Predators stalk Oilers at Rexall

Nashville Predators vs Edmonton Oilers 0-1 SO (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1SO)

A disappointing season so far had led the Predators far astray from playoff territory, sitting at 13th with 22-24-5 for 49 points. The Oilers were on a three game losing streak coming into this game, having scored a mere 10 goals in the last 6 games. Edmonton kept Khabibulin in net from the start and made no lineup changes from the losses against the Ducks, Kings and Red Wings.

The game opened as the most annoying line of hockey history incited trouble for the home team. Had mother Theresa herself been the center, the combination of Sean Avery and Jordin Tootoo could still have driven the Dalai Lama to a blood rage. No wonder then, that pugilist Nolan Yonkman took the bait and punched Avery a few times in the face before being cheered to the box by the Oilers fans. That was, chiefly, all the action in the first.

Only the frequent boos for Avery and Tootoo kept people awake during the middle frame, because neither team could muster any kind of offense. The shot clock read 15-12 for Nashville after two, and ironically John 15:12 describes the blessings of love - something that was absent for most of the period, save for the kind reluctance to score on each other.

The two teams took out a better range of weapons than chirping in the third, but thanks to some solid netminding from Rinne and Khabibulin, this Winter War was yet another stalemate at 60 minutes.

Even the most willingly ignorant fans were not surprised that overtime, regardless of providing both teams with full 2 minute power plays, yielded no goals - thus sending the game to a shootout. There was likely a fear among spectators that they had entered through some kind of wormhole and landed in a universe of no resolution, however, as they prepared to live and relive a never-ending loop of fruitless attempts at net. Instead of an eternal battle, a swift duce from O'Sullivan and Hemsky produced an effective end to the game in favour of the Oilers.

Post game: Say what you want, the defensive efforts were tainted by the lacklustre creativity displayed by two teams that seemed less interested in scoring than scientology is in scientific evidence. "There will be changes" proclaimed head coach Kevin Constantine, reluctant to reveal what those changes would include. In either case, the Oilers did break their losing streak, however unconvincingly.



Scoreboard
1st Period:
-
2nd Period:
-
3rd Period:
-

OT
-

Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - O'Sullivan
Moore - Krysanov - Skille
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Khabibulin
(Hiller)