Nashville only got 20 minutes of Colin Wilson before he left the game with an upper-body injury. (PHOTO: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

As you would expect from the two worst offenses in the league, there wasn’t much scoring to go around. Nashville actually looked really good in the first period and was generating chances. They outshot Minnesota 9-6 in the first, but to no avail as the period ended 0-0.

Minnesota broke through first, but not with a goal. Instead, they took out Colin Wilson on a nasty play into the end boards. Nashville’s leading scorer lay motionless on the ice while David Legwand was called for goalie interference, then left the game and did not return. Nashville killed that penalty and three others in the period, but a Zach Parise deflection of a Ryan Suter shot at 9:01 was all it took for Minnesota to go into the second intermission up 1-0.

David Legwand picked up the only Nashville Predators goal on the night in the third period, also on the power play, assisted at 6:28 by Shea Weber and Sergei Kostitsyn. That made it 1-1, which carried on through the rest of the third and overtime to set up another shootout. Pekka Rinne looked bad there again, and David Legwand’s shot going off the post in the third and final round meant it was Minnesota that got two points tonight instead of Nashville.

Some observations:

• Colin Wilson has been by far the team’s best skater this season. Missing him for the last two periods didn’t help Nashville’s chances at all. He’s going to be re-evaluated tomorrow.
• 

  The Nashville Predators’ Pekka Rinne lost his fifth shootout of the season tonight. (PHOTO: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

  Pekka Rinne was in fine form for the second night in a row, stopping 28 of 29 shots in 65 minutes of work. The shootout may just have been too much at the end of the back-to-back; aside from his save on Koivu, he didn’t look good in it at all. It’s been sad to watch him struggle with the shootouts this year.

• Barry Trotz has said before that David Legwand can be “as good as he wants to be.” That goal in the third was proof positive. He moved straight for the open net and was rewarded with a goal. Too bad he doesn’t play like this more often.
• Ryan Suter was booed nearly every time he touched the ice tonight. All game long. He said that the duration of the booing “kind of surprised me.”
• After playing a back-to-back, the extra point was some consolation. But Nashville is suddenly in a very tough spot. They’re only four points ahead of the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who have won four games in a row. The Preds need to start winning with consistency, and soon.
• Two days off before facing the Stars in Dallas is about the only good news at this point. Looks like there may be another Milwaukee call-up on the way to fill out the lineup in the wake of Wilson’s injury.

Ryan Suter will return to Nashville for the first time on Saturday night. (PHOTO: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

After Suter signed with the Wild, I know I had a few choice words. I’ve since thought about it, and I can’t fault the guy. The $98-million, 13-year contract that Suter signed with the Wild is obviously good for him. While it’s uncertain whether or not he has another 13 years of professional play in him or if he’ll even finish out his career in Minnesota, his future seems extremely stable for now.

The contract is good for Minnesota too. My bet is that the Wild were looking for long term veteran leadership, which they made clear by giving both him and Parise the alternate captain positions behind Mikko Koivu. They also sought strong, stand-up defense with capabilities at the other end of the ice. For a franchise trying to bulk up, Suter truly is a package deal.

For a Nashville squad that’s struggling offensively this season, Ryan Suter’s ability to generate points, particularly assists, is something we’re lacking right now. On a defensively oriented team, its important to have forwards that backcheck, clog up passing lanes and generally lend a hand in front of their own net.

On the other hand, having defensemen who can pinch in at the blue line, provide assistance in cycling the puck to generate chances, and even put one in the net is vital. This is exactly what Ryan Suter made his career doing for the Predators, like this play against the Philidelphia Flyers:

While overall it wasn’t a great showing for the Predators, in this play, Suter does a great job of the keeping Erik Gustafsson to the outside, forcing the shot wide. The puck comes out high in the zone, and noticing the open lane on the ensuing rush, Suter doesn’t miss a beat on the forecheck. He floats into the offensive zone just behind the play in prime shot position.

Here’s another great read by Suter for the overtime win against Detroit in 2010:

Here, Suter does an excellent job of watching play unfold. He sees that Joel Ward has drawn two of the Detroit players and takes the resulting open ice. Ward puts the pass right on Suter’s stick. It’s a beautiful thing to watch great positional hockey.

Given his abilities as a two-way defenseman, losing Ryan Suter to the Wild was certainly a blow to the Predators offensive game, but it’s not a loss they can’t back bounce from. Despite having some big skates to fill, Roman Josi is performing admirably this season. Here’s a highlight of his game winner in overtime against the Dallas stars a couple weeks back:

Roman Josi is still developing but shows a lot of promise. (PHOTO: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

The kid has a nice shot, there’s no doubt about that. We also see some good teamwork by the Preds to move the puck and screen Nilstorp. Josi put up two goals and two assists for his first four-point showing in the NHL.

If his performance in this game with Dallas is any indication of his capabilities, I think we can expect great things from Josi in the seasons to come. Sure, he’s made a few mistakes along the way, some of which have cost the team big time, but he’s still just 22 and has a lot to learn. There’s just no substitute for the consistency that comes with experience. Averaging 22 minutes TOI this season, that experience is going to come quickly. In time Josi may prove to be as valuable an asset to the Predators franchise as Ryan Suter was, if not more so.