Well, this might as well have happened. No way the Nashville Predators would continue the onslaught of awesome that happened on Tuesday. Though it did look like “same song, different verse” when Shea Weber scored to go up 1-0, the Senators scored 3 in the second and that would be all they needed. Some bad penalties and a gassed offense also didn’t help their cause.
So was this just a case of the Predators coming back to earth after Tuesday? Does not having Pekka Rinne make that big of a difference? Did the Senators find a gaping hole in our game plan? Do the Predators still have what it takes to stay atop the division? Did the PDO gods come down to slap us around a bit?
The sky is not falling. You can’t win them all.
Random Observations
- With Carter Hutton in goal, you’ve got a serviceable, average backup NHL goaltender. And that’s what we saw tonight. Nothing spectacular, nothing terrible. He did do a better job containing the rebounds this time.
- I’m not sure that Weber goal should count as a PPG because Colin Wilson was off getting a new stick at the bench. So it was another even-strength goal for the Preds and we can stick with the whole “the power-play is lousy” narrative.
- For the first half of the game, the Ottawa crowd was noticeably quiet. Like “hey keep it down, we have final exams to study for” quiet. Or maybe “Chicago Blackhawks bandwagon fan” quiet.
- The Preds have scored 24 goals and allowed 12 in Canada this season. Take that Canada!
- I think in cases of simultaneous penalty calls, the NHL should institute a “whipping boy” system. Like make a retired NHL player come out onto the ice and skate a few laps or something.
- Roman Josi is an exciting player to watch. Quick out of the defensive zone, quick to get up the ice, a great shot, and great at finding space in the offensive zone. A great compliment for Weber and an important defenseman for this team.
- Senators tie it up on the power-play with Mattias Ekholm in the box for delay of game. Bobby Ryan scored, who remembered that he gets paid very well to play hockey for the Senators.
- The Senators notched 3 goals in 8 minutes, which is pretty much what the Predators did on Tuesday, only it was 9 goals in 60 minutes.
- Jared Cowen had all the time in the world to net that third goal. Completely unimpeded. Preds defense let Hutton down on that one.
- I guessing most of Olli Jokinen’s goals this year will be of the “wide open, puck free in front of the open net” variety. Congrats anyway, Olli!
- Bad Penalty Tracker: Mattias Ekholm +1, Paul Gaustad +1, Craig Smith +1
- A rarity this season: the Forsberg-Neal-Ribeiro line was shut down tonight. Unable to gain much advantage in the offensive zone and forced to take low percentage shots.
- Furious empty net rally falls short… boo.
OTF’s Super Duper Stars of the Game
- Shea Weber, the Canadian. No, Ottawa, you can’t have him.
- Colin Wilson, who had a very active (even while broken) stick tonight.
- Barb Murphy, I guess./
Tweet Of The Night
.@rsuter20 Weber scored
— Smashvillian (@Smashvillian_) November 21, 2014
RT @YELDARBfield: I feel like the Senators may be better than the Leafs.
— Dan D Bradley (@DanDBradley) November 21, 2014
Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary – War-on-Ice – HockeyStats – Natural Stat Trick
Roll the video highlights…