The highs and lows tonight were as extreme as during any game this season. After falling behind 4-0 in the second period, the Nashville Predators made a spirited comeback to tie the game in the 3rd, before giving up a goal to Brent Seabrook to allow the Chicago Blackhawks to escape with a 5-4 win.
A couple of milestones were achieved by individual Preds, however, as David Legwand recorded his 500th point, and Shea Weber tied the franchise career mark for power play goals (46, by Kimmo Timonen) on the same score in the 3rd period.
Follow after the jump for the video highlights & reaction…
Cue the video (might take 30-45 minutes post-game to work):
Your random observations:
As I said at the start of the game on Twitter:
Amazing how the 2nd-worst possession team continues to bench its top possession player in Wilson: ow.ly/a0aOW ow.ly/a0aP9
— Dirk Hoag (@Forechecker) April 1, 2012
- Watching Patric Hornqvist getting abused in front of the Chicago goal reminded me of how rarely you see the Preds dish out that sort of punishment to opposing forwards. Can they “flip the switch” at playoff time to defend Peks and intimidate opponents? That will bear watching. The refs gave Seabrook pretty much free license to take potshots after the whistle.
- The first 29 minutes or so were absolutely brutal – a combination of bad penalties, tentative defense, and Bouillon just plain getting beat on the Stalberg goal had this one looking like a Saturday Night Stinker. The two quickies by Erat & Weber finally gave the home crowd (at least the portion that was there to cheer the Preds) something to get excited about.
- As fun as those two quick goals were, however, what about Radulov’s marker early in the third? That ability to create and finish a scoring chance all on his own is exactly what this team has missed for years. Just a beautiful, beautiful goal there!
- The replay may not do it justice, but Seabrook’s score to put Chicago up 5-4 came after he and Legwand knocked skates along the sideboards, sending Leggy to the ice. That’s how Seabrook was wide open in the slot.
- You wouldn’t expect a matchup the 1st- and 3rd-fewest minor penalties in the NHL to turn into a whistle-fest, but that’s exactly what we got tonight. Eight penalties in the first two periods, and ten overall for the game, led to four power play goals between Chicago and Nashville. They weren’t ticky-tack calls, though, Many of them (Leggy’s hook, Erat’s slash, etc.) were clear as day.
- This result leaves the Preds at 98 points, with Detroit & Chicago at 97, although Detroit holds one game in hand. Tomorrow, the Red Wings host Florida, while Chicago hosts Minnesota.
Box Score – Game Summary – Event Summary – Corsi Numbers
Who is your Predator of the Game?
| Alexander Radulov | 121 |
| Shea Weber | 76 |