Predators Hang On To Beat The Oilers 3-2

The Nashville Predators improved their record to 10-3-2 with a win over the Edmonton Oilers by the score of 3-2. All of Nashville’s goals came in the first-period in a dominant 20-minutes to start the game and they held on to beat an Oilers team that had won their past two-contests.

1st Period:

The Predators got off to a fantastic start. After the first couple minutes of the game going somewhat back and forth, the first-line for the Predators took the ice and would continue their scoring ways courtesy of a Mike Ribeiro put-back goal. Filip Forsberg received the puck, passed it to a streaking James Neal on the right side of the ice who put a wrist-shot on net where Ribeiro would clean up a rebound given up off of Edmonton’s goalie Victor Fasth at the 17:09 mark of the opening period.

Ribeiro’s goal seemed to really set the tone very early on for the Predators. Nashville out shot Edmonton 10-4 before the Predators’ 11th-shot of the night before the midway point of the first-period would count. Matt Cullen lit the lamp as he dove for the trickling puck and poked it past Fasth’s left-pad to give the Predators a 2-0 lead at the 10:39 mark of the opening period.

The Predator’s scoring would not stop there. Forsberg would score his seventh-goal of the season with 2:51 remaining in the first to cap off an absolutely dominated period by Nashville. Ribeiro would be credited with the lone assist giving him his second point of the opening period.

The Predators would out shoot the Oilers 17-6 after the opening 20-minutes.

1st Period Takeaways:

• This was easily the most dominant period for the Predators so far this season.
• The Predators’ top line could be argued to be the best in the NHL at this given time, in my opinion. Absolutely dominant.
• Pekka Rinne didn’t have too many pucks thrown his way that first period seeing how Nashville held the puck in their zone for more than the majority of the period.
• Forsberg and Neal had three-shots each in the first-period.

2nd Period:

Edmonton would come out of the gates in a bit of a different fashion compared to the opening period both in their play and with their goalie in net. The Oilers replaced Fasth in net with Ben Scrivens and Edmonton would respond to the change in a positive manner as Benoit Pouliot would score just 31-seconds into the period to cut the Predators’ lead to 3-1.

Nashville received their first power play opportunity of the game moments later as Nikita Nikitin was called for tripping. The Predators’ 21st-ranked power play however was not able to produce any quality scoring chances.

The Oilers would not go away easy, as expected, and they would cut the Predators’ lead to one-goal with 5:18 left in the second-period. Nail Yakupov would sneak to the far post of the Predators’ net and snap the puck home from a great pass from David Perron across the crease.

Edmonton would then get a chance on the power play after a Gabriel Bourque tripping penalty. The Predators penalty-kill would stand strong and not allow a goal on the three-shots the Oilers put on net while on the man advantage.

The period would end much differently than the first. The momentum seemed to be completely flipped and all in Edmonton’s favor with the score 3-2 Predators after 40-minutes.

2nd Period Takeaways:

• Woah, what a change in script. The period was completely dominated by Edmonton.
• Rinne really had no chance on the Yakupov goal.
• Nashville out shot Edmonton 11-8 despite the Oilers virtually dominating the period.

3rd Period:

The Oilers would find themselves on the power play just 44-seconds into the third-period after Cullen was called for a high-sticking penalty. Edmonton would be unsuccessful on their second power play opportunity of the night.

The Predators would then get their second power play opportunity 2:39 into the final period as Mark Arcobello was called for slashing.Not much happened for the Predators with this particular man advantage. Shea Weber sent a slap shot on net as the power play expired but Scrivens made the stop on the Predators only real scoring opportunity of the power play.

The following ten-minutes plus would hold a lot of back and forth hockey with not too much going on in the scoring chance department.

Trailing by one-goal, Edmonton pulled Scrivens from the net with under two-minutes remaining for the man advantage but they would not be successful in tying the game and the Predators would hang on and secure their 10th-win of the season.

Final Takeaways:

• The Predators looked fantastic in the first-period but the next two-periods was mostly all Oilers.
• Forsberg and Neal had another fantastic night. Forsberg with one-goal and one-assists and Neal with one-assist.
• Nashville out shot Edmonton 35-23.
• Edmonton has still not beaten a team from the Western Conference, they are 0-7-1 against the West.
• Rinne got his 10th-win of the season for an overall record of 10-2-1.
• Neal had 10-shots on net for the night.