OK. That’s better.
The Nashville Predators showed real grit, killer speed and a killer instinct in last night’s 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. It’s something that Pred Nation has been waiting to see on this west coast roadie. Things started well with an early goal, the Predators survived the inevitable counterpunch then ground down the bigger Av’s by being as relentless on the puck as I have seen from this team.
There was plenty of consternation on social media as head coach Peter Laviolette replaced Kevin Fiala with Cody Bass in the lineup, a move that looks really good in hindsight. Not just because of the win… because of the attitude Bass brought to the team. Colorado tried to use their size advantage by trying to bring the body wherever possible. The Preds countered with speed that frustrated the Av’s and drove several altercations.
It became pretty obvious early on, that Nashville kept the effort and momentum generated from the third period of Saturday’s loss to the Sharks. A quick goal from Craig Smith just 93 seconds in was the launching point. Noted Pred-Killer Jarome Iginla tied it up a few minutes later, but Matt Irwin’s first goal in gold with 2:13 to go in the period signaled the end of Colorado’s push and the beginning of the rout.
Halfway through the second period, Ryan Johansen finally got his first of the season on a nice little, bad angle shot, then, a little over midway through the third, Roman Josi and Craig Smith’s second of the game put the game out of reach and sent Pred fans off to Wendy’s for their first “Road Frosty… of the season.
The key to this game was the sustained pressure that the Preds put on Colorado. They continually drove the net and attacked the puck with attitude… it made a real difference. The only bad news to come out of last night’s win was an upper body injury sustained by captain Mike Fisher. He left the game after the second period… no update available as of this writing.
The roadie concludes tomorrow in Arizona.
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Random Notes
- A lot of firsts last night – First road win of the season, first road win in the Central, first time the Preds went into the locker room after the 1st period with a lead along with the first goals scored by several Preds.
- The Preds gained ground in the Central last night as everyone cooperated by losing (except those damn Blackhawks)
- Filip Forsberg has yet to crack the goal scoring column but had two more assists last night giving him a team leading seven points on the season.
- The McDavid/Matthews showdown last night didn’t exactly live up to the hype.
- Three games in the NHL tonight – All times Central – 6:30pm – VAN @ MTL. 7pm – DET @ PHI. 9:30pm – PIT @ ANA.
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