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Preds Come From Behind Blues to Capture the 2

April 1, 2008, 8:32 PM ET [ Comments]

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This game has obvious playoff implications for Nashville, and for the Blues a chance to knock a Central brethren back one step away from a playoff berth. The Blues jumped out early but the Preds didn’t quit and fought back to capture an exciting 4-3 OT win and get the highly coveted 2 points out of this contest.

Felder’s FREAKIN’ FANTASTIC Five:

1. Chris Mason – He has been on the backburner for days with the excellent play of Dan Ellis, but Ellis faltered tonight and Chris did exactly what was necessary to bring this team back into the game. He stopped some quality chances and even though he only faced 10 total shots, the most important thing was he never allowed the Blues to tally and lengthen their lead. He did his job, he kept the team in it, and for that he deserves praise.

2. Rich Peverley – Not only did he score the OT goal, but he finished the night with an assist as well, a +3 rating, had 4 shots on goal, and went 3 for 4 in the faceoff dot. Little did we know just how important Pevers returning from that stinger last game would be…

3. Brandon Bochenski – Not only is his first name great, but his goal got Nashville off the goose egg and on the way to the comeback. That play alone showed his offensive capabilities that every team he has been with was looking to see. Hopefully he continues to produce while here. Brandon finished with one goal, one assist, a +2 rating, and had 2 shots on goal.

4. Never quit attitude – If it weren’t for that never quit attitude then this game would have been over after Ellis let in 3. I’m sure the guys recalled their come from behind win against Montreal earlier this season and KNEW they could come back. The great part is that it wasn’t just an attempted comeback, but the sealed the deal in OT.

5. Jordin Tootoo – Very cool to see him score on the national stage and show everyone that he has more than one dimension to his game. That was Tootoo’s 11th goal of the season and he also finished the game with an assist, a +2 rating, and had 4 shots on goal.


Other Notes:

• Early on Ellis had to make two quality saves, and finally the 3rd quality chance does go in. A very flat start for Nashville. Zidlicky was unable to control the puck in the corner and Suter was a tad bit late into the slot as Andy McDonald took the pass from Perron and fired it in.

• The start turns from flat to terrible. Jamal Mayers lasers one over Ellis high glove. This goal prompts Barry Trotz to use his timeout. Things must change quickly or this one could get out of hand and thus putting another hit of the nail on the coffin.

• From terrible to playoff death watch. Perron scores by lifting the puck just under Ellis right arm blocker. A very weak goal and Ellis is justly removed from net and Chris Mason brought in. 3-0 St. Louis not even half-way into the 1st period and this game is becoming a tough one to watch.

• A delay in the game is caused by a door malfunction on the Preds bench. This gives the guys time to think about their poor play and Barry Trotz time to come up with some line combos. I’m sure we will see plenty of different ones the rest of the night.

• Key stats after the 1st period: Nashville has ZERO blocked shots, 9 missed shots thus far, and the most important is the obvious 3-0 St. Louis lead.

• Legace suffers a hip strain and now Hannu Toivonen begins the 2nd period in net for St. Louis. Maybe this will be the change that the Preds need to come back. Maybe…

• Nashville begins to crawl back into things as Brandon Bochenski, the man with a great first name, takes it upon himself and strides over the blueline up the left wing, cuts inside, and then beats Toivonen to get Nashville on the board. St. Louis 3, now Nashville 1.

• The 1st penalty of the night for either team is called with just 2:36 to go in the 2nd. They are letting them play tonight. Of course, it was another inept powerplay for Nashville. I shudder to think where this team would be if there PP % was even 20% as opposed to their 26th best 15.1%.

• Key stats after 2 periods: 11 missed shots, credit to St. Louis for 10 blocked shots thus far, and only 4 total Nashville blocked shots on St. Louis.

• Jordin Tootoo shows the entire nation he is not just a disturber and rips a slapper past Toivonen. The best part about that slapper is that it not only had Jordin’s strength behind it, but the shot was accurate and on net. That sounds stupid and simple but sometimes that is a problem for Jordin. Now St. Louis has just a one goal lead!

• VEEERRRRNNNNNNNN!!!!!! My good buddy Mr. Fiddler delivers just what the doctor orders. We now have a tie game with Fiddler tallying for his 11th of the season. From Rudy’s Agent to Fids, way to go bud! Tied at 3 now.

• After a St. Louis timeout one of their shots goes in the net to be immediately waved off by the refs. The Blues owner was shown visibly upset. The only indication I can see for the no goal call was a possible goaltender interference. I can see why St. Louis fans would be upset though so it won’t bother me if they choose to vent about it.

• Exactly two minutes to go in the 3rd period and Kariya tumbles to the ice after contact with Dan Hamhuis. A very inopportune time to call a penalty and considering the rest of the game I’m a bit perplexed they would whistle this one down. At first I thought it would just be a call on Hamhuis and I was upset at the lack of a diving call on Kariya. After the commercial break we come back to find Paul Kariya in the box as well with a DIVING call. These young eyes are getting good at spotting those things if I say so myself.

• The guys rally back from down 3-0, get a point, and head to OT. Another point gained but that 2nd one is needed.

• Rich Peverley does it in OT and the Preds come back from a 3 goal defecit for just the 5th time in franchise history to knock of the Blues in OT. What a game to watch! For the first time in a long time I allowed myself to truly be a fan and let me tell you that it was a great night to do so. I haven’t jumped up for a goal in over a year but Peverley’s OT winner made me spring to my feet in jubilation. Peverley sure has come a long way since playing in Charleston, SC for the Stingrays……



My Three Stars:

1. Chris Mason
2. Rich Peverley
3. Brandon Bochenski


Goalie Grades: F/A+ – The starting goaltender tonight was Dan Ellis. I think one of the hardest things to identify in this sport is why a goalie can go from extremely hot, to suddenly cold. I’m not sure if it is mental or defensive lapses or what. Dan let in 3 goals on just 7 shots. The 1st goal was a result of bad D that gave up too much time in the slot. The other 2 were just play soft goals. It has been so long since we’ve seen Dan give up a softy but tonight he gave up two. Chris Mason came in after the 3 goals scored by St. Louis. Mason seized the opportunity by the throat and stopped every single St. Louis shot he faced (technically). If I’m a St. Louis fan however I’m very disappointed in the lack of shots Mason did see though, which was just 10 total.

Ref Review: B – The crew tonight was Dennis LaRue, Wes McCauley, David Brisebois, and Don Henderson. The refs were not calling much but there were at least two times in the 3rd period where I just can’t help but gripe. Kariya gets away with a hold/interference call when he is sitting on a Pred, and then a non-call when Bonk was flung into the boards. That easily could have been a boarding call and should have been in my opinion. In the end I’m sure St. Louis fans will have issue with the no goal call and I can understand why.

Final Thoughts: An amazing game to watch from start to finish. The team once again only played for 2 periods, but it did lead to an OT win. If they can just eliminate that nasty habit of not showing up for either the 1st or the 2nd period (you never know which it'll be each game) then they should have no problem taking care of their business the rest of the way.

The Preds next game will be their final regular season home game, this Thursday night vs the same St. Louis Blues. Start time at the Sommet Center is 7 PM. I've been told there are still around 1000 tickets left so if you haven't made plans to pay the Preds a visit you might want to get those tickets quick. For those of you unable to attend you will be able to hear my good friends Pete and Terry on FSN South or 104.5 the Zone. Here is an interesting tidbit for me to let you think about till next time. People are forgetting that the last games are back to back. The goaltending situation will rise to the forefront once again after tonight and the question will be which goaltender to start vs St. Louis, and which to start against Chicago. If it were me I would go with Mace on Thursday and Danny on Friday. What do you think will be done?

Till Thursday, take care!
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