Pekka Rinne pulled as Nashville Predators get crushed by Edmonton 6-1

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 12, 2009 11:37 PM EDT Comment 12 comments

Pekka Rinne was pulled after stopping only 5 of 9 shots from Edmonton in the first period, as the Nashville Predators fell behind early and lost 6-1 to the Oilers. Jason Arnott scored the lone goal for the Preds, meaning that the top line is still the only source of goals for Nashville on the season.

Colin Wilson, making his NHL debut, was impressive in 16:41 of ice time, which included nearly three minutes of power play action. Tellingly, the rookie got more ice time than second line center David Legwand (13:48), as Barry Trotz juggled the lines to try and find a combination that could get a puck past Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, who ended up with 40 saves on the night.

Video highlights after the jump...

This one had it all, folks; a lengthy fight between Triston Grant and Zach Stortini to get the crowd into the game, and then early on some good pressure from the Preds; for the first several minutes, it looked like they were ready to take the lead.

Once Edmonton got an opportunity, however, they cashed in; and again, and again, and again. By the end of the first it was 4-0 Oilers, and the boo birds sent the home team into the dressing room for a well-deserved tongue lashing from Coach Trotz.

Dan Ellis got the call to start the second period, and while he stopped an early 2-on-1 to give the home fans some hope, a horrific giveaway by Dan Hamhuis led to the fifth Edmonton score, and left the crowd just looking for some entertainment to make the night worthwhile. After Denis Grebeshkov deked Kevin Klein to the ice and scored on the backhand to push the lead to 6-0, Jason Arnott responded with a goal for Nashville, but that was all the Preds could muster. There were a few decent opportunities (a breakaway by Steve Sullivan being the best), but overall it didn't seem like Nashville could generate many dangerous shots. It was quantity over quality tonight.

Take a look at the CBS Sports shot chart, for example, and see how almost all of Edmonton's shots came from the faceoff dots in, while so many of Nashville's came from further out.

In his debut, Colin Wilson did look poised and effective, separating himself from defenders while carrying the puck, and showing a strong physical presence when needed. It will be interesting to see whether he assumes an even larger role in upcoming games, given the lack of output from established players like Legwand and Martin Erat.

Poll

Who is your Predator of the Game?

Jason Arnott, 1 goal, 5 shots

30 votes

Patric Hornqvist, 1 assist, +1 Plus/Minus

12 votes

Shea Weber, 24:34 TOI, 8 shots, even Plus/Minus

30 votes

72 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 12 comments |

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Comments

Robert Nilsson

With the inability of Nashville to generate any secondary scoring, are there any updates on the rumored interest in Robert Nilsson from the Oilers from about a month ago?

Low On Oil

by Hockey Noob on Oct 13, 2009 3:51 AM EDT reply actions

The only mention I heard of that was by Jason Gregor prior to training camp, and I haven’t seen anything since.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 13, 2009 7:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Okay...what the hell just happened?!?

So I had to write a paper for school last night (note to those younger viewers: don’t wait until your late 30’s to go back to school…it’s not fun). Anyway, I figured I’d watch the Predators play and then start in on the paper at about 9:30.

I had the paper finished by the end of the game. I had no idea I’d be watching the “Titans On Ice”.

That was just awful. Granted, the Oilers’ goalie played well, but we never seemed to get any quality chances after the 1st period…played on our heels (and rightfully so).

Dare I say it? Yes, I dare…it’s time for Erat and Legwand to become bait for some semblance of offensive spark, because they looked awful last night. Erat, with all of his fancy stick work, did nothing but show that all of that fancy stuff means nothing when you don’t actually shoot the puck. Legwand has this air of entitlement about him. Maybe he’ll find his skill on the roster of another club.

We should have never let Kariya go. And, while goaltending might win games, you can’t always depend on defense.

Come on, Poile…really? We can do better.

(Disclaimer: I’m an armchair coach/GM. I know…my knowledge of hockey goes no further than watching it on TV and occasionally going to games. However, I consistently yell at the little hockey players on my television, so what I lack in experience, I make up for with decibels.)

by rusherman on Oct 13, 2009 9:23 AM EDT reply actions

I think having Sully back makes Erat’s conservative play stick out even more. When there’s a defender between him and the net, Sully attacks and tries to use a move to get into a dangerous shooting situation.

Erat sees a defender and reflexively peels away to safety. Both of them have excellent puckhandling skills, but they apply them so differently…

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 13, 2009 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Dancing with the Stars

That’s the place for both Chris Johnson of the Titans and Marty Erat of the Preds. Johnson goes east-west, Erat goes in circles. Neither one of them scores. No way around it: the Titans and the Predators stunk up the joint.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Oct 13, 2009 9:49 AM EDT reply actions

Erat

Thought he was going to break out in the first 4 minutes of the game…but alas! Nice to see Trotz finally do some thing. He at least broke them up and gave Wilson some more ice time. Now if we can just do something about Hamhuis. He is now the 326 whipping boy. He constantly makes turnovers and plays scared when he gets a little pressure. Can’t see how Fanson or Sulzer can be any worse.

Section 326 is in the house!!!

by beta103 on Oct 13, 2009 10:13 AM EDT reply actions

Hamhuis

I thought Hamhuis was terrible. He was on the ice for 4 of the 5 even strength goals against and made some really bad plays.

by jerseypredsfan on Oct 13, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Hamhuis

on the post game radio show last night said that the team really didn’t play that poorly last night. wow.

by HartnellsMop on Oct 13, 2009 10:32 AM EDT reply actions

yeah, I heard that and couldn’t believe it. Even if he believed it, he should know better than to say that on the radio following a 6-1 loss.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 13, 2009 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Here's what he said

We didn’t play that bad. We made a few mistakes, but it seemed every mistake we made they scored on. We have to take a good look at our game and this gives us a chance to really look at the places where we were weak in our systems.

Source

"As strong as a team as we are on paper, you have to go out and prove it. We have yet to prove that we're the team we think we are,'' Keith Bulluck
"This is the only building in the NHL that the fans get up and cheer for no apparent reason just to support us." - Dan Ellis

Official Graphic Designer/Researcher/Grammar Police of MCM.
Official Graphic Goon of OTF.

by Aditya T (smashville) on Oct 13, 2009 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Preds v. Oilers

Because God doesn’t want me to, I will not speak ill of our team. But, with that said, watching the game last night showed me that without Dumont and Tootoo, it seems hard to get into a groove. The addition of Wilson was great, and Bouillon seems to want take on a role of enforcer and Grant did a great job getting the crowd into it early. Although the fiasco made me queezy, things can be learned from the last two losses…

When we are on the attack, we fail to keep a man in front of the net. When the puck is off to the side or even in the trap, everyone, including the defensemen on some occasions, followed the puck. Our scoring opportunities greatly decrease without a man in front of the goal.

Speed kills. Look how well we did the first 5 minutes of the Oilers game. When we’re fresh, we dominate. When we’re tired, we fall behind, QUICKLY!

Shoot the puck. Talking to all the fans that I do, the #1 complaint is that on power plays we try to set up the perfect scenario. SHOOT THE PUCK. A wise man once told me, your odds of winning the lottery greatly increase if you buy a ticket. Odds of making a PP goal greatly increase if you shoot the puck. Wasting a PP by passing the puck around the defense doesn’t score goals. Take more chances.

One play that stands out from the Oilers game, is when Suter was in a 1 on 1 scenario, and a line change was called. He had the man beat and was 25 from the goal and just flipped it in the corner and headed for the bench. We have got to play with more enthusiasm.

Lets put that behind us and start fresh. “He shoots, he scores, we win!”

by Hurley22 on Oct 13, 2009 11:42 AM EDT reply actions