It was a rough night to be a goaltender in the Sommet Center. A high scoring affair in front of 15,084 left the home team fans very happy. The 2nd period goal explosion helped the Preds come back and run away with this one. The final result was a 7-4 win for the Nashville Predators over the rarely played against Tampa Bay Lightning. This win stopped a 4 game winning streak for the Lightning in games against Nashville.
Felder’s FANTASTIC Five:
1. Goals From All Sorts of Places - Maybe the most impressive thing about this contest from a Preds standpoint is the contribution of every line. For a team that usually relies heavily on it's top line to win a game with this many goals, and only 1 goal be from the top unit, well it's a very positive sign in my opinion. A total of 18 points coming from 14 different players. An explosive night on offense that had the wealth spread all around. You can't complain with a shooting percentage of 7 goals on 27 shots.
2. Beating Them Physically - The Lightning appeared to want to play physical from the get go. The Preds were more than willing to push back. Maybe the absence of Jordin Tootoo had Tampa thinking they could test the Preds but that proved to be an inaccurate assumption. Preds Head Coach Barry Trotz seemed to think think differently (as you'll see in the QUOTES section), but I did feel as though the Lightning were throwing the body around and trying to tire out the Preds. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way it appeared to me.
3. Collecting Rebounds and Cashing In - The turning point in this game was the rebound goals the Preds cashed in on against Lightning starter Antero Niittymaki. Solid crease crashing and finding ways to shoot the puck where Niitty appeared unable to hang on cost Tampa this game. With that momentum, there was no stopping the Preds offense for once. Even when Smith was brought in, the Preds then starting picking their spots and cashing in on some soft goals.
4. Effective Forecheck - The Lightning only had 8 giveaways (compared to Nashville's 18), but I really felt the forecheck was in full force for the Preds tonight and helped create some of those down low chances they cashed in on. This could be a case where Tampa is not used to seeing that style of play very often in the Eastern Conference because they seemed unprepared for it in the 2nd period. Either way, I felt the disruption the forecheck caused was a big help towards the Nashville cause in this one.
5. Vinny and Steven LIve Up To The Hype - A rare chance to see stars like Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Stamkos. You always hope to see their skill sets in person and tonight all 3 put on a show. The stand out was Lecavalier, and I think Tampa fans have reason to hope this game has sparked their captain for the better. He played an outstanding game, and despite the loss, I voted him my #1 Star. The young Steven Stamkos was outstanding as well. He certainly looks like a veteran and impressed all with his 18th goal this season. The fact that the Lightning have such talented forwards, and yet have had their struggles winning of late is very perplexing. This has to be the reason Tampa fans are frustrated. There is a great core of players on the ice for the Lightning and I can see why the expectations are as high as they are for this team. Tampa didn't get the win, but their players lived up to their billing here at the Sommet tonight.
Other Notes:
* Tonight’s scratch for the Nashville Predators was Dave Scatchard. Jordin Tootoo is out for 3-4 weeks with a broken foot (as first reported right here at HB) and is currently on the IR list. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, Todd Fedoruk, Jeff Halpern, and Alex Tanguay were scratched. This meant Tampa dressed 8 D-men. Odd I know. There are no players listed on IR for the Lightning.
* 1ST PERIOD
* 17:19 to go. We have Alexander Sulzer crouched on the ice on both knees. Sulzer went to hit Lecavalier along the boards and ended up injuring himself somehow. With the lack of TV coverage (as in none from either team) we did not get to see a replay of the missed hit since the megatron feed never showed said replay. Sulzer did return to the game. This is where I hate no TV games. I'm not able to go back and look at things and try and make sure I saw things correctly. So, if there are factual errors in my report tonight by all means correct them in the comments so I can better reflect the game.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 13:07 to go. David Legwand takes the puck back around behind the net after a rebound on a Joel Ward shot pops out glove side. Leggy puts in on net low stick side, and the puck skips out to the top of the crease. Neither Matt Walker nor Steven Stamkos clear the puck before Jerred Smithson backhands it home low glove side on Antero Niittymaki. Nice effort goal from the shut down 3rd line. Smithson (5) from Legwand (13) and Ward (8). Preds take the 1-0 lead.
* GOAL for TAMPA BAY - 8:25 to go. This just in… Steven Stamkos is freaking fast. Stamkos rushes past Shea Weber. Stamkos was driving the right slot, got just ahead of Webs, and then took it towards Rinne from glove side crossing over to stick side. It appeared that Stamkos attempted a harder shot than he got off, since the puck trickled in 5-hole under the right leg pad of Peks. Maybe Stamkos is just that nifty (and he may be but I don't get to see him often so I'm not sure) but either way it's a solid speed goal for the young Lightning star. Stamkos (18) from Ryan Malone (12) and Mattias Ohlund (7). This game is now tied at 1.
* 4:38 to go and the Preds miss on a great shorthanded chance. Jerred Smithson is in the box for cross-checking (an undeserved penalty since he himself was cross-checked while getting up from the ice by Ohlund). Leggy works his PK magic and creates a back door chance for Marcel Goc. Had Goc gotten his stick on this one it would've been a shorty for sure. Alas, Goc misses his swipe of the puck and the Lightning go unscathed.
* 5 on 3 GOAL for TAMPA BAY - 3:30 to go. With Smithson and Suter in the box, Kurtis Foster elects to pass off a point shot to Lecavalier. Vinny then wires home a slap shot high glove on Rinne who was drawn towards the right point where Foster originally looked as though he going to shoot from. Nice execution by the Lightning power play unit on that one. Lecavalier (7) from Foster (4) and Martin St. Louis (28). Tampa takes a 2-1 lead.
* END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 1 TB: 2Positives - The 3rd line chipped in a goal. Negatives - Pitiful effort in terms of shots on goal for Nashville. They are losing the SOG battle 13-5 at this point. PK was unable to kill off that 5 on 3 which is always a bad sign of things to come.
* 2ND PERIOD
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 18:48 to go. Hey hey, the 3rd line strikes again. Yet another rebound effort produces a point. This time David Legwand backhands the puck in on Niittymaki's low glove side. Joel Ward had the initial shot, rebound shot, and continued to push at the puck when possible. Legwand (7) from Ward (9). We are now tied again, this time at 2.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 17:03 to go. There is a theme developing here and it's called rebound goals. This time Nick Spaling shoots a backhander 5-hole at Niittymaki that gets stopped but lays in the crease right next to Nitty's pads. Ryan Jones cruises thru and pushes the rebound in under Antero. That's Spaling's first point in his first NHL game and Jones 3rd goal in as many games. The young guns find a way to make a difference on the 4th line. Jones (3) from Spaling (1) and Weber (12). Preds surge ahead to a 3-2 lead.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 7:38 to go. We now have all but the top line chipping in. A shot deep from Patric Hornqvist finds the twine high stick side. This goal prompts Tampa to pull Niittymaki and put in Mike Smith. Hornqvist (8) from Goc (3). Preds now own a 4-2 lead.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 7:10 to go. Well that goaltender change didn't help much. The very next shift and the Preds score again. A now clean shaven J.P. Dumont deflects the puck low and under Mike Smith. Hornqvist had the initial shot that Dumont was able to deflect in the crease. Dumont (6) from Hornqvist (6). It's all Preds at 5-2.
* 6:21 to go and we have The Beast getting into a fight with Steve Downie. Apparently Downie didn't know what he was in for. Webs decimates Downie with upper cuts and some huge right handers. Downie found out what many others have known since Webs fight streak last season, you don't mess with The Beast. Those upper cuts are deadly folks. Just ask Andreas Lilja about it. Unfortunately, he's still yet to return from his fight with Shea Web. Also, it should be noted that considering his injury that bout was all the more impressive to me. Enough said.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 3:51 to go. Mercy rule anyone? A glove side goal tallied from Dan Hamhuis. Jason Arnott was in front screening Smith slightly. Just a nice shot from the point that had eyes thru the traffic. Hamhuis (3) from Suter (14) and Goc (4). It's now 6-2 Preds who have 6 goals on just 16 shots on goal.
* 1:50 to go. The Lightning just won't go quietly. Now we have Stephane Veilleux squaring off with Kevin Klein. Once again, a Preds D-man wins a fight. Upper cuts and big rights that strike the back of the head for the turned Tampa player give the Preds another reason to be excited. Not a good showing for Veilleux in my opinion. Not sure why he fought there. He's not known as a fight by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, last season he only had 2 fights. One actually was in Nashville, against Scott Nichol, on November 29th, 2008. The other was at Calgary on February 27th of this year against Curtis Glencross.
* END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: TB:Positives - Quite a bit that period. Production from almost every line, a high shooting percentage, and 2 wins in fights. Negatives - I can find none for the Preds. Well, except their 13 giveaways so far.
* 3RD PERIOD
* 19:07 to go. Ryan Malone and Jerred Smithson jostle along the boards. Smithers had his hands full in this one as he picked the wrong customer to go with. A win for Malone since he's the only one who connected on his punches. Nice upper cuts from Malone did Jerred in.
* POWER PLAY GOAL for TAMPA BAY - 18:08 to go. Smithson's roughing penalty costs the Preds. Kurtis Foster rams home a slap shot low stick side. Just nice placement of the puck right on the inside edge of the post. Foster (4) from Lecavalier (21) and St. Louis (29). Preds lead is 6-3 now.
* GOAL for TAMPA BAY - 7:40 to go. Any time you give Vinny Lecavalier a breakaway you may as well chalk up a goal. A nice up ice pass split the D and gave the Lightning captain a straight shot at Pekka Rinne. A little deke, and then Lecavalier slipped the puck in 5-hole before Peks could fully drop to his butterfly. Very nice goal as expected. Lecavalier (8) from Andrej Meszaros (5). The Nashville lead is now just 6-4.
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 6:13 to go. The top line finally gets in on the goal scoring act. Steve Sullivan sends a wrister at the goal from the half boards at the middle of the faceoff circle marker. The puck deflect off of Veilleux's skate and goes straight to Martin Erat's stick. Smith got caught on this one since he couldn't find the puck by the time Erat lifted it up and in on the glove side. Erat (11) from Sullivan (14) and Arnott (10). The top line appears to have put this one away for good. Preds hold a 7-4 advantage.
* FINAL SCORE – NSH - 7 TB - 4.
My Three Stars:
1. Lecavalier - 2 goals, 1 assist, game leading 7 shots on goal, 1 hit, 1 takeaway, 1 blocked shot, and won 15 of 24 faceoffs taken.
3. Legwand - 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 4 SOG, 3 giveaways, 1 takeaway, 1 blocked shot, and won just 4 of his 10 faceoffs taken.
Goalie Grade:C – The starting goaltender tonight was Pekka Rinne. You have to feel a little sorry for Peks. The Lightning forwards are so skilled, and it doesn't help when you give them a couple of breakaways. The only soft goals to me were the slap shots deep. Those both seem to baffle Peks. I can't fault him too much for getting fooled on breakaways by Stamkos and Lecavalier. All in all, not his most outstanding performance, but a good enough performance to get those all important 2 points.
Quotes:
Brandon Felder - "Shea, it was a pretty chippy affair for two teams that rarely see each other. Did you feel like they were maybe trying to test you guys physically with a guy like Toots out of the lineup?"
Shea Weber - "No. I think they were just a hungry team. I don't think they've won a whole lot in the last 10 games so they were gonna come here and do whatever it took to win a game."
Felder - "Talk about the depth of offense from you guys. All four lines chip in with goals. Pretty important considering sometimes this team relies heavily on the top line to score."
Weber - "Yeah, that's huge. We're going to need that, especially down the stretch. Right now it's going well cause everyone is scoring but it's going to need to continue. We can't rely on one line to do everything for us."
*
Felder - "Talk about your tough task to stop guys like Lecavalier and Stamkos tonight. Those are some very very skilled players."
Pekka Rinne - "It was kind of a hard game for everybody when you score five goals in the 2nd period. I wish I could have stopped those guys but they had more time than I thought. Both times they made a move and both times they… I just got wide open both time. They knew what they were doing. It was just a tough 3rd period. To go into with a 4 goal lead, then they score one on the power play, and then another one on a breakaway. We handled it pretty well and I think we learned from that game in Ottawa. That was the same type of game. But I'm just happy we got the win."
*
Felder - "Well Nick, were you at all surprised that you got the call-up for this one? A lot of pundits thought Thuresson would come up, but your play got your number called."
Nick Spaling - "Yeah. I was a little bit surprised there but excited. I was just happy to get the call. I was just focusing on my games down there so I wasn't expecting to get called up. I was just happy to do so."
Felder - "Not an easy task in your first game to go up against the likes of Lecavalier and Stamkos. Talk about getting a feel for the NHL speed tonight."
Spaling - "Yeah. That was a fast team. It's another level up here and that was a fast team. It was another step for sure."
Felder - "First NHL game and first NHL point. Pretty much everything you could ask for except that first NHL goal?"
Spaling - "Yeah. I had a lot of fun tonight. It was pretty exciting to get that first point. I was more than happy with that. It was great."
*
Felder - "With it being a back to back and Jordin Tootoo out, did you feel like Tampa tried to test you guys physically?"
Barry Trotz - "No. Not really. I think they were just targeted our defense. They were just trying to deplete our numbers a bit. Old tactic."
Felder - "Your thoughts on Peks tonight."
Trotz - "I thought he made a big save early in the 1st, but I thought he was a little too active on the goals. I think if he was just a little more patient he could've closed down some of the holes. I thought he was ok. I've seen him better, that's for sure, but he got the win and that's all that counts."
Final Thoughts:
That was a fun game to watch. Goals, fights, hits, and speed. All the elements of a entertaining hockey game were present. While it probably wasn't fun for Lightning fans from the 2nd period on, the good news is that they didn't actually SEE all those goals. For Pred fans, those not in attendance will surely wish to revisit this offensive explosion by the entire Predators team. Very few things to complain about from the Predator perspective so enjoy the quality win until the Preds next one.
The Predators next game is this Thursday night at Edmonton. Faceoff is set for 8:30 PM CST. Should be interesting to see just how much speed is showcased in this game.
Till the next time, take care friends.
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