Nashville Destroys Calgary
Above: Former Albertan City Calgary
The Nashville Predators ripped the Calgary Flames a new one tonight--9-4. Probably one of the most entertaining games I've ever seen. I thought it was going to end up like 10-8 or something by the time it was over. These guys hate each other and might even end up in the playoffs against one another. In that case, make sure there's plenty of emergency vehicles around, and let the pot smokers out of jail for a week or so to clear up some space.
And the Preds shot 47 times! 9 went in! Against one of the best defensive teams in the league! The passing was unbelievable. Is this some new Preds team we'll get to see in the next couple of months, or was this a total aberration?
posted by Chris @ 3/18/2006 11:43:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I still want to walk to Calgary and burn it down. I think this was an aberration, though. Sometimes they just decide to shoot, and it works. An odd concept, I know.
I got last minute tickets to this game and arrived in the first period with Nashville up 2-1. I thought..."great, we've missed all the scoring in this game."
Wrong!
Man there is so much I want to say about this game:
-Legwand. I know I'm a broken record, but he was great. Had several great shots and set up several others. Stole the puck, got in the middle of the play and his line was clicking all night.
-Tootoo. He made a hit in the third period behind the Calgary goal that was just earth shattering. After the cheers died down there was this sustained collective "oooooohhh" throughout the stands as fans realized how much that must have hurt. He also scored one of the more amazing goals of the game. He was trying to go left-to-right directly in front of the goalie but got hit from behind. As he's leaving the ice from the hit, he reaches out his right arm with the stick and somehow taps the puck past the goalie. Fantastic.
-So many jaw-dropping plays. Two or three tic-tac-toe type plays. You know how everyone was dogging them through the season for trying to be too cute (me included)? Well, last night felt like what happens when the cuteness pays off. The offense looked elite.
-Fights. Two good ones. The last one, Hordichuk's, was a blast...he was the only one to punch and just nailed the guy to the ground. Violence is fun if it's on skates. That's my motto.
-Vokoun. Two of the goals were just not his fault. Our D just got too aggressive and left him all alone. He played well. He's one of the best goalies in the league right now.
-I sensed that the Preds have somehow gained some confidence over the last few weeks. They played like the game was theirs. It had been over a month and a half since I'd been to a game live, and it felt like a brand new level of hockey to me.
-Witt. Welcome to the team, man. You are huge. Literally. And your game is good too. I saw Witt make several good defensive stops and poke checks. And he just moves people with his size.
-Physical play. Man, every Pred was smashing people. Near the game's end, Zidlicky and a Flame got in each other's faces, and the Flame guy lightly shoved at Zids a couple times. Then, after pausing a beat and pretending to skate away, Zids just "lightly" shoved the Flame guy onto his ass. I saw Erat, Kariya, Legwand, Timmonen, Weber, Hamhuis, Tootoo...just about everyone made at least one or two big checks. We were very physical.
-Playoffs. I'm starting to get a little pumped. I mean, we're clicking right now, win after win after win. We may just be peaking at the right time.
I could go on and on. So many positives. Chris, were you there or did you see it on TV? 9-4. Nine to freaking four! Outside of the playoff games, this was probably the most fun I've had at a Preds game ever.
I didn't go because of poor planning. I went to work, without extra "go out" clothes, and it would have been a colossal waste of gas to go back and forth. If I had some forethought, I would have gone to that game easily. But instead, I watched it at home. I totally wish I had been there.
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