Nashville Predators

Dr. Overtime or How I learned to stop worrying and love bonus hockey
March 17, 2017, 9:51 AM ET [2 Comments]
Paul McCann
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The Nashville Predators posted their second consecutive overtime win and third overall with a pulse-pounding 2-1 victory in the Nation’s Capital last night, completing a season sweep of the NHL leading Washington Capitals. What made this comeback all the more remarkable was the slow start the Preds got off to, Washington jumped all over the Predators, peppering Pekka Rinne with shots throughout the first, only giving up one goal in a first period that could’ve been a lot uglier. Of course the goal comes on a terrible turnover.

Nashville came out stronger in the second and slowly, methodically, took the momentum away from the Caps and as the period progressed, began to tilt the ice in their favor. The second culminated in a James Neal doing Jame Neal things, sniping a nasty wrister past a surprised Braden Holtby to tie the game with just a little over a minute to go in the period. Neal’s goal was possible due to a sweet drop setup from Kevin Fiala and Neal’s incredibly quick release.

An up and down third period had great pace and also great defensive structure from the Nashville Predators... playoff defensive structure. They showed care with possession without going into a “prevent” and attacked when opportunities presented themselves. Both goaltenders were stellar in the third, stopping big chances and getting their teams a point for going to overtime.

That’s when Pred Nation’s overtime PTSD kicked in… despite Monday night’s win… this fan base still gets real nervous once 3-on-3 starts. Well… maybe Pred Nation should embrace bonus hockey… A little over a minute in with the Predators maintaining possession, Ryan Johansen dropped back for a regroup and caught the Caps by surprise with a nice pass to Viktor Arvidsson who beat Holtby like a rented goalie to capture the bonus point for Nashville.

Let’s go to the good, the bad and the ugly…

The Good - Resilience on display again… this team simply does not think it is ever out of a game.

The Bad - Let’s call this one ”The Better” for this game… Pekka Rinne has been really, really solid this season as a whole, but last night was stellar. The tilt marked his 500th NHL game.

The Ugly - The Preds slow start could fit in this category… but you had to love how they did not allow it to dictate the game.

The Predators finish the roadie in Carolina tomorrow night with a 6pm faceoff.

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Random Notes

- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 81points in 70 games played and remain 3rd in the Central Division, leading St. Louis by two points. The Blues picked up a huge win last night in San Jose to keep pace. Per sportsclubstats.com, the Predators playoff chances are now at 94.2%.

- Impact Games Tonight - DAL @ CGY & BUF @ ANA – These may have a marginal impact on the Wild Card race as the Flames are in a real battle for Pacific Division positioning and Anaheim is fighting to stay out of the WC mix.

- Pekka Rinne’s 500th game was oner to remember.

- The Predators usually do a very good job limiting Alex Ovechkin’s effectiveness as was the case again last night, however, the Caps did a solid job limiting Filip Forsberg.

- Matt Irwin drew back in last night on the blueline for Anthony Bitetto and played a very solid game… that back pressure from the scratches is certainly having the desired effect

- Same for Kevin Fiala, who replaced Colin Wilson due to Wilson’s lower body injury.

- You wonder if Juuse Saros gets the start tomorrow night as the Predators play on Monday again next week… I kinda expect to see him either Saturday or Monday…

- Four games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – FLA @ NYR, NJD @ PIT. 8pm – DAL @ CGY. 9pm – BUF @ ANA.

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