Martin Erat: The OTF Hero of the Week

Martin Erat's reputation with the Nashville Predators fan base can swing wildly at times, due mostly to the fact that his singular offensive talents tease observers into expecting dominant performance on a night-in night-out basis. Last week, we saw some of that Marty Party in action, the guy who leads the way offensively for Nashville with his combination of puck-protection, stickhanding, and deft passing.

Martin Erat

#10 / Left Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-0

Weight: 201

Born: Aug 29, 1981

Marty notched at least a point in each of the Preds' three games last week (four assists total), but it was his work in the late stages of that Columbus game which really stood out, so follow after the jump as we take a look back to his contributions to perhaps the most unlikely victory of the Predators' season so far...

Even though he didn't get an assist on the Hornqvist goal which drew the Preds to within 3-2, look at how he jumps right on the puck following the faceoff and sends it back to the point, setting the whole play in motion:

Then, on the tying score by Sergei Kostitsyn, he does the exact same thing, but eventually gets the puck back to fire the shot which SK74 tips in:

Then, of course, in the overtime, he springs into a 2-on-1 with Colin Wilson and sets up the dramatic game-winner:

Dynamite stuff there, but as is always the case, Erat has raised the bar for himself - as the Preds face a tough stretch of home games this week, they'll need his continued leadership on the scoresheet if they hope to climb back in to playoff position. For now, however, we celebrate Martin Erat as the OTF Hero of the Week.