All the pomp and circumstance around Opening Night in Smashville went off as usual, the Goldwalk, the pregame plaza party, the intro of the entire team… etc. Then, finally… the real games began, and after Nashville’s 2-1 win over Carolina, at least according to social media reaction… the reviews were decidedly mixed.
It was certainly hard to find fault with the first period if you are a Predators fan. Nashville carried the play, threw the puck at the net from all angles, took the body and frankly, had their way with Carolina. If it wasn’t for a couple of excellent saves from veteran netminder Cam Ward, the Predators would’ve delivered Frostys to Smashville in the first period. The top nine showed jump and the blue line looked like the deep defense corps that they are. All-in-all, the way you want the first game of your season to start.
Next is to figure out that there are three periods to a hockey game.
Not taking anything away from Carolina’s effort in the last two periods… the Hurricanes were a different team in the second and especially third periods, and I will give Nashville credit for getting the two points… after all, every time I check the standings I never see a column for ugly wins. I did like seeing the post game quotes that indicated knowledge that the team sat back too much. When you look at the possession stats, the shot count and just observing the play… well, you know that there are certainly some things for the coaching staff to address in practice today.
And that is not a bad thing… after all... a win is a win...
Here are a few of my observations from game one…
- Viktor Arvidsson was a whirling dervish on the ice, and that was both good and bad. I like his speed, I like his positioning, I would like to see the youngster stay up a bit more… I lost count at how many times he was knocked off his skates last night.
- Seth Jones – He deserved the third star last night, he played a balanced game, jumping up into the play at smart times and pairing well with Barret Jackman. His play was a real positive last night.
- Speaking of Jackman, both him and Cody Hodgson had very solid debuts for the Predators.
- A solid game from Pekka Rinne, he was moving well side to side and tracking the puck well.
- You could see Carolina focusing on shutting down the Neal/Ribiero/Forsberg line but that line did get several good scoring chances.
So, game one gets two points for the Gold and up next for the Predators are Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night in Smashville. Special 6pm game time to accommodate Hockey Night in Canada.
Here are the highlights, from NHL.com…
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Random Notes
- The power play went 1-3 last night and the PK was 3-3… good start on special teams.
- Craig Smith’s goal was a beauty last night, redirecting Ryan Ellis’ slap pass past Cam Ward for the first power play goal of the season.
- Last night’s Opener was the 13th consecutive regular season home game with an over-capacity crowd of 17,204.
- Ryan Ellis decided to get rid of his “Yukon Cornelius… look before last night’s game… but fear not… it lives on in his “Gladiator Shot… used on the Megatron.
- Colorado managed to blow a big lead to Minnesota last night as the Wild scored four in 5:07 to complete the comeback.
- Dallas took down Pittsburgh last night on the strength of Anttii Niemi’s 34 save shutout… the Stars goaltender also added two assists.
- The first regular season 3 on 3 happened last night in Tampa as the Flyers went down to the Lightning.
- Two nights, two reversals as Ottawa won a coaches challenge last night in Buffalo. Coaches are 2-2 so far.
- Winnipeg beat the Bruins last night 6-2… and the return of Alex Burmistrov for the Jets was notable for a rather nasty elbow he placed to the head of Boston’s Patrice Bergeron… calling the DOPS???
- Connor McDavid may have gone number one… but second pick Jack Eichel got his first NHL goal first.
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