Night and day. This was not the same team from last night and thus the Preds used a solid, gritty effort and beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 in the Preds home opener.

Another physical game and this time the Preds would not be shoved around. A very entertaining hockey game that should help alleviate some fears by Pred fans who watched last night’s game.


Felder’s Fantastic Five:


1. Hello Top Line – The Preds top line was awakened tonight and figured in on all 3 of the Preds goals. Arnott had 2 goals, an assist, a +1 rating, 5 shots on goal, and 2 takeaways. Dumont had 3 assists, a +1 rating, and 3 shots on goal. Just a solid performance from these two forwards who will be relied upon heavily this season.

2. Welcome Back PK – No, not Paul Kariya, but rather the penalty kill returned to form and just in time. The Preds stoned the Stars on all 5 of their powerplay’s and made sure Dallas had no chance to come back in this one.

3. Nice to See You D – This game really was quite opposite of last night’s. The D played a very solid game and extra kudos go to Shea Weber and Ryan Suter as they picked up the extra shifts left by Dan Hamhuis’ game misconduct. Weber led the TOI with 28:46, followed by Suter with 26:05.

4. Who Needs An Enforcer? – The guys stuck up for each other tonight and made sure there would be no bullying by the Stars. Hamhuis and DeVries were participants in fights, and the Preds really focused on shutting down Brenden Morrow who is a terrific player with great offensive skill and physical pop.

5. Man Advantage No More? – The Predators used their man advantage time wisely tonight and tallied 2 out of the 6 times they were on the PP. A total of 10 shots on goal while on the advantage led to success and propelled the team to the victory. They keep this up and I’ll call it a powerplay.


Other Notes:


• The scratches for tonight were Ryan Jones and Ville Koistinen. For Dallas, Jere Lehtinen, Doug Janik, and Fabain Brunnstrom were scratched.

• 1ST PERIOD

• The opening lines for the Preds were: 1st line – Dumont, Arnott, Hornqvist. 2nd line – Tootoo, Legwand, Erat. 3rd line – Bonk, Peverley, Ward. 4th line – Fiddler, Nichol, Smithson. D-pairing’s consisted of Weber with Suter, Hamhuis with DeVries, and Zanon with Klein.

• GOAL for the Predators - Just 46 seconds in. Dumont lays one towards the net, Arnott deflects it out towards the crease and the rebound is gathered and tallied by a pinching Shea Weber. Nice way to start for the Preds. Arnott and Dumont with the assists on the Weber goal. 1-0 Nashville leads.

• GOAL for the Stars – 17:59 to go and Trevor Daley roofs one high glove on Ellis. Joel Ward had fallen and could not get back to cover the blueline in time. Daley from Morrow and Ott. Game is tied at 1.

• How badly does the man advantage need a fix? Well, the 2nd PP unit to start the game had the forwards of Legwand, Tootoo, and Bonk….. Yes, Bonk. From scratch last night to 2nd PP unit tonight. Can’t even explain that one folks.

• 11:35 and all hell breaks loose as Jordin Tootoo does what he does, agitate. He and Mary Turco got entangled a bit and then Turco’s stick went flying to the ground. A scrum ensues and then suddenly we find not one but TWO fights occurring on the ice. Hamhuis and Avery are locking them up at the same time DeVries is having a go with Brandon Crombeen. Avery and Hamhuis each received a game misconduct from this huge affair.

• While Avery is in the box something occurred with a female fan nearby that caused words between Avery and the fan. How did this exchange end? Well Avery went to the dressing room right after the lady flicked Avery off. Yeah, it was that intense. Later the stat sheet shows a 2nd game misconduct for Avery, assumed to be from the fan interaction.

• PP GOAL for the Predators – 9:06 to go, Dumont feeds Arnott the puck from behind the net and Arnott roofs in the goal. This is their money play and it worked well for them last season as well. A much needed goal to capture the momentum for Nashville as things were heating up on the ice. Arnott from Dumont and Erat to give the Preds the 2-1 lead.

• 5:40 to go and a streaking Arnott blazes up the right wing and lets off a laser. The puck just trickled by the right post but it appeared to be going in as the home fans jumped to their feet. A big break for Turco as he was beat on that play.

• 35 seconds to go and Turco makes a toe save to stop what was likely a sure fire PP goal. Turco has been tested this game and it is starting to show….

• End of the 1st PERIOD. Preds outshooting the Stars 15-6 and not letting the Stars push them around. The 6 Stars shots are a bit deceiving as most of the six were quality scoring chances. Other key stats at this point include a 78% faceoff winning percentage at even strength for the Preds.

• 2ND PERIOD

• 14:40 to go and Scott Nichol break in on a shorthanded chance but is upended by Stephane Robidas. That call was close to being a penalty shot as Nichol had just backhanded a shot high. A tripping call is made and we have 4 on 4 for 56 seconds…

• 12:12 to go and Marty Turco makes a spectacular glove save on the ice diving to his back door post and just barely stopping Arnott from scoring his 2nd of the night. Great save right there.

• Marty Turco played the puck like he was Tomas Vokoun tonight and on 2 occasions it almost cost him. His net was empty but the Dallas D was in position to frustrate the Nashville shooters and not allow a goal.

• 4:21 to go and the Stars use their timeout. An odd time for it but I’m sure there was a reason.

• 2:34 left and Nichol gets a terrible interference call. Turco came back to make a save and Nichol was driving the net. Somehow it was interpreted that Scooter was interfering with the play and the refs make a weak call on this one.

• 20 seconds to go and Erat, Nichol, and Legwand breakaway for a 3 on 1 chance but Nichol mishandles the pass from Erat and the scoring threat subsides.

• END OF THE 2ND PERIOD – Preds are still limiting Dallas’ shots and the PK looks much better tonight then it did yesterday.

• Last season the Preds went 26-1-1 when leading after 2 periods. Let’s see if that trend can carry over into this season.

• 15:00 to go and this crowd just can’t be comfortable. Although the Preds have really dominated the play lately, the Stars are still just one shot away from making this a tie game. An insurance goal is highly needed to let everyone feel more at ease.

• It is the tense moments like a Suter holding penalty with 7 minutes to go that decide games. The little things in hockey are what I love so much and it makes the game so interesting to watch. Each shift can change the entire game and true sports fans appreciate that and the game of hockey.

• 4:08 to go and Steve Ott gets called for a high stick. This was an incidental high stick that caught Zanon in the face but the ref had a sharp eye and made the call. A little insurance goal right here would be wonderful and brilliant.

• PP GOAL for the Predators – 3:47 left in the game. As I’m typing the last sentence above Arnott receives a feed in front of the net. It bounces off his stick tape but not very far and he is able to push in the puck for a goal. Arnott’s 2nd of the night assisted by Dumont and Erat. Preds lead 3-1.

• 2:07 to go and Zanon gets away with a trip in his crease. Very fortunate for the Preds as when I saw it I automatically assumed an arm was raised…

• 1:53 to go and the Stars pull Turco from the net in favor of the extra attacker.

• The Preds D hold them off and get the 1st win with a 3-1 final.



My Three Stars:

1. Jason Arnott
2. J.P. Dumont
3. Shea Weber


Goalie Grade: A- – The starting goaltender tonight was Dan Ellis. He stopped most of what he saw, however there were some desperation moments that had me a bit concerned. Overall a quality game from Dan who showed what he can do as long as the D shows up in front of him.



Ref Review: B – The crew tonight was Tim Peel, Justin St. Pierre, Scott Driscoll, and Thor Nelson. A couple bad calls and some missed ones both ways. Not a terribly officiated game but during the Tootoo-Turco fracas they lost control a bit.



Quotes:


J.P. Dumont on the difference between last night’s PP and tonight’s – “I think yesterday maybe our focus was more on trying to do everything perfectly. We know we didn’t like the powerplay last year, and we tried to work on it in training camp and yesterday maybe we tried a little bit too hard. But tonight we tried to take shots first and always go to the net and it worked good for us today.”

Dan Ellis on whether or not there is still extra motivation to play against Dallas – “Definitely. I think whenever you play against a team that let you go and didn’t think you were good enough you always have a little extra in your back pocket and in your heart to give. It’s important to get 2 points. Right now you want to set aside personal things like that and get a team point after the rough start we had in St. Louis and we were able to play one of our best games I’ve think we’ve every played as a team tonight.”

Scott Nichol on whether or not the opposition is trying to test the Preds physically – “I just think that the 1st couple of games in the year everyone is really excited and anxious to get a real good start. It’s almost like, I want to say playoff hockey, because there are still a few guys fighting for jobs still. You have to have a good start in this league because you don’t want to be behind right from November on.”

Jason Arnott on whether or not team’s are trying to test the Preds physically since they don’t have a true enforcer – “Maybe. We don’t really think of it that way because we have enough guys that will stick up for each other on any given night. If we can sucker them in and get a powerplay out of it we’ll take it. Last year Detroit never had anybody (an enforcer) hardly and they ended up winning the Cup. Sometimes you have to turn the cheek and sometimes you have to stick up for your teammates and I think everybody has done a great job in here of doing that.”

Barry Trotz on whether or not team’s are testing the Preds grit – “Early in the season everybody comes at you hard and I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t come at ya. I think what you are finding is that everybody mixes up toughness and grit sometimes. We don’t actually have one tough guy. There’s a lot of grit and toughness and it’s hard to find it. Our toughness is being strong on the wall, being resilient, and hard on the puck. That to me is toughness. Detroit defines it.”


Final Thoughts:


What an entertaining game to start things off at the Sommet Center. We all knew this was still a rivalry and the play tonight proved it. This was a great game to get even more fans hooked in Nashville since I’m sure there were some first timers in the sold out crowd.

The Predators next game is this Monday night at Chicago. The game time is 7:30 CST and can be seen on FS Tennessee or heard via the radio on 104.5 the Zone. Before you watch the game don’t forget to tune into 560 AM or www.wnsr.com for the premiere of the Nashville Hockeybuzz Radio show with myself and Preds P.A. Paul McCann. We’ll discuss the 1st two games, the week ahead, and have a special hockey history segment with Pete Weber. Hope you tune in.

Till next time, take care.




Don’t forget to tune into the Nashville Hockeybuzz Radio show, Monday nights from 6 to 7 pm on WNSR 560 A.M. with Paul McCann and myself discussing all things Preds! Just ONE DAY till the 1st show!


Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.