Nashville Predators 1, Edmonton Oilers 5: Poof Go the Playoffs
The Preds are so ugly that when they walk into a bank, they turn off the security cameras.
There is just something about Edmonton that makes the Predators suck like a Hoover vacuum in a hurricane. That was just not fun, so let's get right to the meat of the recap right away. (Or recrap. Get it? Because that's how the Preds played.)
Random Observations
Technically, the Predators aren't mathematically eliminated. But as Kris Martel of The Predatorial points out, they'd have to go 13-0 to finish the season. That ain't happening.
Nothing about Ryan Ellis' hit on Jordan Eberle seemed malicious or intentional. He even bent down to make sure Eberle was alright. I hate the trend of talking about whether a player will or will not get suspended after each hit, but Ellis won't. That's just hockey. He broke the rules, got penalized for it, let's move on.
Late in the 1st, the puck was laying in the middle of the crease, and Patric Hornqvist whiffed on a golden opportunity to send it home. Yup, that sounds about right.
With about 5 minutes to go in the 2nd period, Taylor Hall appeared to have his 23rd goal of the season, but the linesman emphatically waved it off. We all knew where this was going, though. After video review, it was indeed a good goal. At least the power play htey got after the goal stood...
FINALLY, GABRIEL BOuRQUE. JEEZ. Gabby broke the goose egg for the Predators with just his sixth of the year. Credit goes to Hornqvist on that play for make the play behind the net, but that finish is something we wish Bourque had done more of this season.
1:22 between Eberle goals. That isn't going to help the "Eberle to Nashville" talk on these comment threads.
- His second goal also spelled the end of Pekka Rinne's night, as he got the hook in favor of Carter Hutton. Rinne ended the night allowing five goals on 26 shots. Ouch. So who starts tomorrow night?
- When other beat writers start commenting about the front office, you probably have a problem somewhere.
Boxscore - Game Summary - Event Summary - Fancy Stats
Roll the video highlights...