Nashville Predators

Sunday Shots - Nasty Night in Smashville
March 26, 2017, 11:36 AM ET [1 Comments]
Paul McCann
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Make sure you check out the SlapShot Radio Facebook page for the latest Sunday Shots as SSR’s intrepid photographer was capturing the color and the fun of a Smashville Saturday Night.

All photos courtesy Denise McCann Photography

My heavens what a nasty game last night as the Nashville Predators completely dismantled the San Jose Sharks by a score of 7-2, sending the Sharks to their sixth straight loss. Nasty…dirty… gritty… just the kind of game that Nashville will need to do well with in order to have success in the playoffs, honestly… the Nashville Predators showed a consistency that has been missing during most of this season over this just concluded three game home stand… one that resulted in three straight wins and a retaking of the third slot in the Central. Not a bad result for a week’s work.

Once again, the Predators got off to a solid start as Pekka Rinne rode the emotion of the pregame ceremony celebrating his 500th NHL game to make 10 stops in the first period to shut out the Sharks, while Nashville got a couple of goals, one from Colton Sissons and one from Cody McLeod, who fell an assist short of the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

Things began to devolve in the second period as San Jose’s frustration grew deeper, Nashville took a penalty a little over four minutes in and San Jose converted just :10 seconds later, halving the lead and making things interesting… until the Sharks took a penalty :17 seconds later and James Neal made them pay just seven seconds into the power play to put the Preds up 3-1. It was a key point in the game, the Preds answered so quickly that is deflated the Sharks and ramped up the chippiness coming from the boys in teal. Then PK Subban scored his 9th of the year, putting the Preds up 4-1 and San Jose coach Peter deBoer, desperate for a break challenged the goal for goaltender interference… and lost the challenge.

Give San Jose credit, they settled down a bit and played hockey… leading to a second goal, a nice follow up of his own shot by Justin Braun to draw the Sharks within two as the second period concluded. The two goal lead would not last long as Colton Sissons scored his second of the game, redirected a Craig Smith shot to restore the three goal lead; then things went downhill… fast…

With about twelve minutes to go, Calle Jarnkrok hit Michael Haley from behind on a dangerous play… one that deserved the boarding penalty that was immediately called. That wasn’t enough for Haley, who deliberately found Jarnkrok, dropped his gloves and cold cocked the Pred forward… a clear sucker punch that drew a match penalty for intent to injure., negating the Sharks power play, giving the Predators a major penalty which James Neal promptly took advantage of, scoring his second of the game, putting the Preds up 6-2 and effectively salting the game away, save for Viktor Arvidsson putting up the extra point with a shorthanded goal in the final minute.

A word about Michael Haley… that play deserves a suspension… period, and the match penalty will automatically draw a review. Haley will p[ay his price… but the comments of the head coach after the game was inexcusable. deBoer’s quote (courtesy of Jim Diamond) "When you run someone from behind in a game like that, you probably deserve to get a punch in the mouth."

My lord… did the head coach actually condone that behavior? OK… I get the “heat of the moment” stuff and that the entire team is incredibly frustrated… but really???? If you are looking for reasons San Jose loses it’s cool… you may want to start at the coach.

What became obvious as the third period wound down… this Nashville Predators team has learned how to close out a game properly as for the third straight game, the team played smart hockey, didn’t sit back, countered where reasonable and took appropriate chances to secure the win. That may have been the biggest thing to come out of this homestand.

So… let’s get to the good the bad and the ugly…

The Good - The third line was magic last night, both Colin Wilson and Craig Smith had three assists and Colton Sissons with two goals… eight points from one line, yeah, that’s good.

The Bad - Tempers… they were very bad last night, but I have to give Tim Peel and Kevin Pollack credit. They held control over a game that could have been MUCH uglier than it was.

The Ugly - The San Jose Sharks were ugly last night, Joe Thorton was chasing kids off his lawn and Michael Haley was out of control for most of the game.

The Predators practice today before heading to New York to start a tough Monday/Tuesday back-to-back against the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins.

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Random Notes

- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 87 points in 74 games played, combined with St. Louis’ overtime loss, moves the Predators back into the 3rd spot in the Central, leading the Blues by a single point. Per sportsclubstats.com, the Predators playoff chances are at 99.7%.

- Impact Game(s) Tonight - MIN @ DET – Might be a good one to check in on to see if Minnesota is righting the ship.

- If the Playoffs Started Today - As the 3 seed in the Central, the Predators would play the Minnesota Wild in the first round. Chicago continues to lead the Western Conference and Central Division by eight points.

- Teams that have clinched playoff spots - The Minnesota Wild clinched their playoff berth last night… Five down, 11 to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus and Pittsburgh have punched their tickets.

- Playoff “Tragic Numbers” - In the West… Dallas = 1, Winnipeg = 1, Los Angeles = 8. In the East… Carolina = 14, Tampa Bay = 14, New York Islanders = 16. (Stick tap to Damian Echecarrieta for this data) … Any loss from Dallas or Winnipeg tonight eliminates them from playoff contention.

- Last night’s game had Logan Couture get hit in the face with a puck, generating a trip to the hospital. Calle Jarnkrok did not return to the game after the Haley sucker punch. No update available for either player.

- Cody McLeod had another really solid game last night… being in the right place at the right time.

- The NHL / Olympic saga is getting silly… make a call… stick with it… then move on.

- The Pacific Division is now in a three way tie in point between San Jose, Anaheim and Edmonton, with Calgary closing in… this will be fun to watch.

- Five games in the NHL today, all times CST – 11:30am – MIN @ DET. 4pm – DAL @ NJD. 6pm – PHI @ PIT. 7pm – VAN @ WPG. 8pm – NYR @ ANA.