They Rinne Did It

Tonight, the Nashville Predators completed another historic “first” for the young franchise.  With their 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, they won the first road playoff game in their 11^th attempt.

Last time, I presented my keys for Nashville to win the game (and series).  Let’s grade how well they did on those.

Contain Chicago Goal Scorers- B+

Patrick Kane only got one shot on goal, but it went in.  Hossa had three shots and looked especially dangerous all night.  Toews was dangerous, but was held pretty well in check.  Perhaps the most dangerous forward was Patrick Sharp.  Sharp really used his speed and poured six shots on net.  The really impressive aspect was how the Predator’s team defense really recovered from the first two periods and ultimately limited Chicago to 26 shots.

Convert Shots Into Goals- B

It took two periods, but Nashville finally put shots on net.  Their reward was a soft goal allowed by Niemi that seemed to affect him for the rest of the night.  If they can continue playing like this on Sunday for all three periods, they could head back to Nashville with a 2 games to 0 lead.

Take Advantage of Health- A

I really thought the Predators did a great job of limiting the effectiveness of the Chicago defensemen.  The entire Chicago blueline was relatively quiet.

Win Goaltending Battle- A+

Tonight, both Pekka Rinne and Anti Niemi had to deal with pressure.  Rinne had to deal with significant pressure for the first two periods.  He responded extremely well this night.  He allowed one goal when a rebound got away from him, but shook it off angrily and never allowed another.  Niemi wasn’t tested until the third when he allowed a soft goal.  After that goal, both Niemi and the rest of the Blackhawks were visibly deflated.  For tonight, Niemi succumbed to the pressure and began to fight the puck and leave rebounds- one of which was converted by J.P. Dumont off of the mini Legwand breakaway.

Hightlights

Pekka Rinne

Playing his first ever NHL playoff game against the talented, fast, and dangerous Blackhawks, Rinne stood tall.  He was positionally sound and was the key to allowing the Predators to take over the third period and win the game.

David Legwand

Perhaps just as crucial to the win as Rinne, Legwand was all over the ice defensively and offensively.  He finished the night with 2A and a +3 and led the team with 5 SOG.  You read that right, Legwand led the team with 5 SOG.  The only real knock was his 38% faceoff percentage.

J.P. Dumont

One might call Dumont lucky.  In my mind Dumont made his own luck.  He put pucks on net and it resulted a soft goal that turned the tide of the game.  Then he springs Legwand for the mini breakaway and smartly follows up so as to be in position to put the rebound in.

Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, Dan Hamhuis, Francis Bouillon, Kevin Klein, and Cody Franson

While not a perfect night, especially for the first two periods, this group did a very good job of limiting Chicago to mostly outside shots and keeping the slot clear.  In the third, Chicago could not put any pressure on Rinne.

Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward

Really key plays by both defensively several times.  Perhaps none more so than Ward successfully keeping Toews from following through on a shot on a clearly beaten Rinne.  Sullivan was also dangerous offensively and had a very good night on the offensive boards against the generally larger Chicago players.

Parting Shots

Welcome to the playoffs to Patric Hornqvist from Marian Hossa and Colin Wilson from Brent Seabrook.

Provided the Predators aren’t satisfied going by to Nashville with a split, I like their chances of going back to Nashville with a 2-0 series lead.  Antti Niemi ended this game rattled.  If they score first on Sunday, I like their chances.