SlapShot Radio's photographer caught all the action last night in Smashville. Click on the picture to see the entire album. Pictures courtesy DM Photography
The Nashville Predators got a big win, and a bit of revenge by demolishing the Anaheim Ducks last night 5-0 in a game where the score may not reflect how tight the game was, well, at least the first half of the game. How did they do it? By following a pattern they observed first hand in Anaheim back on October 26th when the Ducks dismantled the Preds 6-1. They kept it close in the first, exploded in the second with both sides of special teams and cruised home in the third for a 5 goal win.
While the offense fired last night, the story was in net. Pekka Rinne, who has been outstanding all year long, kicked it up another level, posting his first shutout of the season. The big Finn has reminded Pred Nation how he earned his nickname “The Eraser… over the last few games, covering for quite a few giveaways by making excellent stop after excellent stop, showing the athleticism, the anticipation and the movement he is famous for. Frankly, those outside the Nashville market who have declared Pekka Rinne done… well… they need to pull their head out of their nether regions. He is 4-0-2 in the last six, posting a .958 save percentage and a GAA of 1.14, dropping his overall GAA to 2.13 and save % down to .930 for the season.
The other story last night comes as a heads up to the next 5-7 opponents of the Nashville Predators. Filip Forsberg finally got his first goal, along with his 11th assist. You saw Forsberg dialing it in over the past few games and he finally broke through against the Ducks. This normally portends a scoring run for the budding star who also posted his 10th assist of the year last night as well. There’s the difference in Forsberg’s game now, the first season he was a scorer. He added a highly effective physical aspect to his game last season that continues today… but this year… this year he has added setup man to his resume. Forsberg has learned that he can be equally effective in distributing the puck, making him an even more dangerous, even more complete player.
So the Predators head out on the road for a brief pre-holiday three game roadie that takes them to Toronto, Ottawa and St. Louis before coming home for three games over Thanksgiving week. Being at home was certainly good for what ailed the Predators, gathering seven of a possible eight points at home. Now they need to transfer that same mojo to the road where the team is 1-4-2. It has to be said, this is a much more confident team than the one who limped home from the last road trip. The panic button is safely stored back in the drawer and the chemistry is building.
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Here is podcast for yesterday’s SlapShot Radio featuring Toronto radio voice Joe Bowen.
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Random Notes
- The win last night is the Preds third straight and extends their point streak to six games.
- So far… after seven home dates, the Nashville Predators are at 100.4% capacity at Bridgestone Arena, which is good for 6th in the league. Seven sellouts in seven games. Next home game is 11/21 vs. Tampa.
- Last night’s win put Nashville in playoff position for the first time since opening night. The Predators currently stand in the second wild card, tied in points with Minnesota, 1 point behind Winnipeg and two behind St. Louis in the Central.
- After a 4-1 start, the Edmonton Oilers have come down to earth a bit, but they still lead the Pacific.
- I am still trying to wrap my mind around the Winnipeg Jets scoring on themselves Friday night to lose a game in overtime… wow.
- Six games in the NHL today, all times central – 1pm – LAK @ WPG. 3pm DAL @ VAN. 4pm MIN @ OTT. 6pm – BOS @ COL, MTL @ CHI. 8:30pm – NYR @ EDM.
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