The Nashville Predators defeated the Detroit Red Wings tonight, in a rather interesting game, by the score of 3-2. The game was a bit sloppy and the referees literally called every penalty they saw (34 PIM in all). Mike Babcock even called out the referees during a mid-game interview. He pointed out how Detroit and Nashville were the two least penalized teams in the league so it didn't make much sense.
Anywho, Nashville received great games from several players. First of all, Pekka Rinne was simply splendid in net. His glove hand was ridiculous all night and he perhaps had two of the nicest saves in the playoffs at one point (which sadly nobody saw because it occurred the same time as the Philly-Pitt game was coming to a close). He held the fort and gave Nashville a chance to win. Which they did.
Rookie defenseman Roman Josi also played a great game tonight. Hal Gil was scratched last minute due to an injury so Nashville really needed their young Dmen to step up which Josi did. He was strong defensively all night and played 20:25, had 2 shots, and was a +2. This performance was clutch in his first career playoff game.
Then came forward rookie Gabriel Bourque. Bourque scored 2 goals including the game winner. His offense sparked the team to a clutch, much needed, opening game victory against their division foe.
But in my opinion, one player's performance rose above everybody elses. His under-appreciated play carried the team to victory.
And that man is Paul Gaustad.
People in Nashville were dumbfounded when hearing that they traded a first round pick for a player who's never had more than 36 points in a season. Hell, I still completely doubt that move. But tonight Gaustad showed his worth.
First of all, he opened up the scoring for Nashville.
True, it was not anything special. But they don't ask how, they ask how many. And that's a sweet sign for Gaustad who only had 7 goals this season.
But the main aspect of Gaustad's game tonight was in the faceoff circle. Gaustad was great in the regular season and boasted a 57.3% of faceoff wins. But tonight he was beyond great.
Tonight he did lose 8 faceoffs at of 20 (and winning 12 of them) for a highly respectable percentage of 60%. But it wasn't the amount that he won. It was the situations that he won them in. Firstly, he opened the game winning 5 out of his first 5 faceoffs. Additionally, he was 10 out of 16 in the defensive zone and it seemed that everytime there was an important faceoff, he was out there to win it back. As a matter of fact, in the last minute of the game with Nashville clinging to a 1 goal lead, Gaustad took 3 faceoffs in their own zone. He won the first one.
And then he won the second one.
And then he won the third one with just 5 seconds left to clinch the win.
Anytime Detroit desperately needed to win a faceoff, Gaustad stepped in and swiped it on back. This is a contribution that helps so much in a physical and close playoff game and Nashville needed this.
Anywho, Nashville received great games from several players. First of all, Pekka Rinne was simply splendid in net. His glove hand was ridiculous all night and he perhaps had two of the nicest saves in the playoffs at one point (which sadly nobody saw because it occurred the same time as the Philly-Pitt game was coming to a close). He held the fort and gave Nashville a chance to win. Which they did.
Rookie defenseman Roman Josi also played a great game tonight. Hal Gil was scratched last minute due to an injury so Nashville really needed their young Dmen to step up which Josi did. He was strong defensively all night and played 20:25, had 2 shots, and was a +2. This performance was clutch in his first career playoff game.
Then came forward rookie Gabriel Bourque. Bourque scored 2 goals including the game winner. His offense sparked the team to a clutch, much needed, opening game victory against their division foe.
But in my opinion, one player's performance rose above everybody elses. His under-appreciated play carried the team to victory.
And that man is Paul Gaustad.
People in Nashville were dumbfounded when hearing that they traded a first round pick for a player who's never had more than 36 points in a season. Hell, I still completely doubt that move. But tonight Gaustad showed his worth.
First of all, he opened up the scoring for Nashville.
True, it was not anything special. But they don't ask how, they ask how many. And that's a sweet sign for Gaustad who only had 7 goals this season.
But the main aspect of Gaustad's game tonight was in the faceoff circle. Gaustad was great in the regular season and boasted a 57.3% of faceoff wins. But tonight he was beyond great.
Tonight he did lose 8 faceoffs at of 20 (and winning 12 of them) for a highly respectable percentage of 60%. But it wasn't the amount that he won. It was the situations that he won them in. Firstly, he opened the game winning 5 out of his first 5 faceoffs. Additionally, he was 10 out of 16 in the defensive zone and it seemed that everytime there was an important faceoff, he was out there to win it back. As a matter of fact, in the last minute of the game with Nashville clinging to a 1 goal lead, Gaustad took 3 faceoffs in their own zone. He won the first one.
And then he won the second one.
And then he won the third one with just 5 seconds left to clinch the win.
Anytime Detroit desperately needed to win a faceoff, Gaustad stepped in and swiped it on back. This is a contribution that helps so much in a physical and close playoff game and Nashville needed this.
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