Post-Game Talk: #1 - 10/04/18 | predators @ RANGERS | 7:30 - MSG, NBCSN

[mrmovies779]

Howden came around the net on 1 play and slid a beautiful no look backhand pass across the crease to Vlad.Unfortunately the defenseman Weber tied him up at the last minute or it was a slam dunk goal.The kid really impressed me last night.He keeps playing like that and he'll hopefully find himself playing more minutes with better linemates.

 

[Tawnos]

I thought they played pretty well overall. There are some obvious kinks that they're still working through, evidenced by how often two players were bunched together in all three zones. Yes, Lundqvist had to be sharp... but how often do you see a hockey game where the goalie doesn't need to do that? How often do you see a hockey game where one of the teams doesn't get some really great chances? You don't. And you particularly don't when one team is a Cup contender and the other is a bubble team at best. Honestly, despite the chances Nashville got, I'm more encouraged than not.

They still stretch pass a lot. Not sure if that's a leftover from AV or part of what Quinn wants.

On my list of criteria for satisfaction...

1.) Did the team play hard? Check
2.) Did the team do anything to make you proud? Not the players, but the Amirante tribute was great.
3.) Did one or more young players do something that was impressive? Check... Chytil and Howden both had some great passes and, as we learned last year how important this is, none of the rookies looked overwhelmed by the NHL game.

It was a good night.

 

[Edge]

Picks 2-5 are exponentially more valuable then picks 8 or later
Why aren't you even considering this?

Anyone who thinks this is about the 1 overall and nothing else is wrong

As a reference for all of us, the 2-5 picks since 2005:

2018 - Svechnikov, Kotkaniemi, Tkachuk Hayton

2017 - Patrick, Heiskanen, Maker, Petterssen

2016 - Laine, Dubois, Puljujarvi, Juolevi

2015 - Eichel, Strome, Marner, Hanifin

2014 - Reinhart, Draisaitl, Bennett, Dal Colle

2013 - Barkov, Drouin, Jones, Lindholm

2012 - Murray, Galchenyuk, Reinhart, Reilly

2011 - Landeskog, Huberdeau, Larsson, Strome

2010 - Seguin, Gudbranson, Johansen, Neiderreiter

2009 - Hedman, Duchene, Kane, Schenn

2008 - Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo, Schenn

2007 - Van Riemsdyk, Turris, Hickey, Alzner

2006 - Staal, Towes, Backstrom, Kessel

2005 - Ryan, Johnson, Pouliot, Price

The group consists of 56 players.

Of those 56 players, there is:

1 Vezina Winner
1 Hart Winner
1 Lindsay Award Winner
1 Jennings Award Winner
1 Selke Winner
1 Conn Smythe Winner
2 Norris Winners

This does not include allstars, award finalists of players who re considered top-tier or highly regarded players.

There is a pretty good chance we could grab a top player in the top 5.

There's a surprisingly high possibility that we grab a guy who is a miss for the spot (I'd say a 20-25 percent chance).

 

[will1066]

Last night will be a microcosm of the season. Lundqvist will keep the Rangers competitive in most of the games this season. The Rangers D is terrible. They handle the puck like a hand grenade. The forwards are average at best. If it wasn’t for heroics from Lundqvist,the Rangers would have been blown out. How defensive breakdowns did the Rangers suffer last night? It can’t just be the players getting used to a new system. Some of them just plain suck.

We had some great chances on Rinne too. Let's not blow it out of proportion. We were in the game. Of course, you need goaltending, as does any team. Yeah, we're not great, but we gave a Cup contending team fits, especially the Hayes-Zucc-Vesey line. If they had finished a couple of chances, you probably wouldn't be focusing solely on the negatives. If KZB were on their game, who knows how it would've turned out with two lines going?

Ironic that we're being considered a one-line team and it wasn't that line which showed up last night.

 

[Tawnos]

The 3rd pick has a historically bad chance of giving you a guy who is either a top-10 scorer leaguewide or top-10 scorer among D. Not that you can't get a really good player at three, but 4 and 5 are historically better for getting a player capable of giving you an elite season. No idea why.

 

[Kovalev27]

I don't know am I the only one that wasn't so thrilled about last night? that game is over early if not for lundqvist's efforts.

Staal and Pionk BOTH not pionk because of staal, no staal and pionk both were absolutely laughable. As I said last night if DeAngelo played the game pionk played last night and I mean on basic fundamentals the kid was clueless how to defend on odd man rushes all game, but if DeAngelo played that game he'd be benched a month.

The usage of Staal on offensive zone draws by this coaching staff was completely tone deaf. and having him play with our top line completely nullifying any chance of moving the puck to them for scoring rushes was very apparent. who on earth would think to have them on the ice with their top forwards???

which leads me back to my top forwards. they were HORRIBLE. zibanejad was the better of the 3 but all 3 were terrible. Buchnevich reverted right back to his usual MIA play that we saw most of the end of last season goal not withstanding. but Kreider played an absolutely inexcusable game last night. was embarrassing for his first game with a letter. NOTHING about chris kreider (and I love the guy and the player) says this is a leader. he's not. nor is mika for that matter and he's my favorite player. this leadership group leaves a lot to be desired.

Zucc was terrible. he's got to finish.

Spooner and Namestnikov wow boys get your heads out of your asses. Namestnikov looked like a junior player in his first nhl game. was thrown all over the ice. he's a horrible player we should never have traded for let alone brought back.

I did not like this game for us. I like some parts. I liked Vesey of course how could you not guy was everywhere but he too needs to bury a chance. I liked chytil with fast that's a great duo would love to see panarin next to them.

I thought howden looked good and lettieri was ok. I liked skjei and mcquaid, and of course as I mentioned earlier hank was VERY good. that was a vintage performance by him even though I didn't like the subban goal.

but there were a lot more things I didn't like than what I did like last night.

 

[offdacrossbar]

wish i could be more positive. the penalty was comical.

hank played well and made this game look better than not was. he was on his game. hes such a bulldog.

defense playing "chicken without head" system was interesting. i think this defense is really bad and thats gonna be a problem. staal is a dumpster fire and i am preparing for the season long hate fest on him on this site. its gonna be funny at aleast. he is really really bad. hate to say it but time to retire.

pionk didnt impress. seems like hes just not all that sure what to do. ADA time. skjei was solid.

vesey is the new rick nash. that is all. howden played very well.

chris kreider speaks russian did you know that ? he wasnt sharp.

jesper fast is a good hockey player. problem is when hes your best player, thats not a good thing.

all in all, score looked good but underneath there was alot to be concerned about. only game 1 tho.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I rewatched the game this morning...

Some things that stood out to me:

- We didn't play nearly as well as I thought we did at first glance. Some of it is to be expected, but there are some not so great things that will carry over for the rest of the year.

- Vesey was the only forward who looked really good. He was right in the middle of almost every single great scoring chance we had. He really drove that line and had he been typical Vesey, I think the mood in here would be much different.

-Hank was a wall. This game could have easily been over 10 minutes in.

- Howden was easily the best of the rookies. Losing the draw that led to the 2nd goal should be the prime example for why face off prowess is horse shit, he was dominant in the dot yesterday and one of the few he lost ended up in the back of the net. If Vesey was the best forward, I'd probably put Howden #2.

- Not a good game at all for Pionk. He really struggled for the first 2 periods but like NYR2K said, most of what he struggled with are things that are coachable. It didn't help that his partner left him out to dry on about a half dozen occasions.

- Shatty looked so slow. Not just slow, but Staal slow. Not time to press the panic button yet but definitely a red flag.

- On a positive note, Skjei was even better than I thought he was. Monster 3rd period too. If thats the guy we get, his contract is a steal.

- After the lone PP in the 3rd Quinn sent Howden out there with Fast and Zuccarello and they got all sorts of things done (including almost tying the game.) Maybe this is something he should consider as a line moving forward?

- Marc Staal.... Oh what to say about Marc Staal... There will be games where he won't look as bad as he did last night but woof.

This wasn't a typical Staal stinker where he turns a billion pucks over in his own end (though this did happen a few times), but once he got outside of his own blue line he looked like someone who had never played the game before. On one hand, I'll take aggressive mistakes over the typical Staal blunders every time, but there is aggressive and smart (Skjei stepped up on the play that eventually led to Nashville's first goal, but thats fine because he had support, Pionk kind of played this one into a goal) and then there is aggressive and dumb, which is what pretty much all of Staal's mistakes were yesterday.

I understand the respect factor and that hes more than paid his dues, but he should not be playing. The 2 scratches are both better than he is and there are at least 4 guys down in the minors who I'd wager would do a better job.

- Not Ranger related, but Nashville is really good. They had a sloppy game as well, but it seemed like when ever the Rangers had the puck, there was automatically a Predator right on them. Great support all around the ice, excellent in the NZ and moving the puck out of their own end. Thats the kind of team that I hope this one becomes in a few seasons.

All in all, there were a few positives mixed in with all of the bad stuff, most of which I expected. I think the biggest positive is that the guys looked like they gave a shit again. They may end up worse than they were last year, but I'll take that over the bull shit we became accustomed to under AV where they were pushed around and unprepared for what seemed like every single game.

But along with the defensive problems, this team is really going to struggle to put pucks in the net 5v5. Perhaps it was the opponent, but the Rangers looked really slow. Short of Hank Heroics, I don't see any way they challenge for a playoff spot, the depth up front isn't there and the defense is not good.

 

[FIRE DRURY]

Last night will be a microcosm of the season. Lundqvist will keep the Rangers competitive in most of the games this season. The Rangers D is terrible. They handle the puck like a hand grenade. The forwards are average at best. If it wasn’t for heroics from Lundqvist,the Rangers would have been blown out. How defensive breakdowns did the Rangers suffer last night? It can’t just be the players getting used to a new system. Some of them just plain suck.

Trust the process...?

 

[Webster]

I don't know am I the only one that wasn't so thrilled about last night? that game is over early if not for lundqvist's efforts.

Staal and Pionk BOTH not pionk because of staal, no staal and pionk both were absolutely laughable. As I said last night if DeAngelo played the game pionk played last night and I mean on basic fundamentals the kid was clueless how to defend on odd man rushes all game, but if DeAngelo played that game he'd be benched a month.

The usage of Staal on offensive zone draws by this coaching staff was completely tone deaf. and having him play with our top line completely nullifying any chance of moving the puck to them for scoring rushes was very apparent. who on earth would think to have them on the ice with their top forwards???

which leads me back to my top forwards. they were HORRIBLE. zibanejad was the better of the 3 but all 3 were terrible. Buchnevich reverted right back to his usual MIA play that we saw most of the end of last season goal not withstanding. but Kreider played an absolutely inexcusable game last night. was embarrassing for his first game with a letter. NOTHING about chris kreider (and I love the guy and the player) says this is a leader. he's not. nor is mika for that matter and he's my favorite player. this leadership group leaves a lot to be desired.

Zucc was terrible. he's got to finish.

Spooner and Namestnikov wow boys get your heads out of your asses. Namestnikov looked like a junior player in his first nhl game. was thrown all over the ice. he's a horrible player we should never have traded for let alone brought back.

I did not like this game for us. I like some parts. I liked Vesey of course how could you not guy was everywhere but he too needs to bury a chance. I liked chytil with fast that's a great duo would love to see panarin next to them.

I thought howden looked good and lettieri was ok. I liked skjei and mcquaid, and of course as I mentioned earlier hank was VERY good. that was a vintage performance by him even though I didn't like the subban goal.

but there were a lot more things I didn't like than what I did like last night.

Really? Sam and Joe thought Zucc was one of the best players out there, with four grade A chances, an assist and 20 mins of ice time. He also helped Vesey elevate his game, just like the coach ordered...

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Nothing is older than constant moaning about refs. Every team has fans that think the refs are rougher on their team. They are without logic.

They are wrong, but if such a fan were right, they would be a fool for even watching a "rigged" sporting event.

Oh, bullshit. I never said they're always against my team, that would be stupid. But on a game by game basis that could easily be the case. And this game they cost us the game. They missed a blatant high stick that turned into the (for all intents and purposes) GWG. They also robbed us of two other PPs.

Edit: Even on a game by game basis I don't think they're against the Rangers but the reffing was lopsided THIS game. Don't lecture me based on strawmans.

 

[will1066]

I rewatched the game this morning...

Some things that stood out to me:

- We didn't play nearly as well as I thought we did at first glance. Some of it is to be expected, but there are some not so great things that will carry over for the rest of the year.

- Vesey was the only forward who looked really good. He was right in the middle of almost every single great scoring chance we had. He really drove that line and had he been typical Vesey, I think the mood in here would be much different.

-Hank was a wall. This game could have easily been over 10 minutes in.

- Howden was easily the best of the rookies. Losing the draw that led to the 2nd goal should be the prime example for why face off prowess is horse ****, he was dominant in the dot yesterday and one of the few he lost ended up in the back of the net. If Vesey was the best forward, I'd probably put Howden #2.

- Not a good game at all for Pionk. He really struggled for the first 2 periods but like NYR2K said, most of what he struggled with are things that are coachable. It didn't help that his partner left him out to dry on about a half dozen occasions.

- Shatty looked so slow. Not just slow, but Staal slow. Not time to press the panic button yet but definitely a red flag.

- On a positive note, Skjei was even better than I thought he was. Monster 3rd period too. If thats the guy we get, his contract is a steal.

- After the lone PP in the 3rd Quinn sent Howden out there with Fast and Zuccarello and they got all sorts of things done (including almost tying the game.) Maybe this is something he should consider as a line moving forward?

- Marc Staal.... Oh what to say about Marc Staal... There will be games where he won't look as bad as he did last night but woof.

This wasn't a typical Staal stinker where he turns a billion pucks over in his own end (though this did happen a few times), but once he got outside of his own blue line he looked like someone who had never played the game before. On one hand, I'll take aggressive mistakes over the typical Staal blunders every time, but there is aggressive and smart (Skjei stepped up on the play that eventually led to Nashville's first goal, but thats fine because he had support, Pionk kind of played this one into a goal) and then there is aggressive and dumb, which is what pretty much all of Staal's mistakes were yesterday.

I understand the respect factor and that hes more than paid his dues, but he should not be playing. The 2 scratches are both better than he is and there are at least 4 guys down in the minors who I'd wager would do a better job.

- Not Ranger related, but Nashville is really good. They had a sloppy game as well, but it seemed like when ever the Rangers had the puck, there was automatically a Predator right on them. Great support all around the ice, excellent in the NZ and moving the puck out of their own end. Thats the kind of team that I hope this one becomes in a few seasons.

All in all, there were a few positives mixed in with all of the bad stuff, most of which I expected. I think the biggest positive is that the guys looked like they gave a **** again. They may end up worse than they were last year, but I'll take that over the bull **** we became accustomed to under AV where they were pushed around and unprepared for what seemed like every single game.

But along with the defensive problems, this team is really going to struggle to put pucks in the net 5v5. Perhaps it was the opponent, but the Rangers looked really slow. Short of Hank Heroics, I don't see any way they challenge for a playoff spot, the depth up front isn't there and the defense is not good.

Staal has no business trying to make pinch plays anymore. Stay back, be the stay-at-home dman we need him to be. I remember one play where he pinched and lost and three Preds went the other way.

Pionk completely misplayed the Forsberg goal. Went to the wrong guy. Is it the new system or bad hockey IQ in this particular instance?

Shatty hasn't played a true competitive game in a long time. My own jury is out on him, maybe he just needs to get into game shape.

First game of the season, obviously we didn't play the best Preds team they have to offer. They gave us chances to stay in the game, we took a couple and wasted a few. One game. On to the next.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Really? Sam and Joe thought Zucc was one of the best players out there, with four grade A chances, an assist and 20 mins of ice time. He also helped Vesey elevate his game, just like the coach ordered...

Sam and Joe think everyone is great every game

 

[NYR713]

Not a bad deal keeping up with one of the top teams in the league. Vesey and McQuaid surprised me with really solid games. The rookies all looked good. Fast is Fast... always good.

The two biggest defensive problems were Staal, which was expected, and Shattenkirk... which maybe should have been expected, but I was hoping for something better. If either of them were rookie or other young types, they would probably be on the hot seat for playing time or NHL roster time. We'd be saying how they still need some "seasoning" to work the kinks out and understand when to pinch and be aggressive as compared to staying in position. Both of them were disasters most of the game. Almost every one of the odd man rushes had Staal or Shatty chasing behind the play because they were out of position or turned the puck over.

And Namestnikov. I haven't been a big fan of his at all, but that last preseason game looked pretty good and I figured I need to give the guy a chance. Dude can't win a board battle, or stay on his feet for that case. I don't know what the metrics say about him, but he looked like a big drag on the line with Howden and Lettieri, who I thought played pretty well.

Anyone noticed how pissed off Names was when Quinn had him go serve the too many men penalty? He made a "f*** you" face when he was told to go that sat mumbling stuff to himself in the box. Only problem is he now has a $4m contract so if he continues to suck, he has near zero trade value.

 

[Inferno]

Skjei was an animal last night

Was he? I thought he was average. I didn't think any of the defense stood out one way or another other than staal.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

There is a pretty good chance we could grab a top player in the top 5.

There's a surprisingly high possibility that we grab a guy who is a miss for the spot (I'd say a 20-25 percent chance).

Exactly. That's why I don't blame anyone if they're not rooting for a tank. It could fail, there's a decent chance. Simultaneously I get why it makes perfect sense, in a down year (which is bound to happen at least once a decade) to be totally ok with losing for a high pick.

Within those two ideas are a lot of unique interpretations like "You're not guaranteed a franchise player so it's wrong to root for a bad season" or "We'll never win simply bc we didn't have a top 5 pick" and I disagree with both takes due to specific flaws I see in them.

 

[NYR Viper]

Hank really made this game look so much better than it actually was. It's really that simple. The game, very easily, could have been 4 or 5 to 0 in the first period.

Hayes, Vesey, Fast and Zuccarello were the best forwards.

Lettieri and Howden played well together causing turnovers in the offensive zone.

The defense as a whole was not good. McQuaid, I thought, played a solid, simple game. Skjei was very involved. Smith was okay. Shattenkirk was an adventure. Pionk was not good. Staal was really not good.

Bright side:
Zuccarello, Hayes, McQuaid and possibly Vesey, Namestnikov and Spooner should return some nice assets at the deadline. Perhaps Gorton can find a taker for Smith or Staal as well.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Staal has no business trying to make pinch plays anymore. Stay back, be the stay-at-home dman we need him to be. I remember one play where he pinched and lost and three Preds went the other way.

Pionk completely misplayed the Forsberg goal. Went to the wrong guy. Is it the new system or bad hockey IQ in this particular instance?

Shatty hasn't played a true competitive game in a long time. My own jury is out on him, maybe he just needs to get into game shape.

First game of the season, obviously we didn't play the best Preds team they have to offer. They gave us chances to stay in the game, we took a couple and wasted a few. One game. On to the next.

Lmao that one was in the 2nd and came off of a bad break out pass of his own. We're lucky that who ever had the puck there decided to skate himself into a low percentage shot.

On Pionk, He can't let Forsberg get that shot off (at least from that spot) but thats a moment that he can learn from. I don't think he realized that uncle Vinny was in good position to make a play if Forsberg passed the puck off to which ever Predator was with him.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

MSG ice was in mid-season form

AKA having a gaggle of P32s blow exhaust/heat forever

But seriously. I think at this point it's just a meme

 

[Kovalev27]

there are some really good players that are going to be sitting there in the top 5 even 7 spots. hughes kakko cozens dach turcotte newhook broberg lavoie to name a few. will we take any of them? who knows but we should have a shot at a really really good player here.

 

[Edge]

Exactly. That's why I don't blame anyone if they're not rooting for a tank. It could fail, there's a decent chance. Simultaneously I get why it makes perfect sense, in a down year (which is bound to happen at least once a decade) to be totally ok with losing for a high pick.

Within those two ideas are a lot of unique interpretations like "You're not guaranteed a franchise player so it's wrong to root for a bad season" or "We'll never win simply bc we didn't have a top 5 pick" and I disagree with both takes due to specific flaws I see in them.

A lot of people want a silver bullet or a guarantee that a certain direction is going to work. Neither is realistic.

Personally, I believe your odds of building a contender by taking a few steps back is greater than simply trying to trudge on and plug holes. I've detailed this extensively in the past and don't particularly feel like re-posting a thesis paper.

In the Rangers case, I think landing a cornerstone player in this draft, and possibly a few more prospects/picks at the TDL, will be a huge boost to what they already have in place.

 

[NYR713]

Staal has no business trying to make pinch plays anymore. Stay back, be the stay-at-home dman we need him to be. I remember one play where he pinched and lost and three Preds went the other way.

Pionk completely misplayed the Forsberg goal. Went to the wrong guy. Is it the new system or bad hockey IQ in this particular instance?

Shatty hasn't played a true competitive game in a long time. My own jury is out on him, maybe he just needs to get into game shape.

First game of the season, obviously we didn't play the best Preds team they have to offer. They gave us chances to stay in the game, we took a couple and wasted a few. One game. On to the next.

I disagree on the bold part. 2 on 1 like that, you take away the pass and let the goalie face the shooter which is what Pionk did when he went down to the ice. If the back-checker was closer to catching up, Pionk could then pressure the shooter, but Skjei had pinched and Lettieri wasn't close enough to defend the pass. I'm not blaming Hank or anything, it was a great shot, as usual from Forsberg.

 

[FOD]

I rewatched the game this morning...

Some things that stood out to me:

- We didn't play nearly as well as I thought we did at first glance. Some of it is to be expected, but there are some not so great things that will carry over for the rest of the year.

- Vesey was the only forward who looked really good. He was right in the middle of almost every single great scoring chance we had. He really drove that line and had he been typical Vesey, I think the mood in here would be much different.

-Hank was a wall. This game could have easily been over 10 minutes in.

- Howden was easily the best of the rookies. Losing the draw that led to the 2nd goal should be the prime example for why face off prowess is horse ****, he was dominant in the dot yesterday and one of the few he lost ended up in the back of the net. If Vesey was the best forward, I'd probably put Howden #2.

- Not a good game at all for Pionk. He really struggled for the first 2 periods but like NYR2K said, most of what he struggled with are things that are coachable. It didn't help that his partner left him out to dry on about a half dozen occasions.

- Shatty looked so slow. Not just slow, but Staal slow. Not time to press the panic button yet but definitely a red flag.

- On a positive note, Skjei was even better than I thought he was. Monster 3rd period too. If thats the guy we get, his contract is a steal.

- After the lone PP in the 3rd Quinn sent Howden out there with Fast and Zuccarello and they got all sorts of things done (including almost tying the game.) Maybe this is something he should consider as a line moving forward?

- Marc Staal.... Oh what to say about Marc Staal... There will be games where he won't look as bad as he did last night but woof.

This wasn't a typical Staal stinker where he turns a billion pucks over in his own end (though this did happen a few times), but once he got outside of his own blue line he looked like someone who had never played the game before. On one hand, I'll take aggressive mistakes over the typical Staal blunders every time, but there is aggressive and smart (Skjei stepped up on the play that eventually led to Nashville's first goal, but thats fine because he had support, Pionk kind of played this one into a goal) and then there is aggressive and dumb, which is what pretty much all of Staal's mistakes were yesterday.

I understand the respect factor and that hes more than paid his dues, but he should not be playing. The 2 scratches are both better than he is and there are at least 4 guys down in the minors who I'd wager would do a better job.

- Not Ranger related, but Nashville is really good. They had a sloppy game as well, but it seemed like when ever the Rangers had the puck, there was automatically a Predator right on them. Great support all around the ice, excellent in the NZ and moving the puck out of their own end. Thats the kind of team that I hope this one becomes in a few seasons.

All in all, there were a few positives mixed in with all of the bad stuff, most of which I expected. I think the biggest positive is that the guys looked like they gave a **** again. They may end up worse than they were last year, but I'll take that over the bull **** we became accustomed to under AV where they were pushed around and unprepared for what seemed like every single game.

But along with the defensive problems, this team is really going to struggle to put pucks in the net 5v5. Perhaps it was the opponent, but the Rangers looked really slow. Short of Hank Heroics, I don't see any way they challenge for a playoff spot, the depth up front isn't there and the defense is not good.

-Hank was a wall. This game could have easily been over 10 minutes in.

Lundqvist was good but to say the game could have been over in 10 minutes is quite a stretch. Nashville had 5 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. Not exactly a shooting gallery. Now if he had let in 3 goals on the 5 shots that would have been a problem.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I disagree on the bold part. 2 on 1 like that, you take away the pass and let the goalie face the shooter which is what Pionk did when he went down to the ice. If the back-checker was closer to catching up, Pionk could then pressure the shooter, but Skjei had pinched and Lettieri wasn't close enough to defend the pass. I'm not blaming Hank or anything, it was a great shot, as usual from Forsberg.

Vinny was there.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

-Hank was a wall. This game could have easily been over 10 minutes in.

Lundqvist was good but to say the game could have been over in 10 minutes is quite a stretch. Nashville had 5 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. Not exactly a shooting gallery. Now if he had let in 3 goals on the 5 shots that would have been a problem.

Did you see the chances they had in the first 10 minutes?