Nashville Predators: Who Dominated Possession In Both Games
Nashville Predators pre-season games are usually all over the place. But with all the power plays, who dominated possession?
It felt like the Nashville Predators were on the power play or penalty kill for most of the games. But there was some oasis’ of five on five hockey that showed the Predators true colors. Florida couldn’t compete with their size and speed, and it showed in five on five minutes.
A lot of people are going to complain about all the slashing calls and I understand why. But this is not unprecedented in the NHL. In 2005-06 the NHL cracked down on interference and hooking and everyone was on the penalty kill or power play for most of the season. The refs will find a happy balance of not calling a penalty every minute. And calling a penalty before a guy gets his finger chopped off. So, how did the Nashville Predators do last night? Possession scores are good indicators to look at in these occasions so we can see who might deserve a larger role in the NHL.
Nashville Predators vs Florida Panthers, Game One
The Florida Panthers bested the Nashville Predators five to three, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Predators dominated all the possession metrics at five on five, but special teams is a different story. That’s almost expected when there were so many penalties to both sides.
The Predators had a wonderful Corsi of 56.03%, an elite score by any means. In layman’s terms, this means that the Predators took the majority of shots at the net. Even if a lot of them did not actually hit the net. Fenwick was relatively similar, although still against the Panthers. The Predators put up a good Fenwick score of 54.02, less than the Corsi but still good.
Although the Predators as a team dominated the possession stats, not all players did. There were a few standouts who deserve a shout out. The full time NHLers did great but so did Emil Pettersson, Anthony Richard, and Vladislav Kamenev. Pettersson posted a 64.64 Corsi score. Richard posted a 58.06 Corsi score. And Kamenev posted a 52.38 Corsi score. These are the players to highlight in game three.
Nashville Predators vs Florida Panthers, Game Two
The Nashville Predators beat the Florida Panthers three to two in spectacular fashion. This was a much faster game with some flashier plays. Once again the Predators dominated possession and got the “W” as a reward.
The Predators came through with a 54.24 Corsi score in even-strength situations. Although that drops down to 48.84 when we factor in power play and penalty kill. This translates to the Predators having a god-awful penalty kill and a mediocre power play. Interestingly enough, the Predators only posted a 47.62 Fenwick score. Pretty bad considering the Corsi score. Although this could mean that the Predators were taking bad shots that either missed the net or were blocked. These stats give me a bit of worry for the team. But it was also half the Predators so take everything with a grain of salt.
The Predators came up with less than impressive stats but there are still great players. Jack Dougherty impressed in a big way with a 68.75 Corsi score and a 66.67 Fenwick score. Great numbers for a rookie. Samuel Girard had a great Corsi score and a mediocre Fenwick score. He posted a 63.16 Corsi and a 50.00 Fenwick. That’s odd because it’s literally an above elite Corsi and the most average Fenwick score. Also, shoutout to Scott Hartnell who posted above a 75.00 in Corsi and Fenwick. The Predators look poised to do well in all the possession metrics, although we shouldn’t jump the gun. They’ve only played two games after all.