Programming note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, there will not be a POTG Radio tonight. I will co-host RLD Radio on Tuesday at Noon Central.
As you awake on Monday Morning, check out the 30 team standings at NHL.com and see your Nashville Predators at the top of the heap. After sweeping Dallas and Tampa Bay on the road the Preds unbeaten in regulation streak remains intact.
Last night's win was a true team win with no player getting more than a point and all four lines being involved in the scoring. Twelve separate players each got a single point in the effort.
Anders Lindback got three star recognition from NHL.com and Puck Daddy for his 42 save performance. Pekka Rinne's early season injury was a blessing in disguise as last night's game probably would have been his first star.
The Predators do not play again until Thursday when they take on the Blues at Brigestone Arena in the last home game for 16 days.
Pete Weber called this Cody Franson score as being "shades of Bobby Orr." NHL.com thought so too and ran it as a highlight video last night.
Preds-Bolts Wrap-Up...
Here is our game story from last night.
Nashville's Blogger's Row was well represented in Tampa with Jeremy Gover as the only media person on the road with the Preds.
Jim Diamond uses hic contacts to get quotes from Tampa in his game story.
Josh Cooper has his postgame ponderings to go with the AP story at the Tennessean.
The rest of the Nashville blog world had the best game view on the couch. Here are stories from Dirk Hoag (with advanced stats), Mark Willoughby, What the Puck, HockeyChic, PredsBlog, Hockey Night in Nashville, and Amanda DiPaolo.
For the game story with a Lightning angle, check out Tampa Tribune, Raw Charge,and the St Petersburg Times.
In Pred Nation...
Jas Faulkner has her weekly Preds wrap-up with some really nifty illustrations.
The Milwaukee Admirals played their first three game in three night set over the weekend and came away with two wins and a loss. Admirals Roundtable has the game stories. Linus Klasen continues at his goal a game pace and is probably another injury away from getting a call from Nashville.
Aaron Sims has another talk/listen episode, this week with Mark Dekanich.
For those with an artistic flair, go here to compete in the Preds Pumpkin Carving Contest.
On Tuesday, the Predators will practice at A Game Sports in Franklin from 4-5:30 and it will be open to the public.
Around the NHL...
Something to keep an eye on in New Jersey is Saturday's healthy scratch of Ilya Kovalchuk to give him time to "think about things." He returned on Sunday to play the Rangers with "no comments" in abundance. is return did not help in the Devils' 3-1 loss which kept them buried in a tie for last in the East.
Barry Melrose Rocks takes a look at the potential suspendable actions in the current NHL.
Many teams are pushing the nine game mark where rookies get sent back to juniors if the don't want to burn a year on their contract. Taylor Hall has yet to score a goal. Will he stick around past nine games?
Ryan Kennedy makes an argument that in spite of early season attendance woes in Columbus, Atlanta, and Phoenix, that Gary Bettman's sunbelt strategy is working on a different level.
Matt Reitz has the latest roundup of being a hockey fan in California.
Adrian Dater has some perspective on weekend events.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Showing posts with label nashville predators tampa bay lightning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nashville predators tampa bay lightning. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Predators Hang On to Keep Streak Alive in 4-3 Win Over the Lightning
The Nashville Predators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to complete a two game road sweep of the best team in the West and the East within a 24 hour period.
Anders Lindback was the hero of the game, deflecting 42 of 45 Tampa shots while Colin Wilson's late goal proved to be the game winner. Twelve different Predators earned points in route to their four goals in what was truly a team effort.
The Predators improved their record to 5-0-3 to continue their streak of being unbeaten in regulation. At the end of the day the Predators' 13 points wast the most in the NHL at the end of play on Sunday. The Preds' last seven games have been decided by a single goal.
The Predators much maligned penalty kill held firm and stopped all four power play chances that the third ranked Lightning had during the game including one important one in the closing minutes of play.
The Lightning struck first at 6:30 in the first period when Pavel Kubina grabbed a puck from Joel Ward at the blue line and fed it to Sean Bergenheim who put a wrister past Anders Lindback to give Tampa a 1-0 lead.
Shea Weber tied the game at 11:54 when he picked up an opposite side rebound off a shot from Francis Bouillon and lifted it into the top of the net on Dan Ellis' stick side. Cal O'Reily also picked up an assist.
Segei Kostitsyn gave the Preds a 2-1 lead at 15:04 when he picked up a loose puck in the blue ice that had gotten through Ellis and put it into the net. Nick Spaling and Jered Smithson were awarded assists on the play.
The period ended with an odd scrum with 1.2 seconds remaining with Patrick Hornqvist getting mugged by four Tampa players around Ellis. Coincidental penalties were given out to Hornqvist and Victor Hedman.
After starting slowly the Preds almost caught up in shots, finishing the period down 13-10 to the Lightning. Tampa also led the Corsi 19-17.
At 3:53 in the second period, Joel Ward swatted a rebound into the net from about eight feet in the air and was justifiably waived off.
Tampa Bay then had a series of three power plays that the Predators' penalty kill unit was able to handle despite heavy pressure on Lindback.
Cody Franson scored one of the more amazing goals of the year at 17:55 to give the Predators a 3-1 advantage. Franson was skating down the middle of the ice on a breakaway and took a feed from David Legwand and completely deeked Ellis and gently slid the puck in the net behind the sprawling ex-Predator.
With 28.3 seconds left, Tampa put a puck in the net that was waived off. The Bolts out shot the Preds 16-10 for the period and applied heavy pressure on the Nashville defense. The Corsi was more indicative of the Bolt's offense with the Lightning leading 30-14.
Play in the third started with a surprisingly fast pace considering both teams were playing their third game in four nights.
Tampa Bay put heavy pressure on the Preds in the first half of the final period. At 10:15, Steven Stamkos fed Vinny Lecavalier on a breakaway that was stopped by Lindback.
The Predators made a great play at 14:10 to give the Preds a 4-1 lead. The play stared with Colin Wilson on the boards passing to J. P. Dumont who sent the puck on to Mary Erat who then fed it back to Colin Wilson who was able to blow it past Ellis who was still looking at Erat for the shot.
A minute later, Martin St. Louis was left alone beside Lindback and roofed the puck into the net to cut the Preds lead back to two. Fifty-seven seconds later, ex-Pred Adam Hall shot from behind and banked the puck off Lindback to cut the lead to one.
Things deteriorated further at 16:53 when the Predators put the Bolts back on the power play when Marty Erat was called for cross-checking Stamkos into the boards behind the net. The Predators survived the Bolts all out assault and held on for the 4-3 victory.
For the game, Tampa out shot the Preds 45-26 including 16-6 in the final period. The Corsi was more extreme with a 73-41 differential. The pace of play for the full sixty minutes was surprising considering that it was the Predators second game in less than 24 hours.
After the game, the Predators headed back to Nashville and will not play again until they meet the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night in the last home game for 16 days.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Anders Lindback was the hero of the game, deflecting 42 of 45 Tampa shots while Colin Wilson's late goal proved to be the game winner. Twelve different Predators earned points in route to their four goals in what was truly a team effort.
The Predators improved their record to 5-0-3 to continue their streak of being unbeaten in regulation. At the end of the day the Predators' 13 points wast the most in the NHL at the end of play on Sunday. The Preds' last seven games have been decided by a single goal.
The Predators much maligned penalty kill held firm and stopped all four power play chances that the third ranked Lightning had during the game including one important one in the closing minutes of play.
The Lightning struck first at 6:30 in the first period when Pavel Kubina grabbed a puck from Joel Ward at the blue line and fed it to Sean Bergenheim who put a wrister past Anders Lindback to give Tampa a 1-0 lead.
Shea Weber tied the game at 11:54 when he picked up an opposite side rebound off a shot from Francis Bouillon and lifted it into the top of the net on Dan Ellis' stick side. Cal O'Reily also picked up an assist.
Segei Kostitsyn gave the Preds a 2-1 lead at 15:04 when he picked up a loose puck in the blue ice that had gotten through Ellis and put it into the net. Nick Spaling and Jered Smithson were awarded assists on the play.
The period ended with an odd scrum with 1.2 seconds remaining with Patrick Hornqvist getting mugged by four Tampa players around Ellis. Coincidental penalties were given out to Hornqvist and Victor Hedman.
After starting slowly the Preds almost caught up in shots, finishing the period down 13-10 to the Lightning. Tampa also led the Corsi 19-17.
At 3:53 in the second period, Joel Ward swatted a rebound into the net from about eight feet in the air and was justifiably waived off.
Tampa Bay then had a series of three power plays that the Predators' penalty kill unit was able to handle despite heavy pressure on Lindback.
Cody Franson scored one of the more amazing goals of the year at 17:55 to give the Predators a 3-1 advantage. Franson was skating down the middle of the ice on a breakaway and took a feed from David Legwand and completely deeked Ellis and gently slid the puck in the net behind the sprawling ex-Predator.
With 28.3 seconds left, Tampa put a puck in the net that was waived off. The Bolts out shot the Preds 16-10 for the period and applied heavy pressure on the Nashville defense. The Corsi was more indicative of the Bolt's offense with the Lightning leading 30-14.
Play in the third started with a surprisingly fast pace considering both teams were playing their third game in four nights.
Tampa Bay put heavy pressure on the Preds in the first half of the final period. At 10:15, Steven Stamkos fed Vinny Lecavalier on a breakaway that was stopped by Lindback.
The Predators made a great play at 14:10 to give the Preds a 4-1 lead. The play stared with Colin Wilson on the boards passing to J. P. Dumont who sent the puck on to Mary Erat who then fed it back to Colin Wilson who was able to blow it past Ellis who was still looking at Erat for the shot.
A minute later, Martin St. Louis was left alone beside Lindback and roofed the puck into the net to cut the Preds lead back to two. Fifty-seven seconds later, ex-Pred Adam Hall shot from behind and banked the puck off Lindback to cut the lead to one.
Things deteriorated further at 16:53 when the Predators put the Bolts back on the power play when Marty Erat was called for cross-checking Stamkos into the boards behind the net. The Predators survived the Bolts all out assault and held on for the 4-3 victory.
For the game, Tampa out shot the Preds 45-26 including 16-6 in the final period. The Corsi was more extreme with a 73-41 differential. The pace of play for the full sixty minutes was surprising considering that it was the Predators second game in less than 24 hours.
After the game, the Predators headed back to Nashville and will not play again until they meet the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night in the last home game for 16 days.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Preds Beat Bolts 7-4 in A Wild One
Coach Barry Trotz Post Game Comments
Pekka Rinne, Nick Spalling, Jerred Smithson, and David Legwand post game comments
Coach Rick Tocchet, Antero Niittymaki, Kurtis Foster and Matt Smaby post game comments
The Nashville Predators rose to the occasion to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-4 in what Preds Coach Barry Trotz called a "trap" game. The win moved the Preds into fifth place in the Western Conference with 43 points. Division leading Chicago, also has 43 but has two games in hand.
Seven different Predator players scored goals and 14 skaters had at least a point in the wide open contest. Players with multiple points were Patric Hornqvist and David Legwand each with a goal and an assist and Marcel Goc and Joel Ward each with a pair of assists.
Barry Trotz explained that he was worried about how the Lightning game fell into the schedule, "To me it was a little bit of a trap game. You’re not emotionally tied to the Tampa Bay team, we see them once a year." That coupled with an emotional game against division rival Columbus on Monday made it a tough situation for the Predators.
"We got contributions throughout the lineup, every line on our team got a goal today" Trotz explained. "When you play back-to-back, it can sometimes be taxing. It was our third game in four nights. This time of year it's a little tough. Hats off to the players, they responded in the second period, right off the bat, and opened the floodgates."
The Predators opened the scoring at 6:53 in the first period when Jerred Smithson picked up a rebound in front of the net and put the Preds ahead 1-0. Tampa Bay came back with goals from Steve Stamkos and Vinnie Lecavalier to end the period with a 2-1 lead.
The second period was all Predators with goals from David Legwand, Ryan Jones, Patric Hornqvist, J.P. Dumont, and Dan Hamhuis to give the Predators a 6-2 lead after two.
Tampa Bay showed heart in the third by coming back with goals by Kurtis Foster and Vinnie Lecavalier, his second of the night, to make it a two goal game. A minute and a half later, Marty Erat scored for the Predators to put the game out of reach of the Lightning.
Story Lines from the Game
Wide Open Offensive Explosion...
"It was wide open. Both sides got some easy goals. I give a lot of credit to the guys," Trotz explained. "Sometimes these games are really tough – the other team has a lot of pride, and they came back and really pushed the pace in the third period. You’ve got to play hard. You’ve got to skate; you’ve got to work. You’ve got to pay the price and do all the things you did earlier."
Pekka Rinne gave up four goals in the win and Barry Trotz commented, "He's been better, but he got the win and that is what matters."
When asked if it was difficult playing with a big lead, Rinne explained, "Yea, a little bit. We scored five goals in the second period and we were leading by four goals in the third period, and right away they got the power play goal and next the got the breakaway, and you start to worry a little bit but we handled it pretty well. Obviously, I don't like letting in four goals but we scored seven so we were the better team tonight, big two points."
The Rookie Gets a Point in His First Game...
One of the better stories from the game was Nick Spalling's unexpected call up from Milwaukee on Tuesday. Spalling responded and got an assist in his first NHL game.
Spalling was surprised by the call, "I was just up there in Canada playing two games and I wasn't thinking about a call-up I was just thinking about the next game." On the excitement of his first point he said, "That was pretty exciting, it was just a little garbage goal, Jonesy crashing the net. I'll take it. It was great."
Barry Trotz was complementary of Spalling, "He made a great play on the controlled break out on Jonesy's goal. He's got a lot of speed, a lot of smarts, and detail to his game and he's strong on the puck. For a first showing, it was good for him."
Unexpected Pugilists...
Pred's enforcer Wade Belak was dressed as a counter to the Lightning's Zenon Konopka but the two never hooked up. Instead there were three other fighting majors with unexpected combatants for the Predators.
Steve Downie prodded Shea Weber into a fight that he wish that he had never started at 13:39 of the second period. Weber uppercutted Downie until he was plowed into the ice. Later in the second period Kevin Klein became fed up with Stephane Veilleux and took care of the matter beating him repeatedly in the back of the head as Veilleux tried to duck the blows.
Finally, as the third period began, Jerred Smithson and Ryan Malone hooked up and Malone won one for his side to finish off the fisticuffs for the evening.
Barry Trotz discussed the fighting, "They were sort of targeting our defense. They were trying to deplete our numbers a bit. It's an old tactic."
Up Next...
The Predators leave tomorrow for a three game Western Canada Swing that begins Thursday in Edmonton and will also include stops in Calgary and Vancouver before the Preds take three days off at Christmas.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Game Preview: Preds Host Struggling Bolts
Buoyed by a big road win in Columbus last night, the Nashville Predators (19-11-3) return home to face the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning (11-12-9) tonight at the Sommet Center.
The Lightning started the season well going 10-6-7 but have gone 1-6-2 since November 28 and fell below .500 after their 4-0 loss in Chicago on Sunday night. Sunday's loss may have been the final straw for Coach Rick Tocchet.
According to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, there appeared to be serious fallout from the recent situation at the morning skate. He reported that Alex Tanguay, Jeff Halpern and Todd Fedoruk will be scratched from tonight's game and that eight defensemen will dress.
Additionally, coach Rick Tocchet put the threesome through a "bag skate" session and that there may be additional friction between Halpern and Tocchet as it appears that there are some non-ice related issues that has not been made public as neither would comment on the "healthy" scratch.
Antero Niittymaki (6-5-4, 2.26, .927) will start in net for the Lightning tonight. The Preds have not announced a starter, but I would be shocked if Pekka Rinne (13-6-2, 2.61, .909) does not get the call since Dan Ellis (6-5-1, 2.77, .908) played last night in Columbus.
Predator fans will get their first look at the Bolts 2009 Draft pick, defenseman, Victor Hedman, who is in his first pro season with the Lightning. They will also see a much different Steve Stamkos, who has transformed from an over-matched rookie to a point per game producer with a team leading 17 goals and 13 assists.
The Predators are hoping that their increased point production will continue as they have scored three or more goals in 12 of their last 15 games.
Nick Spalling will make his NHL debut as he was recalled to take the place of Jordin Tootoo on the Predators roster.
Predators Keys To The Game
Beware The Injured Lightning Bolts!...
Based on the information about the turbulent morning skate session at the Sommet Center Tampa Coach Rick Tocchet has done everything possible to scare and threaten the players that will be taking the ice tonight. He has not been pleased with the effort or results during the recent slide and wants it turned around tonight. With the situation as desperate as it appears for the Bolts, the level of play could be much improved if the Lightning responds to Tocchet as he hopes they will.
Strike Early and Often...
The Predators need to be aware that the Bolts are playing under threat and need to try to control the game early and not let the Lightning gain any confidence. The back to back goals against Steve Mason last night literally broke him and threw the Jackets back into their defeated funk taking the wind out of their sails. The same thing needs to happen early tonight against the Bolts.
Play a Full 60 Minutes...
The Bolts should be the more rested team since they were snug in their Nashville hotel room beds while the Predators were beating the Blue Jackets 5-3 in Columbus last night.
Tampa coach Rick Tocchet has stressed that he wants 60 minutes out of his players tonight and the Preds need to be aware and respond with 60 minutes of their own. After a game last night and a late bed time, it would be real easy to be sluggish as we have seen the Preds be at times recently. The Predators do not have back to back games for 11 days so they need to go full out from the start and keep it going for the entire game.
Next Up...
The Predators will leave for Edmonton on Wednesday and play the Oilers on Thursday. They will play Calgary on Saturday in an afternoon match, and Vancouver on Tuesday before scattering for a three day Christmas vacation.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
The Lightning started the season well going 10-6-7 but have gone 1-6-2 since November 28 and fell below .500 after their 4-0 loss in Chicago on Sunday night. Sunday's loss may have been the final straw for Coach Rick Tocchet.
According to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, there appeared to be serious fallout from the recent situation at the morning skate. He reported that Alex Tanguay, Jeff Halpern and Todd Fedoruk will be scratched from tonight's game and that eight defensemen will dress.
Additionally, coach Rick Tocchet put the threesome through a "bag skate" session and that there may be additional friction between Halpern and Tocchet as it appears that there are some non-ice related issues that has not been made public as neither would comment on the "healthy" scratch.
Antero Niittymaki (6-5-4, 2.26, .927) will start in net for the Lightning tonight. The Preds have not announced a starter, but I would be shocked if Pekka Rinne (13-6-2, 2.61, .909) does not get the call since Dan Ellis (6-5-1, 2.77, .908) played last night in Columbus.
Predator fans will get their first look at the Bolts 2009 Draft pick, defenseman, Victor Hedman, who is in his first pro season with the Lightning. They will also see a much different Steve Stamkos, who has transformed from an over-matched rookie to a point per game producer with a team leading 17 goals and 13 assists.
The Predators are hoping that their increased point production will continue as they have scored three or more goals in 12 of their last 15 games.
Nick Spalling will make his NHL debut as he was recalled to take the place of Jordin Tootoo on the Predators roster.
Predators Keys To The Game
Beware The Injured Lightning Bolts!...
Based on the information about the turbulent morning skate session at the Sommet Center Tampa Coach Rick Tocchet has done everything possible to scare and threaten the players that will be taking the ice tonight. He has not been pleased with the effort or results during the recent slide and wants it turned around tonight. With the situation as desperate as it appears for the Bolts, the level of play could be much improved if the Lightning responds to Tocchet as he hopes they will.
Strike Early and Often...
The Predators need to be aware that the Bolts are playing under threat and need to try to control the game early and not let the Lightning gain any confidence. The back to back goals against Steve Mason last night literally broke him and threw the Jackets back into their defeated funk taking the wind out of their sails. The same thing needs to happen early tonight against the Bolts.
Play a Full 60 Minutes...
The Bolts should be the more rested team since they were snug in their Nashville hotel room beds while the Predators were beating the Blue Jackets 5-3 in Columbus last night.
Tampa coach Rick Tocchet has stressed that he wants 60 minutes out of his players tonight and the Preds need to be aware and respond with 60 minutes of their own. After a game last night and a late bed time, it would be real easy to be sluggish as we have seen the Preds be at times recently. The Predators do not have back to back games for 11 days so they need to go full out from the start and keep it going for the entire game.
Next Up...
The Predators will leave for Edmonton on Wednesday and play the Oilers on Thursday. They will play Calgary on Saturday in an afternoon match, and Vancouver on Tuesday before scattering for a three day Christmas vacation.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
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