The Preds offense punched thru in a key moment for the 10,411 fans in attendance at Bridgestone Arena tonight. It was none other than the Captain himself who used his Cannon slap shot to key his team to victory. The Preds dominated the 3rd period and gave fans a 2-1 victory to close out the home portion of their pre-season games.
Felder’s FANTASTIC Five:
1.
The Captain Has Arrived - Just a really solid game by the Beast known as Shea Weber. He led by example and propelled his team to the win.
2.
The Chemistry Begins To Mix - As the 3rd period finished, the Preds fired off 15 shots on goal that period. Their game total was 31. The chemistry of some of the new lines and new faces really started to gel and it showed. If that period was a sign of things to come then the fans certainly have something to be excited about.
3.
Cool and Calm Goaltender - Peks may be on cruise control at this point. He continues his steady play with another win in net. Just seems that Rinne is ready for these games to count so he can get the ImPEKKAble tag back out once again.
4.
Movement is the Key - As you'll see in the QUOTES section later on, head coach Barry Trotz has been preaching movement as the key to success for a man advantage unit that clicks at a 20% or better pace. They had better chances tonight and then scored the game winner with that special teams unit as well. So far in pre-season they have gone 1-15 on the man advantage, however tonight did show more positive signs than the previous two games.
5.
Earning a Spot - Seems some guys are on the fringe. Barry Trotz seems slightly impressed with Kostitsyn's game (see the QUOTES). I would definitely say that Cal O'Reilly and Jamie Lundmark's roster spots are not exactly on solid ground. Lundmark has been dealing with a groin injury according to Trotz, while O'Reilly… well, he's O'Reilly. Question is, is his past performances enough to keep him from finding a fate similar to Rich Peverley? This observer isn't sold.
Other Notes:
* Tonight’s scratches were too numerous to list.
*
1ST PERIOD
* GOAL for NASHVILLE - 16:54 to go. Sergei Kostitsyn finds the twine with a nifty deflection that goes five-hole past Ondrej Pavelec. The Captain Shea Weber teed up a slap shot but certainly seemed to take some heat off of it to allow a really nice deflection just beyond the top of the crease. Good work by Kositisyn to find the space in front. Kostitsyn from Weber. Preds take an early 1-0 lead.
*
END OF THE 1ST PERIOD – NSH: 1 ATL: 0 Positives - Preds controlled much of the period. Leading shots on goal 8-6.
Negatives - Atlanta winning 61% of the faceoffs.
*
2ND PERIOD
* GOAL for ATLANTA - 4:30 to go. Talk about crashing the net. A backdoor tally for Ben Eager who gets the puck into the back of the net before he himself glances off the post. Nice feed from Chris Thorburn across the crease from distance as well. The Thrashers have now tied the game up at 1.
*
END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – NSH: 1 ATL: 1 Positives - Pekka Rinne continues to be solid. He had no real chance on the back door tally. Now winning 52% of faceoffs thus far.
Negatives - Preds now 0-13 on the man advantage thus far this pre-season. A less aggressive period offensively in my opinion. There were some chances, but not as high of quality and certainly not as much sustained pressure as there was in the 1st period.
*
3RD PERIOD
* MAN ADVANTAGE GOAL for NASHVILLE - 8:58 to go. The Cannon goes off for the first time this year as the Preds new captain Shea Weber rams home a cannon shot from the right point. Lombardi came up the half board and gave the Beast the perfect feed that stayed flat along the ice on the way to his stick. It seemed the puck got deflected on the way to the twine. Weber from Lombardi and Suter. Preds now lead 2-1.
*
FINAL SCORE – NSH - 2 ATL - 1.
My Three Stars:
1.
Shea Weber - 1 game winning goal, 1 primary assist, +1, 3 SOG, 4 hits, and 1 takeaway.
2.
Ben Eager - 1 goal, +1, and 4 SOG.
3.
Sergei Kostitsyn - 1 goal, +1, 1 SOG, and 1 takeaway.
Goalie Grade: A – The starting goaltender tonight was Pekka Rinne. Peks had no drop off in play from his previous performances. He may not have seen as many shots as he would have liked though. Rinne finished the game with 21 saves on 22 shots against.
Quotes:
This will be updated on the afternoon of 9/28
Final Thoughts:
This was Shea Weber's game. He made the great play to set up the SK74 goal and then hammered home the man advantage/game winning goal. The Captain seems ready to rock and roll on the season and took ownership of this game. A very captain-like performance to give the Preds their 2nd pre-season win.
Throughout this pre-season I have noticed that Patric Hornqvist is playing like a man that still needs a contract (although that is not the case). He could actually improve upon his numbers from last season if he continues with the work ethic I've seen thus far.
The Predators next game is Wednesday night in Atlanta followed by their final pre-season game in Washington on Sunday night. I'll be back for the season opener on Oct. 9th v Anaheim. Hope to see you there.
Till the next time, take care and thanks for reading.
Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.
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