Hurricanes defeat lifeless Predators 4-3

The Nashville Predators went into Raleigh on Monday night and were outplayed at both ends of the ice by the Carolina Hurricanes and suffered a 4-3 loss to the Canes.

The Preds mounted a major effort in the final period but the Carolina defense held firm as Nashville failed at  trying to play catch-up.

The Predators schedule that had them playing seven game in the last twelve days appeared to catch up with them after they had picked up points in their last five games.

Sloppy play, with numerous turnovers trying to clear their offensive zone led to too much pressure on the seldom used Anders Lindback for the entirety of the contest. It was Lindback's seventh loss while Cam Ward got the win after missing the last four games for the Canes.

Carolina was two for six on the power play while the Predators only had one chance on the man-advantage in the game.

The Hurricanes received goals from Jamie McBain, Eric Staal, Tim Brent, and Bryan Allen while the Predators markers came from Craig Smith, Colin Wilson and Gabriel Bourque.

Newly acquired, Paul Gaustad did not play due to an upper body injury while Andrei Kostitsyn played 12:13, had no shots, and was charged with two penalty minutes.

The Predators returned home after the game and will not play again until Saturday night when they face the Florida Panthers.

Make the jump for more details from the game...


At The Puck Drop...

In Goal:  Anders Lindback (2-6-0, 2.70, .897) vs Cam Ward (21-18-10, 2.81, .911)

Scratches: Predators: Kevin Klein, Brandon Yip, Paul Gaustad, and Ryan Ellis. Hurricanes: Tuomo Ruutu, Patrick Dwyer, and Chad LaRose.

First Period...

Smith gave Lindback his first lead in a game in three months when he scored on a rebound 2:42 into the contest. Gabriel Bourque and Matt Halischuk were battling on the play and each received assists on the goal.

Jack Hillen was whistled for holding the stick of Jeff Skinner at 9:16. The Hurricanes had one shot but did not score on the man-advantage.

With 1:00 left in the period, David Legwand was called for high sticking Justin Faulk. The Canes had a flurry  and picked up three shots at the end of the period and one on the carry-over.

1st Period	Goals	Shots	Corsi	PIMs	Faceoffs
Predators	1	7	14	2-4:00	6-8  43%
Hurricanes	0	13	24	0-0:00	8-6  53%

Second Period...

With six seconds left in the carry-over penalty, the Predators were called for too many men on the ice. The  Preds penalty kill held firm, in spite of four additional Carolina shots.

Carolina got on the board at 5:17 when Colin Wilson coughed up the puck at the half wall when he was trying to clear the zone. McBain took the pass from Anthony Stewart and sent a slap shot that tipped Hal Gill and flew past Lindback who got a glove on it but couldn't stop the puck.

The Predators did not get their first shot of the period until Wilson got a shot at 12:30 and a rebound that he scored with a second later to give the Preds a 2-1 lead.

Andrei Kostitsyn got his first penalty as a Predator when he was called for hooking Faulk at 12:52. Staal  scored quickly just 12 seconds into the penalty to tie the game 2-2. Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen assisted on the play.

At 17:13, Shea Weber was called for hooking Drayson Bowman at 17:13 after another Predator turnover at the blue line. Carolina scored quickly again, 11 seconds into the penalty when Brent poked it past Lindback in a scrum in front of the net. Skinner and Staal were given assists. A video of the original penalty later in the game showed that an offside should have been called which would have nullified the penalty.

The Predators went on their first power play of the game at 19:21 when Allen slashed Smith. The Preds got a shot in the period on a scramble and two on the carryover.

2nd Period	Goals	Shots	Corsi	PIMs	Faceoffs
Predators	1	6	12	3-6:00	10-12  45%
Hurricanes	3	13	21	1-2:00	12-10  55%

Third Period...

As the Predators carry-over power play ended, Roman Josi turned the puck over and Staal sent a perfect leading pass down the ice for Allen who came out of the box and beat Lindback to give the Canes a 4-2 lead at 1:28.

The Predators came back quickly to pull within a goal, 4-3, at 2:18 when Bourque scored his fourth goal of his career on a pass from Hornqvist after a shot by Legwand.

Nashville put the Canes on their sixth power play of the evening at 8:50 when Mike Fisher hooked Brent on a faceoff. Carolina had one shot on the man-advantage.

The Predators pulled Lindback and Barry Trotz called a time out with 1:22 remaining. The Preds never really mounted a good attack and the game ended with a scrap between Mike Fisher and Allen.

3rd  Period	Goals	Shots	Corsi	PIMs	Faceoffs
Predators	1	16	25	1-2:00	13-12  52%
Hurricanes	1	7	15	0-0:00	12-13  48%

Final...

Final	Goals	Shots	Corsi	PIMs	Faceoffs
Predators	3	29	51	6-12:00	29-32  48%
Hurricanes	4	33	60	1-2:00	32-29  52%

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass