Nashville Predators Week 2 Recap: Preds Starting to Gel, Rinne Fantastic

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The Nashville Predators continued their strong play this week, posting a 2-1 record. The offense seems to be clicking now and the defensive pairs are starting to get sorted out after a couple key injuries to start the season. With their four points this week, the Preds currently sit at nine points on the season. That’s good for 4th in the division and the first wild card spot. Again, it’s early so I wouldn’t put too much stock into the standings just yet, but it’s nice to see where they stack up in the division.

The Predators also made a few lineup adjustments. Roman Josi returned to the ice after missing a few games. Yannick Weber was placed on IR and then activated before the game on Saturday, while Nick Bonino was placed on IR with a lower body injury. Frederick Gaudreau was called up to take Bonino’s place.


The Predators started off the week with another Central Division foe, the Colorado Avalanche. This game seemed like a carbon copy of the game last week against the Dallas Stars. After a very sleepy first period, the Avs struck first off a weird bounce on the power play early in the second period. The goal was awarded to Nathan MacKinnon, but it ended up going off of Josi’s skate past Rinne. The goal seemed to wake the Preds up, with Viktor Arvidsson breaking free off a beautiful pass from Forsberg to tie the game at 1. From then on it was all Preds.

Josi got his first of the year on the power play, and then Colton Sissons scored on one of the weirdest plays I’ve ever seen. Sissons scored but was also called for charging as he ran into the goaltender after the puck had crossed. Replay clearly showed Matt Duchene pushing Sissons into the goalie, but the refs said after the game that Sissons could have done more to avoid contact. Right. Anyways, the Preds defense was up to the task and killed the penalty. Austin Watson got his first of the season in the third period to put the game away. 4-1 Preds.

The Predators then traveled north to Philadelphia for a rematch with the Flyers from a week ago. This was pretty much the exact opposite of the previous game. Where that game had 11 total goals scored, this one had one. It was a goalie duel the entire night, with both teams getting chances but not quite able to put one in the net. Finally, early in the third Kevin Fiala picked up the loose puck in the defensive zone and streaked down the ice. He found a trailing Colton Sissons who was able to beat Michal Neuvirth to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. Pekka Rinne absolutely stood on his head to close out the period and give the Preds the shutout victory. It was the 44th shutout of Pekka’s career, tying him with Miikka Kiprusoff for most by a Finnish-born goaltender.

It was then on to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers. I didn’t get to see all of this game since I was in Cookeville running a half marathon and by the time the game started I was concentrating on not dying. And since 102.5’s signal is so weak, I wasn’t able to pick up the radio call until I hit Alexandria.


Juuse Saros got the start against the Rangers, which I thought was likely at the beginning of the week. It was a bit surprising since Rinne was coming off the shutout though, but I guess Lavy is wanting to keep Pekka fresh. It sounds like the Preds defense wasn’t doing much to help Saros out to start the game, with the Preds digging themselves into an early 2-0 hole off a couple defensive miscues. They were able to battle back and get it to 3-2 heading into the third period. Despite getting a ton of chances, the Preds weren’t able to get the tying goal past Lundqvist. To make the game even better, douchecanoe Jimmy Vesey got an empty netter to make it 4-2 Rangers. Tough loss, but it happens.

PREDS THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

1st Star – Pekka Rinne – Pekka allowed one goal on 49 shots in his two games this week. Going back to the Dallas game, Pekka has only allowed four goals in his last four games. He also earned his 44th career shutout to tie Kiprusoff for most all-time by a Finnish-born goalie. Congrats, Pekka!

2nd Star – Colton Sissons – Sissons scored his first two goals of the season this week, including the game winner in Philly. Good to see him continue his strong play from the playoffs last year. The Preds will need him to keep it up this season if they want to make another run.

3rd Star – Filip Forsberg – Forsberg just continues to score. This week he had one goal and three assists, giving him 11 points on the season. Forsberg has typically been a slow starter, so it’s great to see him producing early in the season.

NEWS AROUND THE NHL

– The Montreal Canadiens are not having a good time. They are currently 1-6-1 and sit in dead last in the East. They currently have a -20 goal differential. That’s…….that’s not good.

– Vegas continues to roll. They currently sit at 6-1 and second place in the Pacific. It will be interesting to see if they can keep this play up the whole season.

– Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos have the Tampa Bay Lighting rolling so far. Stamkos leads the league in points with 18 (Kucherov is 2nd with 16) and Kucherov is tied for the league lead in goals with Ovechkin now with 10.

– Another surprise team, the New Jersey Devils. After winning the draft lottery and getting the #1 overall pick, the Devils currently lead the Metropolitan Division with 12 points with a 6-2 record.

The Predators have another busy week coming up. On Tuesday, they face off with the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena. Friday night, the team heads to Chicago to play the Blackhawks and then right back home to Nashville for a meeting with the Islanders on Saturday.

Herbie Brooks is the Lead Hockey Analyst for SoBros Network. He knows three things: beating Commies, winning Gold Medals, and having great hair. Follow him on Twitter: @SoBroHerbie_B

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