What started off looking like a humdrum night for the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues turned into a wild back-and-forth affair in the third period, one which ultimately resulted in a 4-3 shootout loss for the Preds.
St. Louis dominated the flow of play through most of this game, out-shooting Nashville 22-15 through the first two periods. Down 2-1 heading into the third, a pair of strikes for Nashville gave the Preds the lead, the first a steep angle snipe by Mike Fisher and the second a wrister off the rush by Roman Josi (featuring a perfect setup pass from David Legwand).
That lead was short-lived, however, as Vladimir Tarasenko made it 3-3 just 16 seconds later, beating Carter Hutton with a shot of his own off the rush. From there on no more goals were scored, but the teams traded a number of dangerous scoring chances. Carter Hutton made 31 saves on the night, and can be given a good deal of credit for the Preds even making it to overtime.
Next up, the Predators (25-23-9) play at Minnesota on Thursday night. Tonight’s result draws Nashville to within 4 points of Vancouver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Random Observations
- Gaustad couldn’t have asked for a nicer setup on his goal, could he? Judging from that pass, you’d think Blues defenseman Ian Cole would have more than 8 points on the season.
- Seth Jones was so impressive rushing the puck tonight, when he crosses the blueline he’s looking to create dangerous scoring chances, rather than just gain the zone and dump the puck into the corner. It’s really refreshing to see.
- Simon Moser was solid if unspectacular in his NHL debut, as should be expected of a guy who pretty much showed up on the quick and jumped into the lineup.
- Who else’s heart rate jumped 50% when Hutton played that puck backhanded right across the front of his net?
- How about those hands by Ryan Ellis on his shootout score? Roman Josi… not so much./
Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary – Fancy Stats
Roll the video highlights…
