 2, New York Islanders = 2. Carolina was eliminated last night. (Stick tap to Damian Echevarrieta for this data)
- The pairing of Colin Wilson and Craig Smith has been really going strong, doesn’t matter if Colton Sissons or Mike Fisher is centering the line. Wilson’s setup of Fisher’s goal last night was sweet.
- Two games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6:30pm – MTL @ BUF. 7pm – NYR @ WSH.
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