Anders Lindback earns 1st NHL shutout as Preds romp to 3-0 win

by Dirk Hoag on Dec 12, 2010 12:33 AM EST in Nashville Predators Game Recaps

It was a night of firsts tonight at Bridgestone Arena; Anders Lindback earned his first NHL shutout with 22 saves, Ryan Suter scored his first goal of the season, and the first time crawling back into playoff position for quite a while for the Nashville Predators. A convincing 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers has them back in the top 8 in the Western Conference, regardless of how the late games pan out.

Follow after the jump for the video highlights, audio of the post-game comments from a few of the Preds, and of course your advanced even-strength statistics...

First, the highlights and Panthers vs Predators boxscore:

I didn't catch tonight's game (as a father of 3 it's a rare chance to get your drunk on just walking distance from home, so I took it), but I can't recall running the advanced stats after a game and seeing two forwards dominate the Shots For/Against numbers like Patric Hornqvist and J.P. Dumont did below.

While perusing the stats below, check out the audio from the post-game media scrum, using the following links:

Barry Trotz

Ryan Suter

Jordin Tootoo

Even Strength		Individual Totals					Team Totals While Player Is On Ice
Player	Pos	EV TOI	Shots	Shts Blkd	Missed Shts	Blocks	SOG For	SOG Ag	SOG +/-	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
Joel Ward	R	14:35	1	0	0	0	6	4	+2	9	12	-3
Cal O`Reilly	C	13:56	0	1	1	0	5	7	-2	11	12	-1
Martin Erat	R	13:06	0	0	0	0	6	6	0	12	13	-1
Steve Sullivan	L	13:01	0	0	0	0	5	8	-3	8	12	-4
Nick Spaling	C	12:48	0	0	2	0	8	3	+5	14	7	+7
Marcel Goc	C	12:44	1	0	0	0	5	6	-1	9	13	-4
Colin Wilson	C	12:19	0	1	0	1	4	7	-3	7	11	-4
Jordin Tootoo	R	11:53	2	1	0	0	6	4	+2	8	9	-1
Sergei Kostitsyn	L	11:45	0	1	1	0	5	5	0	9	10	-1
Jerred Smithson	R	11:20	0	1	0	1	5	4	+1	8	9	-1
Patric Hornqvist	R	11:18	5	0	0	0	9	2	+7	14	5	+9
J.P. Dumont	R	10:32	1	1	0	0	8	2	+6	14	5	+9
Kevin Klein	D	18:49	2	0	0	0	7	9	-2	9	17	-8
Francis Bouillon	D	17:40	1	0	0	3	6	9	-3	8	19	-11
Ryan Suter	D	17:06	2	1	0	1	9	6	+3	17	10	+7
Shea Weber	D	16:43	3	1	1	1	9	6	+3	16	9	+7
Shane O`Brien	D	16:26	1	2	0	0	9	6	+3	18	13	+5
Cody Franson	D	15:20	5	0	3	0	8	4	+4	16	12	+4

Be sure to "Like" our site on Facebook (now at www.facebook.com/OnTheForecheck)! To keep up with all of our coverage of the Nashville Predators, you can follow us on Twitter (@Forechecker, @predatweeter, @SLakePreds & @AdsRoundtable) and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at the.forechecker@gmail.com.

Tweet Comment 24 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Most Complete Game?

Could we say that this was by far one of the most complete games this team has played this season? I know Montreal might also be it, but this seems to be a very solid win for us.

by predhead33 on Dec 12, 2010 1:54 AM EST reply actions

I don't think so...

In the 3rd period the team was in the defensive zone way too much. I believe Montreal has been our most complete game of the season.

by tnranger on Dec 12, 2010 3:00 AM EST up reply actions

Agreed

Solid win, but not a complete game by any stretch. We came out in the 2nd looking WAY too satisfied with a 2 goal lead… again. And almost gave it up… again. Luckily Anders the Giant didn’t hit the 2nd period snooze button like the rest of the team.

Also, on paper we got a PP goal, but it was an empty net. In reality the PP was terrible…l again.

Other than those two areas, the team did play well, especially defensively. It was an entertaining night for sure. Congrats to Anders the Giant on his first shutout.

"Get to the Choppa!"

by PredHead on Dec 12, 2010 1:44 PM EST up reply actions

Feliz Navidad

Nobody sings it like a giant goalie full of jumping beans!

by Hockey Hillbilly on Dec 12, 2010 8:57 AM EST reply actions

Dumont, Hornqvist, Spaling

They were the best line along with the Tootoo, Ward, Smithers line.
Kostitsyn, Erat and Goc continued their good chemistry.
Wilson, Sully and O’reilly took the night off.
Klein didn’t mess up!

It was a really entertaining game for the most part. Tootoo’s hit on Frolik was absolutely devastating. Of course it was a penalty because it was Tootoo who dished it out. I’m sure Panthers fans would disagree, but I thought it was a clean hit and Toots only got a penalty because he is who he is.

There was a lot of very physical play. Sully retaliating and crosschecking on that delayed penalty was awful. However, seeing that big guy tumble after a blow from little Stevie Sullivan was worth it.

Also, maybe the funniest moment of the year so far was when Dumont slashed Hordichuk;s stick out of his hand. That was incredible.

Anders was good. He got a lot of help with those rebounds though. Our guys were very aware of clearing the area in front of the net.

by 29thWard on Dec 12, 2010 11:47 AM EST reply actions

Absolutely hilarious

+1 on the comment about Dumont’s stick lift on Hordichuk. You knew JP wasn’t going to drop the gloves when Hordy was jawing at him, but to see JP make Hordichuk look like an absolute fool was fantastic. And by the way…wear it Frolik!

by Stu0624 on Dec 12, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions

I like the HSD line too...I thought they played great.

And they finally got some ice time which was another good thing.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Dec 12, 2010 3:23 PM EST up reply actions

And another thing...

…that people might not have seen last night, is that about 15 seconds prior to Toots’ shot heard round the world, a Panthers dude pushed him face first into the boards…should’ve been boarding I thought. Toots was getting revenge for that one…that is the best hit I think I’ve ever seen in hockey…Frolik looked like a helicopter propeller.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Dec 12, 2010 3:25 PM EST up reply actions

She Weber for President

very well said. +2 for your comments

by Creeping Death on Dec 12, 2010 4:48 PM EST up reply actions

And what was the problem with Hordichuck?

Did anybody else see him take a swing at Dumont’s back well after the final buzzer?

by howdy2u on Dec 12, 2010 11:50 AM EST reply actions

I always heard he didn’t get along with all the guys on the team. I don’t know if that was true, but I remember hearing that. I think him and Radulov were buddies and kinda hung out with each other a lot.

by 29thWard on Dec 12, 2010 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

That explains a lot.

Sucks, cause Hordy is one of the nicest guys I’ve met from our team. He went out of his way to sign stuff for my wife and I and posed for pics with us at the Merrill Crawfish Boil.

by HardCorePredFan316 on Dec 12, 2010 2:24 PM EST up reply actions

Bernier's Cage

Anyone have any clue as to why Bernier was wearing a full cage last night? Surely he has a broken nose or something. It was pretty funny looking to see that out there in an NHL game

by Stu0624 on Dec 12, 2010 1:50 PM EST reply actions

Its cause of that dive he took when Radulov "boarded" him that cost us the series vs. SJ. I heard Toots still hates him :)

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Dec 12, 2010 8:48 PM EST up reply actions

Fractured Orbital Bone

Bernier suffered a fractured orbital bone when he was “inadvertantly” butt-ended twice in the face by Brent Burns of the Minnesota Wild.

Bernier was in Burns face at the buzzer and Burns threw a couple of gloved punches at Bernier, but had the butt end of his stick exposed and did the damage.

Burns was suspended for two games…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Dec 12, 2010 9:11 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Did you know...

That a player cannot wear full facial protection (cage or full shield) without league approval?

It’s odd, but true…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Dec 12, 2010 10:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Now we know… and knowing is half the battle.

"Get to the Choppa!"

by PredHead on Dec 13, 2010 9:20 AM EST up reply actions

The more you know, the more you grow

by cisar on Dec 13, 2010 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

weber

so would the preds have had to get league approval before weber could switch to a full shield in ATL game?

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers"

by flyalder on Dec 13, 2010 4:28 PM EST up reply actions

Dirk, obviously you didn't see the game, or you would've written an entire column on Tootoo's "hit heard round the Bridgestone"

Anybody that wasn’t at the game, you gotta look it up…trust me!

Lindback looked AWESOME against Detroit the other night, and he looked the same last night…albeit against an eastern conference cellar-dwellar. EKG line played great too, and I love the way the D-men are starting to pinch in on the rush/when in the offensive zone.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Dec 12, 2010 3:21 PM EST reply actions

So I know you want to right the hot hand...

but really, I think Dex should get the start tomorrow night. Before he grows some barnacles or something. Save Lindy for the Sharks.

by DonBorvio on Dec 12, 2010 4:48 PM EST reply actions

Barnacles...LOL!

He’s 22, he doesn’t need rest :)

Screw DEX I wanna win now! Might make the season even more interesting if DEX does have a good game though…

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Dec 12, 2010 8:47 PM EST reply actions

Dex isn't chopped liver...

Best goalie in the AHL. And who better than against the Islanders. They’re like an AHL team. ;)

by DonBorvio on Dec 12, 2010 9:04 PM EST reply actions

Anybody know if the “feliz navidad” video from Saturday night’s game is posted anywhere? Glad to see they used all the young guys and not the usual cast of characters.

by BradHerman on Dec 13, 2010 9:00 AM EST reply actions