I have to admit… I was pessimistic heading into last night’s game… that pessimism was unfounded as the Nashville Predators responded to adversity well in their 3-2 win over Ottawa. The first few minutes of the game showed that my pregame feelings may have been on target as a little over 4 minutes in, Ottawa went up 1-0… and the feeling of “oh boy…” permeated Smashville.
That feeling lasted exactly :30 seconds as Colin Blackwell slammed home a rebound to tie the game. Attitude is a critical piece of this game and the attitude of the Johansen / Blackwell / Sissons line was a huge factor in the response and in the overall game. Ryan Johansen has brought a bigger game over the past couple of weeks complete with a bit more snarl that is a key component to success for the big center. The same center that drove Ryan Kesler up the wall in the Conference finals three years ago is showing himself… and that is a very good thing.
The game settled down a bit, teams trading chances, Ottawa certainly not giving up or giving in, despite the relative youth and inexperience of the Senators. The Sens traded away a couple of key players on deadline day so the team is taking a look at their AHL prospects to see if they can hack it. First blush reaction is that they can as late roster add Filip Chlapik put the Senators up 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the first.
And again… that “here we go again” feeling crept in, especially given the Predators recent second period performances… and again… the Preds answered… with authority.
A little over five minutes in, the associate captain rose up, after missing 20 games, Ryan Ellis made his presence felt hammering home a laser of a shot from the high slot for his seventh goal of the season, and a power play goal to boot. It was then the Senators really showed their youth… taking another ill-advised penalty.
Ninety seconds later, Viktor Arvidsson scored his 14th of the season. Two power play goals in one period? What is this magic? Maybe not magic, but what I liked about both goals is that they came off hard work and solid positioning.
The game then turned to a goaltending duel and both Craig Anderson and Juuse Saros were up to the task. Give Ottawa full marks, they made a solid push in the waning moments of the game, but Saros was there to preserve the lead and seal the win.
The “four out of every six” mantra is working and for the first time since before Thanksgiving, the Predators end an evening in playoff position. Now that they have got there… it’s time to build on it. Calgary is in tomorrow night for the first of two critical conference matchups to end this week.
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Where They Stand – a daily look at where the Predators are in the playoff race.
With last night’s win and Winnipeg’s OT loss… as play opens on 2/26/2020, the Nashville Predators are in the 4 spot in the Central and the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. It has been 15 weeks since Nashville has occupied a playoff position. The Preds are tied in points with Winnipeg and Arizona and trail Calgary by two points. They have two games in hand over the Flames, one game in hand over the Jets and a whopping four games in hand over the Coyotes. The Preds trail Colorado by nine points for third in the Central and the Av’s hold a game in hand over the Preds.
The positioning makes Thursday and Saturday’s games massive.
Impact games tonight – BUF @ COL.
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Random Notes – Presented by
- Ryan Ellis was spectacular last night, posting the game tying goal and assisting on the game winner. It was his ninth multi-point game of the season.
- AHL All-Star Connor Ingram was brought up on an emergency basis to back up Saros. Pekka Rinne is battling an illness.
- Watch out for the suddenly hot New York Rangers… they are onj a tear right now and only four points out of a playoff spot
- Joe Thorton had some interesting comments yesterday… saying that he wanted a trade to a cup contender.
- Alex Ovechikin got #701 and the shootout winner for the Caps last night. Shooting down the Jets 4-3.
- Tonight’s games – 7pm – BUF @ COL. 9:30pm – EDM @ VGK, PIT @ LAK.
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SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I are on Monday night’s this season. The best hour of hockey talk on the longest running hockey show in the southeast … Join us Mondays at 7pm on 102.5 the Game… except this week when the Preds play Monday night, we will be live at 11am on Sunday morning.
Our sponsor list continues to grow. Not only are we welcoming back
Drs. Jane Bacon and Aileen Kruger at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762 and our good friend Carter Church, Your Murfreesboro real estate expert with Weichert – The Andrews Group. And our newest sponsors…
Cool Springs Wines and Spirits! The largest spirit store in all of middle Tennessee! And La-Z-Boy Nashville! Three locations, locally owned and operated, check out La-Z-Boy in Murfreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!
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