It was good news all around tonight at Bridgestone Arena, as the Nashville Predators made their home pre-season debut by beating the New York Islanders 2-0, and franchise goaltender Pekka Rinne played 40 strong minutes. Gabriel Bourque and Austin Watson scored for the Preds, while Filip Forsberg, Ryan Ellis and Craig Smith each picked up one assist.
From here, the Predators move on to a Tuesday night game at home against Tampa Bay, hoping to avenge a 5-1 loss to the Lightning back on September 19th.
Random Observations
- Sorry, I’ve got none – I just wanted to get you the fancy stats before heading out for a game tonight.
- Post-game audio is available from Barry Trotz, Austin Watson, Seth Jones & Pekka Rinne (click each name for the MP3)./
Nashville Predators Fancy Stats
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Miikka Salomaki | R | 14:55 | 14 | 12 | +2 | +1 | +2 |
| Joonas Rask | C | 13:03 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Bourque | L | 12:54 | 8 | 10 | -2 | -1 | -2 |
| Craig Smith | C | 12:45 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 0 | +6 |
| Filip Forsberg | C | 12:33 | 9 | 9 | 0 | -1 | +0 |
| David Legwand | C | 12:27 | 9 | 10 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Matt Hendricks | C | 12:17 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 0 | +1 |
| Patrick Cehlin | R | 12:14 | 8 | 10 | -2 | +2 | -3 |
| Rich Clune | L | 12:10 | 8 | 11 | -3 | +2 | -4 |
| Nick Spaling | C | 11:48 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 0 | +7 |
| Austin Watson | L | 11:47 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 0 | +6 |
| Colton Sissons | C | 11:07 | 7 | 9 | -2 | +1 | -2 |
| Seth Jones | D | 19:35 | 17 | 9 | +8 | -3 | +9 |
| Roman Josi | D | 17:34 | 13 | 8 | +5 | -3 | +6 |
| Kevin Klein | D | 16:32 | 12 | 16 | -4 | +1 | -4 |
| Ryan Ellis | D | 16:16 | 18 | 14 | +4 | +3 | +3 |
| Victor Bartley | D | 15:38 | 8 | 16 | -8 | +2 | -9 |
| Joe Piskula | D | 14:25 | 16 | 13 | +3 | +2 | +2 |
New York Islanders Fancy Stats
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Pierre-Marc Bouchard | C | 16:11 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 0 | +4 |
| Ryan Strome | C | 15:34 | 13 | 17 | -4 | -1 | -4 |
| Michael Grabner | R | 14:43 | 11 | 11 | 0 | +1 | -0 |
| Peter Regin | C | 14:25 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 0 | +5 |
| Johan Sundstrom | C | 14:23 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 0 | +1 |
| Mike Halmo | L | 13:46 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 0 | +1 |
| Chris Bruton | C | 12:33 | 13 | 8 | +5 | +1 | +5 |
| Brock Nelson | C | 12:25 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Anders Lee | C | 11:57 | 12 | 13 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Riley Wetmore | C | 11:44 | 1 | 12 | -11 | -1 | -11 |
| Eric Boulton | L | 8:22 | 1 | 7 | -6 | -1 | -6 |
| Justin Johnson | R | 4:58 | 0 | 5 | -5 | -1 | -5 |
| Thomas Hickey | D | 19:06 | 19 | 14 | +5 | -2 | +6 |
| Calvin De Haan | D | 18:01 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 0 | -5 |
| Ryan Pulock | D | 17:17 | 18 | 12 | +6 | -2 | +7 |
| Matt Carkner | D | 16:07 | 5 | 13 | -8 | +1 | -8 |
| Radek Martinek | D | 15:45 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Joe Finley | D | 13:44 | 11 | 16 | -5 | +1 | -5 |
Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary
We’ll see if the video highlights work (you may need to wait until late in the evening)…
More from On the Forecheck:
- Sunday’s Dump & Chase: It’s Game Night In Smashville!
- Fantasy Hockey 2013-2014: Projections for the Nashville Predators
- 2013 Nashville Predators Training Camp: Magnus Hellberg Deployed to Milwaukee
- Saturday’s Dump & Chase: Training Camp Returns To Centennial
- Mattias Ekholm Season Preview: “Horrible, Just Horrible,” Hero, or Holed up in Milwaukee?/