12/18/08: Nashville @ Phoenix
 

:nashville @ :coyotes

@

http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/Phoe...s/newfront.jpg


http://www.lasplash.com/uploads/3/10_000_B.C.-2.jpg

Nashville Predators (15-12-3, 33pts, 3rd Central, 7th West)

Last Game: Nashville 3 vs. Dallas 0
Last Ten Games: 5-3-2
Away Record: 7-8-2
Record Vs. Phoenix: First Meeting
OT/Shootout Record: 5-3
Power Play Ranking: 13.7%, 27th
Away Power Play Ranking: 13.2%, 27th
Penalty Kill Ranking: 81.0%, 18th
Away Penalty Kill Ranking: 79.4%, 21st

Nashville Team Leaders
Goals: Jason Arnott, 13
Assists: Jean-Pierre Dumont, 22
Points: Dumont, 29 (7g+22a)
Power Play Goals: Arnott/Shea Weber, 4
Power Play Scoring: Dumont, 11 (1g+10a)
Short-Handed Goals: Five Tied at 1
Short-Handed Scoring: Scott Nichol, 3 (0g+3a)
Shots: Weber, 96
Shooting Percentage: Arnott, 16.7%
Plus-Minus: Weber, +12
Hits: Weber, 62
Blocked Shots: Greg Zanon, 89
Giveaways: Dumont, 21
Takeaways: Dan Hamhuis/Joel Ward, 22
Turnover Differential: Ward, +16
Faceoffs Won: Arnott, 190-176
Faceoff Percentage: Radek Bonk, 63.2%
Time On Ice: Weber, 23:52
Wins: Dan Ellis, 9-11-3
Minutes Played: Ellis, 1361
Goals Against AVerage: Pekka Rinne, 2.61
Save Percentage: Ellis, .903
Shutouts: Ellis/Rinne, 2

Nashville Injury Report
Scott Nichol (Concussion, Doubtful)
Steve Sullivan (Back, IR)

Nashville Projected Lineup
Ward-Arnott-Dumont
Pihlstrom-Legwand-Erat
Tootoo-Bonk-Smithson
Fiddler-Peverley-Belak

Weber-Suter
Hamhuis-Zanon
De Vries-Klein

Ellis

Nashville Media Coverage: FM 104.5 "The Zone", FSN-South (HD)


http://www.iafflocal3059.org/pics/21...e-Posters2.jpg

Phoenix Coyotes (14-13-4, 32 points, 3rd Pacific, 9th West)

Last Game: Dallas 2 vs. Phoenix 1 (OT)
Last Ten Games: 5-3-2
Home Record: 9-4-2
Record Vs. Phoenix: First Meeting
OT/Shootout Record: 0-4
Power Play Ranking: 14.4%, 24th
Home Power Play Ranking: 15.6%, 21st
Penalty Kill Ranking: 81.3%, 16th
Home Penalty Kill Ranking: 78.8%, 24th

Phoenix Team Leaders
Goals: Shane Doan, 14
Assists: Doan/Peter Mueller, 15
Points: Doan, 29 (14g+15a)
Power Play Goals: Doan/Olli Jokinen, 5
Power Play Scoring: Jokinen, 10 (5g+5a)
Short-Handed Goals: Martin Hanzal, 2
Short-Handed Scoring: Keith Yandle, 3 (2g+1a)
Shots: Ed Jovanovski, 86
Shooting Percentage: Hanzal, 17.4%
Plus-Minus: Steve Reinprecht/Kurt Sauer, +4
Hits: Doan, 88
Blocked Shots: Michalek, 106
Giveaways: Michalek, 15
Takeaways: Doan, 25
Turnover Differential: Doan, +17
Faceoffs Won: Hanzal, 234-263
Faceoff Percentage: Hanzal, 47.1%
Time On Ice: Zbynek Michalek, 23:31
Wins: Ilja Bryzgalov, 10-11-3
Minutes Played: Bryzgalov, 1413
Goals Against AVerage: Mikael Tellqvist, 2.24
Save Percentage: Tellqvist, .930
Shutouts: None Recorded

Phoenix Injury Report
None

Phoenix Projected Lineup
Mueller-Jokinen-Fedoruk
Doan-Reinprecht-Carcillo
Boedker-Hanzal-Tikhonov
Lindstrom-Turris-Porter

Michalek-Jovanovski
Morris-Yandle
Sauer-Klee

Bryzgalov

Phoenix Media Coverage: KFNN 1510 AM, FSN Southwest (HD)

I think the Coyotes will make the playoffs this year. THe forward talent on this team is amazing, and the defense, on paper, looks pretty good. Bryzgalov has been inconsistent this year which is the only reason that they aren't currently among the top 8 IMO.

Im feeling a Preds win tonight

Coyotes lineup last game.

Doan-Jokinen-Mueller
Fedoruk-Hanzal-Boedker
Porter-Turris-Lindstrom
Carcillo-Rhino-Tikhonov

Jovo-Klee
Sauer-Michalek
yandle-Morris

Bryz
telly

Lisin has recently got the Flu. He was on a offensive tear before he got sick, practiced on Wensday and there have been no reports on wether or not he will play tonight.

Good luck tonight. Always a lot of fun playing against Nashville's D.

all I know for sure is that Peverley will get on the scoresheet....unless Bryz gets a shutout.

I wish Cale Hulse still played for the Yotes.

Jesus ****ing Christ ... time to trade Ellis ... getting burned on breakaways again and again and again

Well, goalies tend to give up goals on breaks.... ;)

too bad it's always the same move.

Ex-****ing-actly!

Klee gets screwed by the refs, then he takes another penalty with his mouth.

Ouch.

You have to bet there are some pissed off Coyotes fans right now. If we don't score here, it is going to hurt in the third period when the make up calls start coming in.

I'm sorry, but for the past two years we have seen probably the worst run powerplay in the NHL. It is simply terrible. At what point are the coaches held accountable?

Maybe it's a sign of things to come that they'll take more silly penalties.


We can hope...

good call.

but our team has been in the playoffs 4 straight years http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...emotes/wnk.gif

What a terrible defensive play from Smithson. Ugh. Its tough to give up a goal with your best defensemen on the ice in a 1-1 game in the third period, but I guess that is what happens when you have your bottom line out against a highly skilled, fast, energetic line with Turris - Lisin.

g*d****,this is the absolutely worst thing that can happen tonight is for us to lost in regulation,while the team that we are either trying to catch or trying to catch us are either in OT a shootout.

It annoying the **** out me and everyone else on this board

WHY US ????

WHY?????????

:shakehead

Probably because our powerplay is pathetic, and our even strength forward lines are weak. If this team wants to make a playoffs it needs to either A) Improve the powerplay production. This should be possible as we have enough talent to have a very good powerplay. B) Improve our even strength scoring lines. This is iffy. Poile may have to go out and get someone, or maybe he just needs to call up Hornqvist/Jones/etc. The bottomline is we are too weak up front offensively to win consistently with a powerplay that is so ineffective.

Enoch, I'm with you.
It is inconceivable there has been no consequence to our coaching staff for the state of the Preds power play. Who runs it now, Peterson? Whoever it is does not know what he is doing. I've seen other teams with even less talent (hard to believe but yes there are a couple) that at least got better chances and shots than Nashville does. Unbelievable.

I'll give them a relative pass on ES scoring because it is obvious our deficiencies there. However, on the powerplay, there is no reason a cast including Dumont, Arnott, Weber, Suter, Erat, Legwand, Hamhuis, Klein, and Hornqvist/Jones/Pihlstrom if in the lineup, should not score. For whatever reason, our powerplay is focused on remaining outside. How many times do we see the --> defenseman pass to Dumont/Legwand/Erat downlow, who shuffle around the boards or behind the net eventually throwing it back to the point, the opposing defense is waiting for this and slides in blocking the lane, forcing the pass back to the halfboards or a poor-angled shot, the cycle continues.....

God our powerplay is just so AWFUL. I agree something needs to be done. I never expected the PP to be great but we have enough specialists, Playmakers- Dumont,Leggy,Erat. Shooters- Arnott, Weber, Dumont to a lesser extent, that our PP should be doing much better than it is. Someone needs to be held accountable.

Horachek has been running the PP again this season, but this past week (as far as I know...haven't been to a practice in about three weeks prior) Trotz has taken a much more active and vocal role with Horachek more on the sidelines than before.

Trotz implemented some definite changes with PP2 at practice on Tuesday and as I wrote earlier actually put players that weren't absorbing his instructions on the PK and got results out of the move as they performed as instructed in their next opportunity.

Tonight on that 4-minute PP we had I saw PP2 start the PP and immediately establish possession - how many times has Arnott lost that initial faceoff only to see the puck cleared down the ice? PP2 during their first shift during that stretch did exactly what Trotzy had been imploring them to do in practice...shoot, shoot, and shoot again. They used a different look to the PP (more of an umbrella) that even Crispy commented on and got several shots on Bryzgalov during that stretch although they didn't succeed. PP1 immediately came out and lost the faceoff, gave up two shorthanded chances on counterattacks off of long, ill-advised NZ passes forced because the F's were all stretching at the offensive BL and not providing support to the D. When they did gain possession and set up in the OZ, PP1 tried to force set plays that didn't work and left them standing still far too often which makes it incredibly easy to defend and leads to turnovers.

Trotz is trying to get the PP to rely less on set plays and do a better job reading the coverage and taking advantage of the man advantage through quick and constant puck and player movements. The phrases commonly overheard from Trotz at practice Wednesday were [asking to a player who just passed the puck into the defense] "where is the open man?" and [instructing a player standing on an "X" - ie: not moving when the opportunity presents] "if you are the open man, MOVE, get open, find a passing lane, support the puck".

The inefficency of our PP is definitely a point of emphasis with our coaching staff on a daily basis. I liked what I saw from PP2 during that first shift of the long PP, unfortunately I felt PP1 came out and went against the message and killed the spirit.

Can we sit Erat for a game? Why does he refuse to go farther into the zone than the faceoff circle? Does he know where the net is, he constantly looks backwards to find someone to pass to instead of trying to actually shoot on goal. In CBJ he carried the puck into the zone and *gasp* took the shot and beyond all odds the puck actually went into the net!

Yes, Erat has looked awful.

What a ****ing ****** game.

I threw up in my mouth several times while watching.