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Nashville Predators 1, Carolina Hurricanes 4: Preds Can’t Catch ’Canes

Posted on by Rachel K

In a very colorful home game at Bridgestone Arena, a preseason Predators roster faced off against the preseason Carolina Hurricanes.

The beginning of the first period seemed to mostly be a standard “feeling out” with plenty of chances traded in both directions. Warren Foegele gave the Hurricanes their first goal of the evening with 14:40 remaining in the first. The Predators were a little disorganized in controlling the puck in their own end and the puck trickled past Rinne.

Frédérick Gaudreau was whistled for tripping at 10:52 of the first period. The Nashville penalty kill was successful, and Gaudreau and Colton Sissons nearly tied the game on a 2-on-1 chance, but Carolina immediately went back on the power play after a cross-checking call on Kyle Turris.

With 45 seconds remaining in Carolina’s second power play, Nick Bonino fired a puck over the glass. Nashville survived the 5-on-3 penalty kill and ultimately killed off both penalties. However, the Predators were unable to sustain any zone time in the first period. They trudged to the locker room with only 5 shots on net.

The second period began with a massive glove save from Rinne on young Andrei Svechnikov. Once again, the Predators seemed to be unable to get any sort of momentum against Carolina goaltender Scott Darling. Rocco Grimaldi and Zac Rinaldo had two solid chances on Darling to get things going in the Carolina zone, but the Predators were unable to pressure Carolina for more than a few seconds. Brett Pesce made it 2-0 Carolina with around 7 minutes gone in the second period.

Viktor Arvidsson drew a penalty from Nicolas Roy with 11:38 remaining in the second, giving Nashville their first power play of the evening. Some excellent puck movement kept Carolina on their toes, but the Predators were unsuccessful. Grimaldi and Gaudreau were buzzing on the fourth line, but once again, several chances did not make their way into the back of the net.

The Predators began the third period with some chances in the Hurricanes’ zone. Arvidsson was bumped up to the Johansen-Forsberg line. At around 3:30 of the period, Kevin Fiala was found guilty of hooking and Carolina returned to the power play. Carolina was unable to capitalize on the man advantage.

Weber drew a penalty with 12:28 remaining in the third. Barely 40 seconds later, Forsberg was whistled for interference to bring the teams to even strength. Shortly after play resumed, Ryan Ellis was hooked behind the Carolina net, giving the Predators a 4-on-3 advantage. Amid all the confusion, the Predators were unable to capitalize.

With 8:17 remaining in the third, Trevor van Riemsdyk banged in a slap shot from the blue line to put Carolina up 3-0. Shortly after the third Carolina goal, Rinne was trying to play the puck behind the net. Rinne smashed Svechnikov into the boards, was handed a penalty, and Brock McGinn immediately added another goal for Carolina on the power play.

Some aggressive forechecking by Arvidsson and Forsberg resulted in Nashville’s first goal of the evening with 6:43 remaining. Johansen made sure the Predators added at least one goal in tonight’s game that doesn’t count.

Random Observations

  • FS-TN showed Pekka winking at someone in one of those “locker room shots” and women everywhere just melted. See below.
  • We might see Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber as the third pairing once the regular season starts up. They have some nice chemistry.
  • Hello Viktor Arvidsson AKA human cannon.
  • What a weird first goal for Carolina. 1-0 Hurricanes.
  • Two penalties in a row for Nashville…can we not?
  • Ryan Johansen looks really good on the penalty kill.
  • Colton Sissons has had two HUGE missed chances. Will he redeem himself?
  • Rinne coming in clutch with a massive glove save on Andrei Svechnikov.
  • Hamhuis is noticeably faster than Alexei Emelin. But then again, many beer leaguers are also faster than Emelin.
  • Eeli Tolvanen looked awkward in the center of the ice on the PP…he probably should play from the right circle where he’s more comfortable…but that’s just my opinion.
  • Grimaldi and Gaudreau have some nice chemistry, too.
  • Maybe the offense will appear in the third period? They look pretty sloppy.
  • That’s an awful hooking call on Fiala.
  • Forsberg hopped over a stick, missed his shot, and was tripped up in the same three seconds. No call.
  • AND THEN…Forsberg was somehow whistled for interference after being tripped and swung to the ice by a Carolina defender.
  • Scott Darling is stopping all the pucks tonight.
  • Rinne just smashed Svechnikov into the boards…he’s not a happy goalie tonight.
  • Brock McGinn just made it 4-0 Carolina on the power play and Rinne is looks D-O-N-E.
  • Johansen is making damn sure it’s not a shutout tonight.
  • Oh look, Zac Rinaldo committed a penalty. Are you surprised?
  • The Predators look pretty dejected as they leave the ice, and rightfully so. The entire game was poorly executed.
  • It’s the preseason, folks. /

Super Duper Stars of the Game

  1. Rocco Grimaldi: He was buzzing tonight. Grimaldi looks like he could be a nice fourth-line addition with Gaudreau.
  2. Willy Daunic, Lindsay Rowley, Terry Crisp, and Chris Mason.
  3. The Smashville Faithful who donated to the Hurricane Florence Relief Drive.

Tweets of the Night

Game Video

Talking Points