Nashville Predators 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2: Human Rocket Ship blasts off
by Dirk Hoag on Feb 14, 2012 10:34 PM EST
in Nashville Predators Game Recaps
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PrintRyan Ellis answered the critics tonight. Well, at least the one critic whose opinion matters most, Barry Trotz.
After scratching defenseman Ryan Ellis in the Predators' shootout loss to Boston, Trotz wouldn't say if he would keep Jack Hillen in the lineup over the rookie. But he was critical of Ellis' recent play.
"I thought he had slipped back a little bit - high risk plays when they were very unnecessary, those types of things. We have to play a certain way to be successful," Trotz said.
Ellis led the way offensively tonight, with a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators topped Chicago 3-2. Besides opening a 7-point gap over the Blackhawks for 5th place in the Western Conference, this game extends Chicago's plummet to 0-8-1 over their last nine games, which will only increase the pressure on players, coaches, and the front office to do something to turn things around.
Video highlights and post-game reaction from this one follow after the jump:
Cue the video (might take 30-45 minutes post-game to work):
Your random observations:
- It was odd to see Brandon Yip take over for Patric Hornqvist in front of the net on the first power play unit. Personally, I could see Jordin Tootoo filling that role pretty well. He's used to taking abuse, and can stand his ground with the best of them. Yip ended up with 2:44 of power play time, 2nd among forwards only to Mike Fisher.
- That opening goal by Ryan Suter was a thing of beauty. It wasn't the hardest shot in the world, but it was delivered quickly, and Ray Emery had no chance to reverse direction to get back and make that save.
- Giving up a tying score less than a minute later, though? Ugh.
- What's the old saying about good things happening when you throw the puck at the net? Ryan Ellis fired the shot for Nashville's 2nd and 3rd goals, and each was tipped on the way in to beat Emery. The first was tipped by Nick Spaling, the second by one of the Chicago D. In each case, that redirection makes life miserable for a goaltender.
- Pekka Rinne had a full mixture of high- and low-lights tonight, as the goals against him looked pretty suspect, but he did make several other sensational saves. Especially in the 3rd period, when Chicago outshot the Preds 11-3, he preserved the win.
- Craig Smith threw a ton of pucks at the net tonight (6 on goal, 11 total attempts), but stretched his goal-less streak to 7 games. You're due, Honey Badger, keep on firing.
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Colin Wilson on Pekka Rinne
“You can’t say anything bad about him. That’s why he makes 49 schmil”
in the post game interview
Keys to the game: GA<GF
anyone see hossa give the ref a good shoulder knocking after that last offsides call? man i hate that guy…
Hossa said something to the ref after the bump and it wasn't an apology
That might come back to haunt him the next time(s) that ref calls a game with the Hossa on ice. Hopefully that will be the next time the Preds/Hawks play on 3-25
As a non ellis fan, thought he played well. Regardless of the fact that he scored, he made the simple pass and put pucks toward the net. There were at least two shifts where he should have gotten off and stayed on to long.
Hustlechuk looked like he was not a 100%, but I would have liked to see him replace horny on the pp.
josi wasn’t great.
Smithers isn’t just the fans whipping boy.
by wrandsw on Feb 14, 2012 11:17 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I thought Klein had a solid game
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Feb 14, 2012 11:27 PM EST up reply actions
Tonight
Preds took the Hawks best shot tonight and came out on top!
Difference was Pekka versus Emery. Pekka made at least 6 point blank saves tonight.
Sharp, Kane, Toews and Hossa were out there all night long.
Emery had quite a few point blank saves as well.
Could have been lopsided.
Beer... Now there's a temporary solution.-Homer Simpson
Ryan Ellis
His post game interview should have been: “Haters gonna hate.”
Smithson needs to go. There’s already a younger, more talented version of him on the roster named Nick Spaling.
Klein should go ahead and change his name to Tony Romo. Or Rex Grossman. Whoever more embodies “good play, bad play”.
I could definitely be happy with more games like this one from the HRS.
"We want to keep beating them...to break their pride and break their season...is a huge thing for us." - David Legwand
Smithson’s saving grace was always his face-off percentage but tonight look at the stats (1 of 4). Spaling, Legwand, and Fisher were each over 60%. I won’t say that he sucked on the PK tonight but really, he has no offense. Spaling or Hustle any day of the week.
I guess you could say the wheels are coming off the bandwagon...
by predhead33 on Feb 15, 2012 12:15 AM EST reply actions 2 recs
How many Hawks fans were at the game?
Did they go buy Preds jerseys? I was watching on TV and doing a lot of fast forward.
There were a few...
Maybe 8%, maybe less. Some had green on. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of the locals convert.
Beer... Now there's a temporary solution.-Homer Simpson
not even close to as many as last time
only a handful around the lower bowl. And i didn’t notice any pockets in the upper.
hockey connoisseur. t-shirt addict. not famous. nerd.
by Shawn Kehoe on Feb 15, 2012 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
Just wait till the next Hawks game down here in March
It’s a Saturday night game, they’ll be over their slump by then or fighting for the 8th seed, and will take up 1/4 to 1/3 of the arena. And they’ll be screaming their idiot heads off during the Nat’l Anthem like A-holes again. God I hate when they do that in other teams barns. NO RESPECT!
Was anybody sitting close to the Hawks penalty box who caught the dust up between the two Hawks fans and a couple of Preds fans? I only saw people pointing and an usher following the Hawks fans up the stairs.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
Hawks fans are losing their minds....and composure....
if they ever had any. They still haven’t posted a post game analysis on Second City Hockey. It would all be potty mouth finger pointing anyways. Do have to admit though, SCH is the funniest hockey blog out there. Anything goes and they say ANYTHING!
Didn't catch that one
from my seats in the nosebleeds I was able to catch the alleged Preds fan throw his beverage at the Hawks fans sitting right behind the bench soaking the hawks coaches and several players.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Feb 15, 2012 9:46 AM EST up reply actions
It happened in the 100’s and I was in the 300’s so I can’t be sure of what precipitated it, but he was throwing stuff at Blackhawks and their fans, so I have to assume he was not a Hawks fan. However, I hate to think of a Preds fan throwing beer at people.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Feb 15, 2012 10:33 AM EST up reply actions
NA
As a Preds fan I don’t mind the yelling or think it is disrespectful at all to clap or make noise during the NA. In fact I think it is kind of cool! I have been to both Bridgestone and UC for games and both do it differently. It would be different if they were yelling/screaming Boo or un-nice things but they are not. It brings some emotion into the NA. JMHO.
It brings emotion into the anthem when the crowd or the singer can barely hear it? I don’t mind spontaneous cheers when the singer hits a high note, but save the rest for Chicago. It seemed like the Hawks fans at the game heard the pleas of the majority of the Hawks fans and chose to leave the cheering during the anthem for the United Center, where it belongs.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
by cisar on Feb 15, 2012 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I think the Chicago yelling actually comes from a good place, and they mean it as patriotism. it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the Blues fans because Blue sounds so much like Boo when yelled by a few hundred people.
But I also think it comes down to respecting the place you are, in the South we are taught it is disrespectful to do anythiong but sing along to the NA, so if you are in the South, you should follow that tradition.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Feb 15, 2012 10:36 AM EST up reply actions
We were taught that in the North, as well.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
+1
LOL. But I think that they’re not being disrespectful, they’re celebrating in their own way. I’m OK with it.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Feb 15, 2012 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
There is a regional difference in how people think about interruptions. In the South, interrupting someone is understood to be a sign that you’re not listening. In the North, (especially New York, but maybe the Midwest, too), it’s often taken as a sign you’re interested and involved in the proceedings.
I give them the benefit of the doubt, since this is the National Anthem we’re talking about. I just have a hard time believing that, as a group, Hawks fans are less devoted to their country and its symbols than other hockey fans.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
"You don’t motivate people; you activate something in them that already exists." -Guy Boucher
" I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
Why you gotta pick on NYers?
They’re GREAT people (upstaters at least). Agree with most of the other stuff though.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Feb 15, 2012 11:30 AM EST up reply actions
not picking on anyone. That’s who was included in the study. :)
From my limited personal experience with Chicagoans, it might be true of them, too.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
Who is saying they are less devoted to their country?
I’m saying show our anthem singers some respect.
I think your ‘regional differences’ argument is a load of hooey.
And your thought that ‘they mean it as patriotism’…
From nhl.com
Chicago’s anthem tradition began during the 1985 conference finals against Edmonton. After dropping the first two games of the series on the road, Hawks fans entered Chicago Stadium on May 9 fully energized and ready to help their team get back into the series. The crowd was so excited they cheered all the way through the National Anthem — and the tradition stuck.
It’s a fine tradition, for the United Center.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
I think your hooey is a bunch of hooey and you’re being deliberately confrontational here.
You say it’s by definition disrespectful. I say there’s a possibility that it means something different to them than that. You seem to believe that these are an entire city of people who are so determined to be rude to singers in another stadium that they give up on their values altogether. I say that’s highly unlikely.
Nothing in that quote you posted suggests this is a tradition meant disrespectfully to the singers or to the anthem.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
by CAustin on Feb 15, 2012 2:00 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
its a Chicago tradition that should stay in Chicago
hockey connoisseur. t-shirt addict. not famous. nerd.
then Preds fans shouldn’t be chanting “you suck” in other arenas. Which they do, and which is meant in more or less the same spirit—“just having fun and being enthusiastic; nothing personal”
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
You inferred that someone was implying that Hawks fans were less devoted to our country.
Overall, I agree with the ‘study’ about regional differences and interruptions, but that doesn’t apply here. It is quite a stretch to think otherwise.
You seem to believe that these are an entire city of people who are so determined to be rude to singers in another stadium that they give up on their values altogether. I say that’s highly unlikely.
I don’t believe anything such as that.
Nothing in that quote you posted suggests this is a tradition meant disrespectfully to the singers or to the anthem.
Nice of you to read my quote, which is about the history of this tradition, not intent.
Regardless of why they do it, it can still be rude.
Say, for instance, your daughter was chosen to sing the anthem at a Preds game. The visiting team’s fans were yelling so loudly during the performance, that the rare moments that you could actually hear your daughter, you could tell that she was off-pitch because she couldn’t hear herself, either. Awesome moment in the spotlight for her, eh?
I consider that disrespectful.
I WANT to hear musicians sing the anthem.
Chicago has the same singer all the time, don’t they? They have tryouts here.
Not all of the singers that get out there are good, but they deserve a chance to be heard.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
by cisar on Feb 15, 2012 7:30 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
If you want to have a conversation about this, I’m willing. If you want to be belligerent about it I’m not. I get the right to disagree with you.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
Who is being belligerent?
Fans can chant ‘You Suck’ wherever they want, and they do. It isn’t something that is special to Nashville.
You either think that performers deserve some respect while they are performing the anthem or not. Just as you can either believe that people should show respect during the anthem or not. If you want to argue that they are showing respect while cheering during the anthem, fine. You still fall on one side or the other.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
Your tone has been dismissive and belligerent towards me, and I wasn’t even replying to a comment you made in the first place.
And there’s a goose-gander situation going on here. If it’s wrong for Hawks fans it’s wrong for Preds fans. If it’s okay for Preds fans it’s okay for Hawks fans.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
it's two completely different scenario
sorry, but I believe you’re wrong. The point is when they’re doing it, not what they’re doing.
hockey connoisseur. t-shirt addict. not famous. nerd.
perhaps you and cisar would like to confer and decide on exactly whether it’s the when or the what that you’re objecting to.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
That was very rude of me and I apologize. One of those times that I hit post before thinking about things.
I think, however, it seems like that the two of you are arguing two different things here: Shawn saying that it’s rude because it’s the anthem and cisar saying it’s rude because it’s a performance.
I don’t think that yelling “you suck” at players en masse is somehow less obnoxious than cheering during a performance. If it’s because it’s the anthem, then it’s not about the performance at all, but about respect for the anthem as the anthem. If you’re saying play by our rules while you’re here (the it’s okay in the UC but not at Bridgestone point) then it’s not okay for Preds fans to be rude according the standards of fans at other arenas who object to the “you suck” thing. And a lot of people do find it obnoxious.
In any case I doubt we’re ever going to see eye to eye on this issue.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
to be fair
I don’t think it’s cool to travel to an opposing team’s arena and be an obnoxious fan. Therefore I don’t condone the “you suck” chant in C-bus for instance. Although I do believe screaming over the National Anthem as your “thing” is a far more egregious item than chanting “you suck” to a goalie.
hockey connoisseur. t-shirt addict. not famous. nerd.
by Shawn Kehoe on Feb 16, 2012 11:33 PM EST up reply actions
Then it isn’t about performance at all. It’s about patriotism, which you jumped all over me for suggesting.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
I did not. You said this:
I just have a hard time believing that, as a group, Hawks fans are less devoted to their country and its symbols than other hockey fans.
I said this:
Who is saying they are less devoted to their country?
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
I think your ‘regional differences’ argument is a load of hooey.
And your thought that ‘they mean it as patriotism’…
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
You keep making arguments that are misrepresenting what I said, and I can’t leave.
These two things have nothing to do with what you said.
And your thought that ‘they mean it as patriotism’…
leads into the quote from NHL.com that shows the origination of the anthem cheering. It does not include your thought of ‘patriotism’ as a load of hooey.
You can’t be this obtuse. I have seen you post intelligent arguments on this site, many of which I have agreed with. What is your deal? I give examples of why it didn’t start out as some sort of patriotic thing. What have you got?
Read below. Sam Fels gets it.
You are giving someone the ‘benefit of the doubt’ because you don’t know.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
What I’m saying is that you are looking at it from a Preds point of view and saying it’s different. St Louis fans or Columbus fans have said that it’s not. I don’t think it’s fair to say that Preds fans’ interpretations have more weight in our home arena than other fans do in their home arena.
As far as the anthem vs other contexts, cisar specifically argued that this wasn’t about the anthem, that it was about performance. So you are saying something different here than he said.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
Your tone has been dismissive and belligerent towards me
Uhhhhh… no.
I wasn’t even replying to a comment you made in the first place.
So? Your regional differences comment just doesn’t really apply.
Completely different scenario.
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
Okay, then.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
I liked the Jeremy Lin story the first time when it was called the Martin St. Louis story.--@BoltProspects
"I saw it, I called it, I still don't believe it!"--Pete Weber
This is my final post on the subject. It is a quote by Sam Fels, who is the main guy over at secondcityhockey.com, SBN’s Blackhawks affiliate. It is a quote from the Committed Indian, which is a little paper they put together for every home game.
Link: Committed Indian
-While writing about being in an opponent’s building, I want to take the time to reach however many I can about something that needs to stop. And that’s Hawks fans cheer- ing during the National Anthem in another’s building.
That’s a Chicago Stadium/ United Center tradition. That’s the only place it should be done. Here it’s patriotic, inspi-
rational, and intimidating. Anywhere else it’s bullshit posturing, attempting to sully someone’s role of host. It’s like a bunch of bikers who enter a bar and then spray beer everywhere. Save that for our place.
See? It’s not just me. And he is right.
Have a good day Clare!
Go Preds!
World Wide Weber.
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
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