Since the invention of the left-wing lock and Barry Trotz adopting its use to help the fledgling expansion team, the Nashville Predators have not been the most fun team to watch. I believe this team brought about the goalie pad size decrease, eliminating the center line, etc… they’re just a grind to watch. Or to play. It’s a grinding style of hockey played in ankle-deep sludge.
Against the Anaheim Ducks last night, that signature style was present as a part of their game. Both teams clad in their reverse retro jerseys, this game itself felt like a throwback. The Predators were relentlessly attacking during the first and second period, outshooting the Ducks by a margin of 31 – 18 after two. Midway through that second period, a slick centering pass from Matt Duchene feeds Colton Sissons for an open tip-in to make it 1-0 Preds. For the inflated shot numbers accumulated by them in this game, the actual quality chances seemed slim.
The tryptophan hangover continues for the Ducks as the leftovers of Thanksgiving bled into tonight’s game. An uninspired effort all the way around save Troy Terry. He is playing like a one-year rental that has a significant contract on the horizon. Terry’s unending endurance and ability to find speed when others seem flat helped him to find the back of the net. As the defense surrounded him, escorting him to the middle of the circle, Terry snapped one on net. His heavy wrister was misplayed badly by Juuse Saros, making it 1-1 after three periods.
In an interview yesterday, General Manager Pat Verbeek mentioned that he was quite happy with his goaltender. He thought the offense just hadn’t been getting him the help. That was the case again last night, as John Gibson had an excellent game while the offense remained in slumber. Without his herculean effort in net, stopping 39 of 41 shots, the Ducks would not have made it into overtime.
In overtime, you would expect the skill players to shine absolutely—plenty of ice for Trevor Zegras to create. Trevor certainly was the game-winning goal’s author, just not in the way the Ducks faithful would prefer. There have been plenty of times that the youth of Zegras has been on display, not back-checking hard, losing a mark in a critical situation, or a bad penalty late in a game. Tonight was one of those nights.
Late in the overtime period, Zegras throws the puck to an open corner to absolutely no one while being pressured at his defensive point. Presumably, the pass was to Colton White, who is mesmerized by the blue line and the Predators bench. Colton froze long enough for Matt Duchene to recover Zegras’ dump into the corner and passes to Roman Josi. Josi receives the pass to bury the game-winner. Trevor Zegras and White will certainly hear about this in the film room, and they’ll grow from the young player’s mistakes.
Ducks lose 2-1 in OT, but Gibson manages to steal a point in the process.
For a game that felt relatively pedestrian, there were flashes of excitement. The teams traded breakaways in the first, four of them in the game. One of particular interest was Troy Terry, alone on Saros drop passing to Zegras. It was a slick-looking play, but the Nashville netminder covered it well.
Cam Fowler grabbed another assist giving him seven points in the last nine games. Fowler also had a massive 28:27 time on the ice, besting the ever-present Roman Josi’s TOI by over a minute. Also of note, the Ducks did not give up a power play goal, killing off two penalties which is an obvious step in the right direction.
The reverse retros looked good on both teams, but the Ducks wasted another brilliant performance from John Gibson and let winnable road points fall to youthful inexperience.
