The Nashville Predators played great after they fell behind 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues tonight, but that’s not exactly a winning formula.
The Preds dropped their season opener 4-2 to the St. Louis, after a horrible opening sequence that saw the Blues score twice at even strength and once on the power play before the first period was even halfway through, chasing Pekka Rinne from the Nashville net. From that point on, the Predators played a pretty solid game, making it close at times but never closing the gap completely.
Thankfully there won’t be much time for musing over this one, as the Predators get right back on the ice tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche and their megalomaniacal new head coach Patrick Roy.
So look at it this way… it could have been a lot worse, right?
Random Observations
- The penalty kill is probably my biggest area of concern with this team (bon voyage, Hal Gill), and giving up a goal 3 seconds into their first kill wasn’t exactly encouraging. For the night they gave up two goals on four PK’s.
- After that dumpster fire in the first 10 minutes, things turned around remarkably. Multiple lines put together strong shifts, and Carter Hutton looked comfortable in his Nashville debut.
- Seth Jones? Pretty darned awesome. He looked completely at ease out there, whether working the power play, rushing the puck through center, or working in the defensive zone. Me likey. And yes, Mattias Ekholm was good, too.
- Shea Weber & Roman Josi really helped drive things in the right direction for Nashville, as we all hoped they would.
- Rich Clune managed to draw a cross-checking call in the third, which is exactly the sort of thing a depth line guy can do to provide real value to a team. That’s a nice start for his quest to become the NHL’s #1 pest.
- The whole line of Gaustad/Hendricks/Clune had a few moments, but in general I wasn’t crazy about them.
Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary
Roll the video highlights (when they’re ready, probably 30-45 minutes post-game)…
Nashville Predators Advanced Stats
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Craig Smith | C | 14:17 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 0 | +4 |
| Mike Fisher | C | 13:22 | 14 | 7 | +7 | -1 | +7 |
| Nick Spaling | C | 12:48 | 14 | 7 | +7 | -2 | +8 |
| Gabriel Bourque | L | 12:26 | 15 | 10 | +5 | -1 | +5 |
| Paul Gaustad | C | 12:16 | 8 | 12 | -4 | -9 | -0 |
| Matt Hendricks | C | 11:41 | 7 | 13 | -6 | -7 | -3 |
| Matt Cullen | C | 11:40 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 0 | +10 |
| Rich Clune | L | 10:51 | 8 | 11 | -3 | -6 | -1 |
| Eric Nystrom | L | 10:42 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 0 | +9 |
| Colin Wilson | C | 10:32 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 0 | -2 |
| Patric Hornqvist | R | 10:11 | 9 | 7 | +2 | +1 | +2 |
| David Legwand | C | 9:50 | 8 | 9 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Shea Weber | D | 20:08 | 26 | 11 | +15 | -3 | +16 |
| Roman Josi | D | 19:00 | 24 | 10 | +14 | -3 | +15 |
| Victor Bartley | D | 16:51 | 7 | 20 | -13 | -5 | -11 |
| Kevin Klein | D | 14:53 | 7 | 18 | -11 | -5 | -9 |
| Seth Jones | D | 13:17 | 15 | 9 | +6 | -1 | +6 |
| Mattias Ekholm | D | 11:30 | 13 | 7 | +6 | -1 | +6 |
St. Louis Blues Advanced Stats
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Alexander Steen | C | 14:08 | 12 | 15 | -3 | +2 | -4 |
| David Backes | R | 14:01 | 11 | 16 | -5 | +2 | -6 |
| T.J. Oshie | C | 13:12 | 11 | 13 | -2 | +1 | -2 |
| Jaden Schwartz | C | 13:00 | 9 | 11 | -2 | +1 | -2 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | R | 12:45 | 10 | 9 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Patrik Berglund | C | 12:13 | 8 | 9 | -1 | +1 | -1 |
| Derek Roy | C | 11:58 | 13 | 8 | +5 | +2 | +4 |
| Chris Stewart | R | 11:15 | 10 | 9 | +1 | +2 | +0 |
| Brenden Morrow | L | 10:49 | 11 | 7 | +4 | +2 | +3 |
| Vladimir Sobotka | C | 9:59 | 7 | 13 | -6 | +4 | -8 |
| Maxim Lapierre | C | 9:24 | 4 | 13 | -9 | +4 | -11 |
| Ryan Reaves | R | 8:13 | 4 | 14 | -10 | +4 | -12 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | D | 18:33 | 14 | 15 | -1 | +1 | -1 |
| Jay Bouwmeester | D | 18:01 | 14 | 15 | -1 | +1 | -1 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | D | 15:26 | 15 | 12 | +3 | +7 | +0 |
| Jordan Leopold | D | 14:40 | 13 | 12 | +1 | +7 | -2 |
| Roman Polak | D | 14:38 | 9 | 20 | -11 | +1 | -11 |
| Barret Jackman | D | 14:05 | 9 | 18 | -9 | +1 | -9 |
More from On the Forecheck:
- Vezina Trophy Predictions: They’re NOT Who We Thought They Were
- Wednesday’s Dump & Chase: We’re Still Waiting…
- Rich Clune Idolizes Sean Avery, Says Dallas Stars Fans Have Low IQs — An OTF Exclusive Interview
- NHL Predictions: The OTF Crew Makes Their Picks
- How Would Today’s Nashville Predators Fit in NHL 94?/
Who was your Predator of the Game?
| Mike Fisher, goal | 16 |
| Carter Hutton, 21 saves | 58 |
| Seth Jones, birthday boy | 82 |
| David Legwand, goal | 9 |