The Center formerly known as the Sommet was half empty, but that may have been a positive somewhat. Only 10,581 got to see the Predators have their lunch handed to them by the Calgary Flames. It was a night with few positives for the Preds, and an almost perfect game plan and execution from the Flames. A 5-0 final showed just why Calgary has one of, if not THE, best road teams in the NHL.
Felder’s FRUSTRATED Five:
1. Where'd the Goal Scoring Go? - 22 shots on goal, no tallies, and a night in which a couple of the top line guys were virtually invisible. Arnott, Dumont, and Erat all registered 0 shots on goal. Yep. ZERO. Now, digging a little further, you did have Arnott with 1 shot blocked and 1 miss the net. For Dumont, well, nothing. Were it not for his team leading 3 blocked shots tonight he would have virtually not shown up. Lastly, Erat had 2 shot attempts blocked. To his credit however, his 1 hit was a crusher. All in all, this was another disjointed offensive effort that didn't give Kipper to many challenges in the Calgary net.
2. Bad Start, Bad Finish - To the Predators credit, no one used the amount of games in such and such days as an excuse. They all owned up to a bad start and bad overall effort. One thing I've noticed lately is that if the Preds are really driving, skating, and making clean passes early in the game, then they usually win. However, when they are a stride behind, making sloppy plays, taking unnecessary offsides, etc. Well, they lose. To top it off, they had a pretty bad finish to this contest as well. Not the recipe for success.
3. Controlling the Forwards - The Calgary Flames forwards seem to move through the ice with speed, precision, control, and most importantly, possession of the puck. The Predators had a tough time defensively keeping track of all the Flames pressuring the offensive zone.
4. Energy… Or Lack Thereof Rather - This was pretty much covered in point 2, but it was worth repeating. When this team really puts out an A grade effort, they find ways to win. When they play to punish other teams, it shows. Tonight, the normal guys had the heart, but some of the more skilled guys seemed as though they would rather be somewhere else. To me, that had a huge impact on the game and I personally never saw that push to get back in this one like you often do with a Nashville team.
5. Governor Giveaway - 16 total giveaways for the Preds. That is definitely the source for some of the Preds woes this evening. Legwand and Bouillon each had 3 to themselves. I decided to call this point Governor because in many cases, how well you take care of the puck governs how successful you are on the ice. Tonight just wasn't a good effort. Lately, the Preds have played very well on this homestead, but tonight the Flames just took their will and never let the Preds breathe any life back into the contest.
Other Notes:
* Tonight’s scratches were Dave Scatchard and Alexander Sulzer. For Calgary, Staffan Kronwall and Brandon Prust were scratched. Rene Bourque is currently listed on the IR list for the Flames.
* 1ST PERIOD
* 14:30 to go. The Belak Monster elects to throw hands with Brian McGrattan. I thought this was a good time for a fight because the building and bench seemed to lack some energy. This was not the best showing for Belak. He did land some punches late, but McGrattan controlled much of the bout. I call it a win for McGrattan.
* END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 0 CGY: 0 Positives - The Flames didn't score. Peks played very well that period and kept the Preds in this one. Nashville won 71% of the faceoffs. Negatives - That was one of the most inept offensive periods I've seen from Nashville in a long time. Very sluggish start with little to no jump in it. Calgary leads the shots on goal 12-6.
* 2ND PERIOD
* GOAL for CALGARY - 18:28 to go. The puck gets blocked on a Dan Hamhuis slap shot by David Moss. Moss chases the puck down and creates a breakaway for himself. Moss went to the backhand and then tucked the puck away 5-hole on Pekka Rinne for the goal. Solid effort play by Moss there and he gets the reward as well. Moss (5) unassisted. Calgary takes a 1-0 lead early in the 2nd.
* POWER PLAY GOAL for CALGARY - 15:21 to go. Jarome Iginla gives Peks a shot low along the ice to deal with. The rebound pops right out in front with little movement and Nigel Dawes deposits it into the empty glove-side half of the net. After that initial shot with Peks not getting a chance to cover it up, it was a done deal on that goal. Smart move by the crafty Calgary captain. Dawes (8) from Iginla (12) and Dion Phaneuf (6). Flames now own a 2-0 lead.
* END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: 0 CGY: 2 Positives - Preds finally showed an offensive pulse and put up 11 SOG that period. Won 61% of the faceoffs. Negatives - Not a good period for Peks as he gave up a weak one. Calgary used their speed to stay deep in the Preds end for sustained time. Flames leading SOG still, now at 19-17.
* 3RD PERIOD
* GOAL for CALGARY - 11:51 to go. Adam Pardy plays the part of sniper as he wires on over Peks high glove side. Simple and clean shot from the top of the slot that Rinne can't get a piece of. That was a Calgary D-man with a shot that had eyes to burn. Pardy (2) from Olli Jokinen (15) and Curtis Glencross (6). The Flames have control of the game with a 3-0 score.
* 4:21 to go and while on the power play head coach Barry Trotz elects to pull the goalie.
* SHORT HANDED EMPTY NET GOAL for CALGARY - 3:59 to go. Glencross ices this one early with an empty netter. Glencross (6) from Robyn Regehr (10). 4-0 Calgary's lead.
* POWER PLAY GOAL for CALGARY - 1:07 to go. The Calgary Captain finally gets in his normal goal against the Predators. A rebound tally for Iggy. Iginla (17) from Glencross (7) and Phaneuf (7). 5-0 and counting the clock down.
* FINAL SCORE – NSH - 0 CGY - 5.
My Three Stars:
1. Curtis Glencross - 1 goal, 2 assists, +1, 3 shots on goal, 1 hit, and 3 takeaways.
2. Miikka Kiprusoff - A shutout with 22 saves.
3. Jarome Iginla - 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 2 shots on goal, and won his only faceoff.
Goalie Grade:C- – The starting goaltender tonight was Pekka Rinne. Not a banner night for Peks by any means. Two softies, a couple of rebounds, and you can chalk it up as an L. Rinne finished the night with 25 saves on 29 shots against.
Quotes:
Brandon Felder - "Shea do you think tonight may have been one of those instances where the amount of games played in so many days took its' toll on you guys?"
Shea Weber - "No. I don't think so. We just didn't play very well."
Felder - "Was it maybe a lack of a strong start?"
Weber - "I don't know. They're a good road team. They came in here, played a better game than us, and got 2 points."
Felder - "When you look at the offensive efforts tonight did you think it was one of those games where the bounces weren't going your way or maybe you guys didn't have enough traffic?"
Weber - "No, we didn't do enough things offensively. We didn't support each other in the offensive zone and we didn't get a whole lot of good chances"
*
Felder - "Peks, did you think tonight may have been a game where the amount of games in days played caught up to you guys?"
Pekka Rinne - "I don't know if that's the reason. I think the effort was there. We made a few mistakes and they executed very well. Obviously we didn't play the way we wanted to play. They didn't let us play our game."
*
Felder - "Arnott, Dumont, and Erat all registered no shots on goal. Was the Flames defense that stifling or was there a lack of execution on their (19, 71, 10) part?"
Barry Trotz - "Well, it probably was a little bit of both. They did a good job defensively. Their shut down guys were good tonight. I think Regehr and Phaneuf were their shutdown guys against our top line. They managed them really well. I have to look if they (19, 71, 10) got shots blocked, but we didn't get a lot generated. They were able to shut us down when we tried to get established in the offensive zone. We just didn't get any sustained thrusts. The times when we looked like we were getting some of those chances, or about to get those chances, they either blocked it, collapsed so we weren't able to get the shot off, or we mishandled the puck. They were sharper, they won more battles, they played a real good road game. I look and they are 10-1-3 now (on the road). There's a reason they are real good on the road and you just saw why."
Final Thoughts:
As bad as the Preds were, I have to give a fair amount of credit to Calgary. They came in, dictated the style of play from the first drop of the puck, and then dominated from that point forward. Other NHL teams beware, because if you don't start at the Flames pace they will just fly right by.
The Predators next game is Wednesday night in Minnesota. The Wild have the faceoff set for 7 pm CST. It will be interesting to see those ex-Preds again in the Xcel Energy Center and even more interesting to see the response this team has to such a one-sided loss.
Till then, take care friends.
Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.
Join the Discussion:
»