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Nashville Predators 4, St. Louis Blues 3: The Rival We’ve Always Wanted

Posted on by Dan Bradley

There was a time when these two teams played, you felt that Barry Trotz and Ken Hitchcock were hellbent on setting hockey back to the mid-1990s. I halfway expected the Preds to come out wearing 90’s Florida Panthers duds against the Devils a few years back. Those were some terrible games to watch. And by “some games”, many people would say “most games”.

It’s 2014, and that narrative has been torpedoed. These games have all been great. This one was no different, aside from the very sloppy beginning. After the Blues jumped up 1-0, the Predators spent their timeout. While we might have been expecting to see Peter Laviolette raging on the bench, he didn’t seem too bent. The Preds responded, scored 2 to close out the period, and take a lead they never would give up. The lead shifted between 1 and 2 goals, but the guys in gold held on for 2 points, and the division lead.

Also important:

(Unrelated note: Lyndsay Rowley has done great this year on the broadcasts. She looks legitimately interested in what the players are saying- which is an asset for any interviewer.)

Random Observations

  • Man it was super weird seeing Martin Brodeur not in a New Jersey Devils jersey tonight. -Anish
  • Man it was super weird seeing Martin Brodeur in a St. Louis Blues jersey tonight. Ebay? –Dan
  • Any idea what was said during that timeout in the first? I work in a building that has education conferences, and teachers get motivational seminars. Coach Laviolette turned the screws in about a minute, and the Preds proceeded to win the period. By that logic; if anyone can save our school system, it’s Lavy.
  • Then the goals game. Ribeiro and Forsberg are having wayyyy too much fun in the transition game. #PrinceFilip and Ribs play some very good backchecking, which create some nice additional chances.
  • Ribeiro seemed to be the most upset after the Carolina game. It showed tonight. Mike Ribeiro meant absolute business.
  • Roman Josi put a hit on Kevin Shattenkirk at the end of the period, and he felt it. And then some.
  • After trading goals in the second from Ribeiro and Vladimir Tarasenko, you felt the game slipped into a groove for a while. And for me, that’s fine and dandy.
  • Shea Weber saved the freaking day on Rinne’s adventure behind the net.
  • Roman Josi’s pass to Wilson…. man…. it was gorgeous. I was wondering if Broduer was going to be able to stand after that.
  • Blues get it back within one, because Nashville plays only one goal games these days.
  • Power play was “meh”, but the PK was strong… that’s Mike Fisher.
  • Paul Gaustad had more of an influence on this game than Paul Stastny. Gaustad didn’t play.

OTF’s Super Duper Stars of the Game

  • Mike Ribeiro – the man has been an absolute asset for most of the season.
  • Roman Josi – I still can’t over that pass.
  • “Prince” Filip Forsberg – he’s craftier than your average 20 year old.

Tweets Of The Night

Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary – War-on-Ice – HockeyStats – Natural Stat Trick

Roll the video highlights…

There you have it. The good guys won. Talk about it.

Talking Points