The franchise record point streak is still going, now at 14 games and counting. Last night’s 3-2 OT loss to Calgary was a case of the Predators stealing a point that they may not have deserved, only playing one period of hockey is a recipe for disaster and the Preds were lucky to get a point out of last night’s rather sloppy game.
Nashville went down early on a goal that took Toronto a few minutes to figure out actually happened, Johnny Gaudreau scored on a laser of a shot that bounced off the net cam so quickly, no one caught it… until the horn sounded during play about a minute later… the goal was confirmed, the clock rolled back and the puck dropped… before Flames PA Guy Mister Beesley was able to finish announcing the first goal, Gaudreau popped in a second marker just 10 seconds later.
At that point, you had the feeling that this wasn’t going to be Nashville’s night, and it really wasn’t, but once again this team made a little chicken salad out of chicken… well… you know the expression. They rode some very solid goaltending from Carter Hutton, survived a couple of really silly penalty calls (I am still waiting to see the hit on the Calgary goaltender that Mike Fisher got whistled for, because the 37 camera angles I’ve seen sure don’t show it) and did something that you rarely see.
They put together a really good third period on the back end of a back-to-back. Taking the play to the Calgary end, getting a goal from the blueline as Anthony Bitetto got his first NHL goal, then Mike Fisher found a little space in front of the Flames goal with the Nashville net empty and deposited a rebound to tie the game and send it to hell… or at least Nashville’s 2015-16 version of hell called 3-on-3 OT.
The record is now 1-12… quick… look below…
Without those 13 points, the Preds would be fighting for their playoff lives… so they are serving a purpose… but 3-on-3 is soooo frustrating! Thank heavens there are only 14 more possibilities for 3-on-3 this season.
OK… that is done… the streak lives and the Predators are off to Vancouver where the team can get a day off and perhaps a practice in to work on special teams… next game is Saturday night.
----------------------------
Random Notes
- “Where They Stand… – Entering tonight’s play, the Nashville Predators are 4th in the Central Division with 81 points, trailing 3rd Place St. Louis by 6 points and 1st place Chicago / Dallas by 7 points. The Predators lead Colorado by 7 points with a game in hand on the Avalanche in the division and Minnesota by 9 points, the Wild have a game in hand on Nashville. The Predators are in the first wild card slot, leading Colorado and Minnesota.
- Per SportsClubStats.com, the Predators playoff chances stand at 99% heading into tonight’s play. According to the site, finishing with 94 points or better will give the team a 99%+ chance on being in the playoffs.
- Viktor Arvidsson has been playing like a man possessed over the past few games and was rewarded with assists on both Nashville goals last night.
- Vesey Watch – We will be tracking Harvard’s progress in the NCAA playoffs here - Harvard is in the ECAC Quarterfinals against Rensselaer. It is a best of three series beginning Friday with games two and three scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. The Crimson come into the tournament as the three seed behind 2 seed Yale and 1 seed Quinnipiac. The ECAC Championship is set for 3/18-19 in Lake Placid, NY. Harvard is the defending ECAC Tournament Champion.
- Four outdoor games announced yesterday for next season… we already knew about Winnipeg / Edmonton in the Heritage Classic… Now we know the Centennial Classic will be at Toronto’s BMO Field on 1/1/17, the Winter Classic will be at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium on 1/2/17 … Philly and Pittsburgh will play a Stadium Series game at Heinz Field on 2/18/17.
- Good one between the Capitals and Kings late last night… Blues / Blackhawks was good as well…
- Six games in the NHL tonight, all times central – 6pm – CAR @ BOS. 6:30pm – BUF @ MTL, WPG @ DET, OTT @ FLA. 7pm – EDM @ MIN. 9:30pm – NJD @ SJS. ------------------------------------
------------------------------------- Season eight of SlapShot Radio is on! Join us every Wednesday night at 7 on 102.5 the Game. Pete Weber and I preview the upcoming week and take a look back at the week that was. This week we are live on Saturday morning at 8am.
SlapShot Radio is the longest running hockey show in the mid-south delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio. Our premier, day one sponsor is Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762. Also, our newest member of the SSR Sponsorship family is Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799.
Advertisers… reach out to me to access our activated listener base via email at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the link.
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information, click here.