Predators @ Flyers recap

       Joffrey Lupul scored twice for the Flyers, and the Predators had their six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night. The trends from the five previous games did not carry over into Philadelphia. Instead of the recent scoring surge, as fans were accustomed to seeing for so much of this season, the Preds scored only once, despite outshooting Philadelphia by six shots with 32 overall. The team was also undisciplined, as there were six minor penalties committed, including four in the last 10 minutes of the first period.

       The first period was scoreless, though there were a few fine chances. The streak of seven consecutive games without the opponent scoring a power play ended when Mike Richards tallied just 45 seconds into the second period with a quick shot for the team’s first goal.  Shortly after that, all of the momentum shifted completely to Philadelphia's side once Joffrey Lupul scored his first goal of the game after a 3-on-1 shot ricocheted off Rinne’s pads 4:22 into the period. 

       Erat managed to get a goal in the third period when his shot was tipped by Biron into the net to get his team within one, but just 1:06 later Philly regained its two goal lead on Lupul's second goal of the evening. Claude Giroux iced the win for the home team when he scored off an unfortunate turnover by Nashville with less than four minutes remaining.


Notes:

• If we had to lose a game, the best scenario is probably an away game against an Eastern conference team, which this was.
• Martin Biron made 31 saves, highlighted by a remarkable save on a shot by Martin Erat, in which Biron stretched his stick just enough to stop the shot from going in the net in the first period.
•  At one point Coach Barry Trotz tried a different line with Arnott, Dumont, and Tootoo playing at the same time, which I personally didn't understand.
• The Philadelphia broadcast of the game had a great feature on Sullivan's smart playing style, highlighting the two occurrences when Biron pounced on a Nashville shot, and Sullivan tapped on the goalpost behind him to cause Biron to look back and possibly dislodge the puck from under him.
• Although Shea Weber did not have a fight in this game after having one in each of the previous three games, there was no shortage of bouts in the game. Greg de Vries dropped the gloves against Daniel Carcillo in the second period, who had his first fight as a Flyer. Just two seconds later, Wade Belak fought against Riley Cote. Both fights were called draws after the referees pulled the players apart.
• The loss dropped the team from 6th place to 9th in just one night, although they are still tied for 7th place with 70 points
• This marks the first loss while On the Forecheck has been hosted on SB Nation.

My three stars are as followed
1.        Martin Biron - 31 Saves; .969 Sv %
2.        Joffrey Lupul - 2 Goals
3.        Martin Erat - 1 Goal; Team leading 5 shots