Nashville and Dallas played an exciting back and forth game tonight at Bridgestone Arena. It was a game that saw everything from first goals to great saves. In the end, Nashville squeaked one out in OT to come away with two points.
The Predators opened up the scoring in the first period with an absolute laser from the captain, Shea Weber. Jason Spezza tied things up in the second period. That lead didn’t last too long though, as Miikka Salomaki scored his first goal in the NHL to put the Predators back in front. The Stars would not go into the second intermission without an answer. Trevor Daley tied it up very late in the second. Regulation wasn’t enough time to decide this one though. Weber notched his second of the game to seal the victory for Nashville.
Random Observations
- The Predators are a a different animal when they play at home. Which is funny, because last year, they were just plain bad at home. They play fast, smart, and aggressive, all while feeding off of the insane crowds at Bridgestone. Tonight was no different. They came out fast, and made Kari Lehtonen work early in the game.
- I couldn’t tell if the Stars power play was just that bad on their first attempt, or the Preds penalty kill was just that good. I am a homer, so I’m definitely going with the penalty kill being that good. They did a great job clogging up the neutral zone and making it difficult for Dallas to get anything set up.
- Shea Weber just continues to prove, night in and night out, why the Norris should be his this year. His goal tonight was an absolute rocket that scorched past Lehtonen. Not to mention a good pass up the ice by Josi to Ribeiro to start the play. That assist gave Roman Josi his 100th career point.
- It just had to be Jason Spezza that scored Dallas’ first goal, didn’t it? I will say that I am thoroughly impressed with how he got that one in the net. He basically shoot it from the side and it sneaked past Rinne.
- Miikka Salomaki everyone!! What a great effort sticking with the play all the way through. He deserved that first NHL goal in his debut.
- What started out as an uneventful second period turned into quite the goal show. Trevor Daley’s goal with two seconds left in the period helped Dallas even things up.
- These lower and upper body injuries are getting out of hand for the Preds. Ryan Ellis was the latest victim of the vague injury description tonight.
- On a side note, Filip Forsberg has had a relatively quiet game tonight. As of the beginning of the third period, he only had one missed shot. Then they disallowed the goal that he put in. That can only mean he will explode for multiple goals Saturday, am I right?
- With Chicago beating Minnesota tonight, it is nice to have a guaranteed point in the bag.
- And as I wrote the last observation, Weber decided enough was enough. He went ahead and sealed another day on top of the Central.
OTF’s Super Duper Stars of the Game
- Miikka Salomaki: Any time you score your first goal of your career, you will get a spot here.
- Shea Weber: At this point, what can’t the captain do?
- Roman Josi: Two assists and another all around solid game. /
Tweets Of The Night
With that assist Roman Josi now has 100 career NHL points! #DALvsNSH
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 9, 2015
The Finnish Salomaki scored his first goal on the Finnish Lehtonen, which I’m sure has some cosmic significance somewhere.
— On The Forecheck (@OnTheForecheck) January 9, 2015
These officials called the Cowboys-Lions game too, right?
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) January 9, 2015
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