Preds at Oilers

Back in October the Preds were embarrased at their own arena by the Edmonton Oilers, LAST night however, they got their revenge..... and it was SWEET!

The first five minutes of the game seemed to be going the same route as the previous one, but with an early time-out by Coach Trotz, and a goaltender switcheroo, the momentum came straight to the visiting team's bench. In all fairness, the 2 early goals by the Oilers (one on a powerplay and the other where the Defense was just schooled) were not Pek's fault, but Trotz had to make a tough choice and get the team fired up...... AND it worked. You see that Trotzy haters? HE MAKES GOOD DECISIONS..... like always!

7 minutes later, Ryan Jones scores his fourth goal of the season, bringing the boys within 1, and continuing to post his reasons why he should be in the Big League, after all, he IS getting paid those Big Boy dollars. If Jones keeps playing like this, there will be no doubt for the nay-sayers out there regarding Jonesy.... He belongs up here, and it is very good to see him producing and playing very well.

Not to be outdone, the hottest line for the Nashville Predators, the Ward, Legwand, Smithson line connected for Wardo to get the game tying goal around the 16 minute mark of the first period. It is so good to see this line really connecting and producing for the Preds, cannot tell you how long we have been waiting for Leggy to really connect for the team and produce like we know he can. Watching the set-up and the goal there really was never any doubt that the puck was going in to the net on that sequence, and that is what makes this team fun to watch. They are creating chances and the follow-up from the guys is what is really impressive. This team will not quit, and that is what is going to take them far.

Just to steal more momentum from the home team, Marcel Goc (one of my new favorites to watch) scores 50 seconds later and helps take his team to the locker room after the first with a come from behind 3-2 lead. Goc is truly making a name for himself with this Predators team, and JP Dumont set him up for that goal beautifully. Goc has 5 goals on the season.......Marcel Goc... who would have thought THAT was going to happen?

The Predators did not lay low for the second period either, with Patric Horn-Dog Hornqvist scoring the 4th goal on the night for the Preds (his 9th on the season). Playing hard and generating chances seems to be working for this team, but Deslauriers kept the game close (if you can call it that). The Oilers team is fast, and usually the Preds cannot keep up with that kind of speed, usually losing confidence and allowing the other team to come back and score a few. The Oilers did make their mark during one of these unfocused times with Nilsson netting a powerplay goal during the second to pull within 1. Horn Dog would not have any of it though, taking full advantage of the extra man and scoring goal number 5 for the visiting team, his 10th on the season. Yes, you read that right, 10th..... BY THE WAY, only Jason Arnott and Martin Erat have more goals than Horny.....

The third period, was not the Preds but they came through it not allowing any goals, and scoring a legitimate goal from Jerred Smithson with seconds to go in the game, effectively nailing the coffin shut for the Oilers. Smithers was determined to score, since his empty netter was called back seconds before for an off-sides by Legwand.

Last night's game was fun to watch, and being a Predator fan has been a pleasant surprise this year. A rough beginning, a hot streak in November, a couple of rough games to begin December, and the start of a new streak in the making now. The tough part will be when they visit the Calgary Flames on Saturday for the second meeting of the season. The first, much like the first meeting between the Oilers and the Preds, did not go well for Trotz and his team, but with the team's confidence rising, and realizing that even with their "no-name" talent they can do well, maybe they can exact revenge on the Flames. Calgary does seem to school the Preds everytime they meet, and with their offensive talent and Kipper in net, they have every reason to do so. Personally, I am hoping for a huge upset on behalf of the Preds.

During his Post-game interview, Ellis told Pete and Terry that Peks was suffering from a little bit of the flu....... get better Peks!!!! That makes the decision to pull him so early a little more understandable, considering the 2 goals he had against him were not neccesarily his fault, a great decision by Trotz. He needed momentum, and he got it. It just sucks that Peks was feeling bad, and couldn't get this "W".

Looking forward to Saturday's game, even though I won't be able to see any of it..... ahhhh the life of a retail store manager at holiday time. No room for hockey.....

Let's Go Preds!

Sharks @ Predators

Thank you Predators for yet another home win! It makes the 2 1/2 hour drive home a lot easier to swallow.....

The Preds won 4-3 last night against the San Jose Sharks, same score as the last meeting of the two, but different outcome. The Preds pulled out a huge win against argueably one of the best teams in the NHL. There was no point in the game that the home team was slacking off, though sorry Arny, you did seem like you were calling it in all game...... Maybe Patric Hornqvist will give you some pointers on how to play with heart, just a suggestion.

Although Pekka Rinne had some spectacular saves, he had an average game overall. The real story of last night was the Ward, Legwand, Smithson line......
Really and truly that line has played some of the most exciting hockey we as Preds fans have seen in a long time. It was really great to see the chances that Leggy has been generating pay off with a goal and 2 assists and first star honors! Seriously, when was the last time Leggy was a star of the game?

Not to be put aside, Smithers has continued to play great hockey and generated a lot of excitement on the ice. Ward seemed to be right in the thick of the action and would not give up, really this line is Fang-tastic!! Cheesy? yes.... LOVE IT!

What was up with the game clock though? Trotz was ANGRY about it during his post-game interview and rightfully so. The Sharks should not have been allowed all of that extra time to rest and get a strategy together, if there was ever a team that could make a game-tying play within those 3 seconds, the Sharks are it. Thankfully the Preds were able to stave off any plays for that 3 seconds, but still, it should NEVER have happened. PLUS, it was delaying my departure, that's all I am gonna say about that though. Game Clock Officials, GET IT TOGETHER!

Overall, an incredible game against an incredible team. Where will the Preds be in March if this keeps up? All the line juggling, all of the hate for Trotzy, all of the lack of support for the team will be null and void if they continue to play with the heart, determination, and confidence that they have shown in the last few weeks. Yes, there have been some heart-breaking losses for the Preds (last Sharks game, etc..) but with the current roster, and the gritty under-dog mentality, we may just have ourselves an exciting season of hockey to watch!

Congrats again to the Preds on a FANTASTIC win! Can't wait to be back on Monday as you take on the WINGS!

Let's GO Preds!

Preds VS Blackhawks again: Post game

Preds fans were treated to a FangTastic win last night against arguably one of the top offensive teams in the NHL, and although tweets were flying about the scratch of Martin Erat, no one seemed to miss him on the ice. Coincidence or not, the Predators showed up, came together as a team and pulled out a HUGE win!
First- let me say a HUGE congratulations to Pekka Rinne on his first shutout of the season. Has he gained some of his confidence back in the last week? As someone said on twitter, he was laughing and smiling during his post-game interview, even while admitting that he had lost some confidence due to his slow start. Could it be that Peks has decided to forget about the sophomore curse and begun to focus solely on the game at hand? His glove was snatching pucks out of the air and not allowing key rebounds, in turn helping his D.
Weber and Suter did their homework for this game by tag-teaming Patrick Kane, not allowing him to shine with his puck handling, and cutting off key chances for the young phenom in the attack zone. Awesome hit from Weber on Kane down low, only to follow up seconds later with another check. To this I say THANK YOU, you ARE paying attention, and helping your goaltender out.
Patric Hornqvist is slowly earning a huge portion of my heart, his tenacity is being shown in each and every game that he plays. His favorite hang out was the crease (as it should be) and his breakaway was beautiful, though unaffective. Just keep doing what you are doing Patric, the rest will come to you!
Trotzy's line shuffles are working.... I cannot stress enough that I will not jump on the anti-Trotz movement unless he gives me something to truly get upset about. This team is having growing pains, as all teams do, and it's important that they still get support from their fans.
Whatever the reason for Erat's scratch, injury or not, I hope he takes a lesson from it, and realizes that the team does not have to have him on the ice.
WARD: Congrats on your first goal of the season!!!!!
CUBE: thank you for the incredible set-up for Wardo to get the first goal of the game, you are slowly worming your way in to my heart as well.
Was OReilly on the ice?? kinda quiet..... maybe I missed something...
All in all, I was impressed last night, my heart was able to stay settled for most of the game, though knowing the way the Blackhawks can play, it wasn't resting. Watching the game clock tick off the last few seconds, my fingers were eager to tweet the S word for Peks, I held out though so as not to jinx him, and it paid off!
AGAIN: Congrats to the Preds on an awesome win, and I hope to see the same tenacity on Saturday.....while propped in my seats in section 329.
Let's Go PREDS!