Nashville Predators: Quick Takeaways From 3 OT Thriller
The Nashville Predators tie up the San Jose series 2-2 with at Three Overtime unbelievable game.
Wow! This one had everything. In the longest game in Nashville Predators history that started at 8:15 PM on Thursday and ended at 1:03 AM on Friday, there was a lot packed into one game won by the Preds 4-3. Actually, it was more like two games as the teams played a total of one hundred eleven minutes and twelve seconds.
In the end, Mike Fisher poured in the game winner around Martin Jones after a shot from Mattias Ekholm and a steal by Colin Wilson and tied up the series with the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks had led the series 2-0 and were upset after the game with a call during the First Overtime that overturned a winning goal for them. Now Game 5 is in San Jose and it’s a best of three series.
It was a memorable night, one you will talk about for a long time, especially if the Nashville Predators can turn it into something even more special. Where were you when Mike Fisher scored that game winning goal in the triple overtime game against San Jose?
Here is a video recap of the amazing game:
There are an unbelievable amount of takeaways from the game:
Pekka Was ImPekkaBle– It would have been such a waste of a truly incredible performance by Pekka Rinne if the Preds had lost this game. He made save after unbelievable save during the entire game. After the game, Coach Laviolette told John Glennon of the Tennessean:
"“Tonight was his best,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said of Rinne’s performance. “That’s about all you need to say. He was at his absolute best tonight.”"
He stopped 44 of 47 shots. 25 of those were in overtime and several were of an acrobatic style. He made saves that were nearly impossible to keep the Nashville Predators in the game. He has been so solid in these playoffs but especially in the last five games where he is carrying a .947 save percentage and giving up a little over a goal and a half a game.
The Crowd was Insane – Most had returned with their Fanglet LED bracelets and they may have been even more vociferous that the previous game. They rocked the Bridgestone throughout but should have been awarded an assist on the goal by James Neal with less than five minutes left in the game to tie it up and send it into overtime.
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They exhorted the team to drive the net and score then and pushed them through exhaustion in the extra frames too. The crowd never quit on the team and team never quit on them. There were standing ovations aplenty and it seemed at times that the entire crowd was on their feet for long stretches.
Mike Fisher’s Line – With Coach Lavy shaking up the lines, Fisher found himself between Colin Wilson and James Neal. They scored all four goals with everyone having one and Fisher with two. There were seven points between them and they were all over the ice.
You can’t say enough about the way this line carried the night for the Preds. They were flying around stealing pucks and checking bodies. They kept creating scoring chances including a near miss right before Neal’s tieing goal. All three played a tremendous game.
Controversy Galore – There were two very controversial plays, one for each side. The Predators were sure that a Sharks goal should be overturned because of an offsides play in the second but it stood up upon review. The Sharks were livid that a goal in the first overtime was not allowed because of goaltender interference on Joe Pavelski who appeared to be pushed by Paul Gaustad. Both were looked at for long times by officials but not everyone agreed.
Mike Ribeiro and Pontus Aberg – Coach Lavy sat Mike Ribeiro once again for the game as a healthy scratch. Then his replacement Pontus Aberg didn’t play after midway through the second period, gathering only a little over five minutes of ice time. After the game, Laviolette said that he wanted to play more veterans but it put a lot of extra minutes on the other players.
Related Story: What to Do with Mike Ribeiro
Laviolette will have to make another decision before Game 5 as to whether or not to play Ribeiro with fresh legs or continue with the players he has now.
Special Teams – The Nashville Predators reverted to their shaky special teams giving up a Power Play goal and another right as the man advantage expired in five tried. The Preds were o-5 on the Power Play although they had good chances again. This is paramount going forward in this series. Stay out of the box and capitalize on a team that hasn’t shown to be that strong killing penalties.
In overtime, both teams had two chances on the Power Play and were rebuffed. Both of the Preds penalties were taken by Shea Weber when he was over aggressive during play. He has to control that. The Preds couldn’t score on a double minor of four straight minutes.
The Nashville Predators move on to San Jose for a game that turned out to be the next day when the game ended after midnight. It is now a best of three series and the Predators have the momentum. It is going to be interesting.