Nashville Predators 3, Montreal Canadiens 4: Resurrection from a 3-0 Hole Foiled in OT
Things looked all but decided after the first period, but the Predators came back from the brink of embarrassment to force overtime, where they would eventually fall.
Games like this are the reason we watch hockey. Sure, it didn't end up in favor of the good guys, but tell me you weren't jumping, screaming, and fully engaged with this game when it looked like it was going to be another blowout, goalless stinker.
Marek Mazanec had a chance to wrestle the starting reins away from Carter Hutton and give the Nashville Predators their only win this week. Instead, he let P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, and Tomas Plakanec score within a five minute span in the first period. The Montreal Canadiens looked poised to leave Bridgestone Arena with a convincing win. Everyone at home and in the arena thought so.
Except for the home team.
Hutton replaced Mazanec in goal, and the Predators mounted a ballsy comeback against the fourth place team in the East. Gabriel Bourque scored his fifth of the season to insure the game would at least not end in a shutout. Then Shea Weber lifted the team on his back when he assisted on Nick Spaling's power play goal, then scored one himself to tie it. Just because. The Bridge was rocking and it looked like the Preds were going to pull this one out of the fire.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. David Desharnais scored the overtime goal after forcing a turnover on Mattias Ekholm.
Random Observations
- Talk about a never say die attitude tonight. The Predators pounded a whopping 20 (!) shots on net during just the second period. A lot of that had to do with score effects of the Canadiens being up by three goals, but still. Holy crap. 20 shots is a lot, and it says something of the team (at least for tonight) that they decided to take control of a game they had no business being in. They wanted to win, and it showed.
- The Preds power play is on fire right now. They are now in the top 10 in the league, and have scored at least one PPG in each of the last five games (including tonight).
- The way this season has gone, all of us, at some point or another, have entertained the idea of trading Weber just because we know the return he'd fetch would be insane. Let's never actually do that. The Captain is the best player on this team, and he proved it again tonight with his game-tying goal. Since he's signed through the Second Coming, there's plenty of time for the team to reshape around him. Who is going to be doing the shaping, though, is another question for another day.
Boxscore - Game Summary - Event Summary - Fancy Stats
Roll the video highlights...
Player of the Game:
| Shea Weber | 88 |
| Carter Hutton | 19 |
| Nick Spaling | 2 |
| This Crazy Storm System | 18 |