The Preds lines at the start of the game (in order of first shift)
    Legwand centering Bourque and Radulov
    Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
    Spaling centering Hornqvist and A. Kostitsyn
    Gaustad centering Wilson and Yip

Defense pairings:
    Suter and Weber
    Josi and Klein
    Bouillon and Gill


THREE MUSINGS:
1) Battle of Depth -- Phoenix's defense took a potentially major loss when Rostislav Klesla took a puck to the face 33 seconds into the game. Klesla had a goal and an assist in Game 1 on Friday night , along with a +2 plus/minus rating and is a big part of the Coyotes PK -- skating 5:09 shorthanded ice time in Game 1. Klesla did not return during the remainder of the first period. If he can't return, it would pose a major stress to the other five Coyotes defensemen, perhaps something the Preds can take advantage of as the game wears on.

2) Details -- Coach Trotz talked about the Preds needing to play a more detailed game today than the team played in Game 1, but Nashville's first period play was not very "detail oriented."  Klein and Weber both made poor decisions leading to Phoenix's easy tap-in goal to open the game's scoring; Klein's a puck decision, Weber's a defensive zone coverage read. Later in the period, Yip took an offensive zone roughing after the whistle during a scrum around the Phoenix net. Further, the Preds were not good on one-on-one battles in the period; on the flipside, it was one of the few one-on-one "wins" of the period that led to Nashville's goal --- Spaling won the puck along the boards in the defensive zone, chipped it out to Klein to lead the break resulting in Andrei Kostitsyn's goal.

3) Legg's Line -- Nashville's line of Legwand centering Bourque and Radulov was consistently good for the Preds during the first period. They only combined for one shot, but had a handful of shifts with good zone time. Bourque was especially effective racing in on the forecheck. That line was good during overtime in Game 1. The signs are there that they seem to be heating up; don't be surprised if the production starts to come from those three real soon.

Same 20 skaters out on the ice for pregame warmups tonight as Game 1 (in numerical order)
  Forwards (13): Erat, Legwand, Fisher, Spaling, Smith, Yip, Hornqvist, Gaustad, Wilson, Anderi Kostitsyn, Radulov, Bourque, Sergei Kostitsyn
  Defensemen (7): Weber, Klein, Suter, Ellis, Bouillon, Josi, Gill

During his pregame media session a few moments ago, Coach Trotz again strongly hinted at lineup changes for tonight with Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis both being strong candidates to see action tonight.


KEEP AN EYE ON:
1) Defensive Execution -- The Preds were not pleased with their defensive coverage decisions and execution in Game 1. Nashville prides itself on winning games when its scores 3-goals or more; the coaches and players both felt the offense --- especially later in the game --- was good enough to get the win. Look for the team to play more conservative with its defensive zone decision making, though.

2) Faceoffs -- Phoenix's faceoff domination in Game 1 has been the buzz of the series the last day and a half. Look for Nashville to be much more competitive in the faceoff circle tonight. Pay less attention to the faceoff percentage and more at the execution. More dissapointing to the coaches than the percentage (Nashville won only 41% of draws) was the number of times the Preds lost a draw clean; clean losses allow the Coyotes to get right into their set plays, which is harder to defend -- either on a set offensive piece for a draw deep in the Nashville end or on the breakout for draw deep in the Phoenix end.

3) Energy in the Arena -- There is a little more vibrancy around Jobing.com Arena today than there was on Friday night. Look for the crowd to be louder at the outset tonight than it was in Game 1; the first goal will be key for both teams to either -- in Nashville's case -- quiet the crowd, or -- in Phoenix's case -- get the crowd more involved. Friday's 6pm local time start, combined with normal rush hour traffic in the greater Phoenix area, made start of game a tough make for many fans after work. Today, a weekend day with great weather, reduces travel difficulities on the local fans here.

The Preds took their practice day skate at Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon. Full team hit the ice today. Line combinations appeared the same today as last night's game with the following jersey colors in skate today:
   White - Fisher, Erat, S. Kostitsyn and Legwand, Bourque, Radulov
   Grey - Spaling, Hornqvist, A. Kostitsyn and Gaustad, Smith, Yip
   Yellow - Halischuk, Maclellan, McGrattan, Tootoo, Wilson

All eight defensemen wore blue jerseys today.

Practice opened with a quick warmup session, followed by a team pep-talk/huddle at center ice and then informal drills --- the majority of the forwards were on one end of the ice running through shooting drills and one-on-one battles along the wall; all eight defensemen were on one end of the ice with a couple forwards. Coach Trotz worked on faceoffs with the centers.

Coach Trotz praised the energy level from his team today and felt they showed pace in practice --- as well as late in Game 1 last night --- noting the team tends to play sharper when playing on a more normal routine (game every one or two days).

Coach Trotz stated that he was contemplating lineup changes for Game 2, but wouldn't tip his hand to what those might be, however he did state that Colin Wilson has shown himself well and is likely the next forward in the lineup, should he opt to make a change up front, which was one of the reasons he wanted Wilson to take pre-game skate with the team last night.

With the earlier start time tomorrow --- 7pm CT, but 5pm here in Phoenix --- neither team will take a morning skate tomorrow, so information on potential changes will likely be scarce until pre-game warm-ups.

The game opened up in the second period with the teams both skating a lot better in Period 2 than they did in Period 1, combining for three goals in the frame. The Coyotes closed the frame with a 3-2 lead, but Nashville will open Period 3 with a full 2:00 power-play, the result of a holding call on Phoenix as time expired.

THREE MUSINGS:
Erat -- Martin Erat has been Nashville's best skater through the first two frames. He's been crafty with the puck on his stick and strong on the forecheck without the puck. Erat has brought a ton of energy to the Preds lineup tonight.

Time-Outs -- Both teams used its timeout during the second period after icings on extended shifts. Phoenix used its TO 4:59 into the period; Nashville used its with 5:26 left in the frame.

Klein/Josi Struggles -- The Preds defensive pairing of Kevin Klein and Roman Josi were on the ice for both Phoenix goals in the period and were the defensive pairing that took the penalty leading to Phoenix's first power-play (which was converted for the game's opening goal). Klein/Josi were very good during the Detroit series. Nashville needs them to re-gain that chemistry again tonight and through the remainder of the series. Through the first two periods tonight that pairing has struggled with its communication and made some poor decisions (either bad puck decisions or unwise decisions to pinch in the offensive end).

The Preds lines at the start of the game (in order of first shift)
    Legwand centering Bourque and Radulov
    Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
    Spaling centering Hornqvist and A. Kostitsyn
    Gaustad centering Smith and Yip

Defense pairings:
    Suter and Weber
    Josi and Klein
    Bouillon and Gill


THREE MUSINGS:
Bad Start -- Nashville was very sloppy on its first shifts, ultimately culminating in a bad turnover by Kevin Klein and an early Phoenix power-play. Barry Trotz talks about the Preds being "engaged in the game" ... Nashville wasn't at the outset. Phoenix cashed in on the opening power-play for the first goal of the series. The passing wasn't crisp, the forecheck angles weren't sharp, the physicality was missing. It wasn't until the third or fourth shifts that the Preds lines and defensive pairings started to look like they were "game ready."

First Goal Similarities -- The Preds goal came on a hard shoot-in by Craig Smith that hit off a stantion in the glass and popped out in front of the crease with goaltender Mike Smith cutting behind the net to try to play what appeared to be a routine dump-in. While a different play, it was a similar bit of fortune to Nashville's first goal of the WCQF series vs. Detroit -- Paul Gaustad's wraparound that bounced in off the Red Wings defender in front.

Goalie Play -- Mike Smith is one of --- if not the --- best puck-moving goaltenders in the league. Surprisingly he made three puckhandling errors in the first period, including two in the final minute or so. Something to keep an eye on throughout the game. If Smith struggles with his puckhandling, that makes a HUGE difference in how the Coyotes configure their breakout plays and their defensive zone coverages.

Preds have 20 skaters out for pregame warmups (in numerical order)
  Forwards (13): Erat, Legwand, Fisher, Spaling, Smith, Yip, Hornqvist, Gaustad, Wilson, Anderi Kostitsyn, Radulov, Bourque, Sergei Kostitsyn
  Defensemen (7): Weber, Klein, Suter, Ellis, Bouillon, Josi, Gill

Oddly, the atmosphere in the arena during pre-game warmups is rather low-key. Not sure if the early start time (6pm local time in Phoenix) is playing a role in that, but it is a little unusual for this rink to be this quiet for a big game. Coyotes fans pride themselves on their White Out tradition (the white t-shirts on the seats did create a cool visual during the morning skate earlier today).

A relatively low-key morning skate today in Glendale. The Coyotes took their morning skate out at their practice facility around 30 minutes away from Jobing.com Arena, so the Preds had the main rink to themselves this morning.

In general it was a very business-like approach by the Preds today. The players all commented on focusing on the task at hand; getting off to a better start in Round 2 this year than they did last year. Judging from practice sessions this week back in Nashville, the Preds do look noticeably sharper in practices this year than they did last year. Last season the coaches expressed concern over the way the team was practicing ... and it proved prophetic as the Preds were not at their sharpest in Game 1 at Vancouver. This year the coaches are much more comfortable with the pace and execution level the team has displayed in practices.

Hal Gill took the optional skate and will get the go tonight. Other than that, Coach Trotz was coy about his roster for tonight. Brandon Yip, Craig Smith, and Matt Halischuk appear to be the top options as wingers on the fourth line with Paul Gaustad. Smith was the first of the three off the ice tonight, which usually signifies that he's in the lineup; Smith tends to be one of the last guys off the ice when he's a scratch.

In what has become the norm for the series, we have another tight game heading into the third period, with Nashville tallying one in the first period tonight and Detroit answering with one in the second period. So, down to the third period we go....

THREE MUSINGS:
A Tale Of Two Periods -- Nashville was dominant in the first half of the period, especially the first six minutes or so, generating four A+ scoring chances ... and that was with opening the frame shorthanded for the first 26 seconds. Detroit held the upper-hand in the back half of the period, getting the lone goal of the period (the game's equalizer) and re-establishing their puck possession game in the Nashville end of the ice.

Original Pred Shining -- David Legwand has been extremely strong in tonight's game. The subject of the coaching staff's ire for five of the six periods in Detroit, Legwand created Nashville's first period goal with a strong steal on the forecheck. He nearly added a second assist in similar fashion, winning a one-on-one battle three minutes in the Period 2 along the boards deep in the offensive end to create a great a dangerous sequence for the Preds.

Mental Mistakes -- Nashville had two minor mental breakdowns that resulted in Detroit's goal. The sequence started a few shifts earlier with an unforced icing call on the Preds which flipped the territorial edge in the Wings favor; off the icing Detroit strung together strong shifts. On the goal itself, Hudler was able to get inside positioning on his defensive mark and won the race to the loose puck because of it for the poke-in goal.

The Preds lines at the start of the game (in order of first five-on-five shift)
    Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
    Gaustad centering Smith and Yip
    Spaling centering Hornqvist and A. Kostitsyn
    Legwand centering Bourque and Radulov

Defense pairings:
    Suter and Weber
    Josi and Klein
    Bouillon and Ellis


THREE MUSINGS:
What a Shot -- Heck of a play by Legwand on the forecheck to create the game's opening goal, but wow, what a shot by Radulov. The puck was off Radulov's stick seemingly before it even got to his blade ... and was perfectly placed into the upper corner. That play was textbook example why the Preds were so excited to get Radulov back in the fold this season.

Zone Time -- Nashville dominated offensive zone possession time in the first period. Detroit's strength is puck possession and offensive zone time, but the Preds reversed the script on the Wings in the first frame, a big reason why Nashville enjoyed a 10-8 lead in shots on goal --- and 23-13 in shots attempted --- in the first. 

Clearing Plays -- The Preds were near-perfect on defensive zone clears in the first period, misfiring on only one attempt in the frame. And even on that play, Nashville quickly regained possession of the puck and successfully skated the play out of the zone. By contrast, in Game 4, Nashville had seven failed clearing attempts in the first period, including five in the game's first three minutes of play. Puck decisions around the two bluelines has been a point of emphasis for Coach Trotz and staff during practices --- being smart with the puck around the offensive blueline to prevent quick counter attacks and being strong on plays around the defensive blueline to prevent extended opponent pressure.


Added note: Martina McBride performing on the band stage in the Arena during the first intermission. Pretty cool side concert with your playoff ticket!

Game remained scoreless through two periods and while Detroit had a 17-3 shots advantage in the period, the scoring chances were still fairly even. Nashville may well have had more scoring chances than shots on goal in the period, including a partial breakaway by Shea Weber with 7:15 left in the frame that was poked checked off his stick and a great pass from Radulov to Fisher 4:10 into the frame that Fisher was unable to handle resulting in a shot wide.

THREE MUSINGS FROM THE PERIOD:
New Line Combinations -- The Preds shuffled lines in the second period with:
    Fisher centering Erat and Radulov
    Spaling centering the Kostitsyn Brothers
    Legwand centering Bourque and Hornqvist
    (Gaustad remained centering Halischuk and Yip)


Starting To Click -- The Erat-Fisher-Radulov trio started to generate some offensive looks later in the period. Erat and Radulov are both dangerous, creative offensive players and Fisher is a solid "North/South" player to complement the creative wingers. Keep an eye on them in the third period. Those three accounted for six of Nashville's 20 shot attempts through the first two periods.


Slow Start To The Period -- It took Nashville nine minutes before the Preds first shot on goal, but it resulted in a quality scoring chance --- with Gaustad (in for the faceoff) winning a draw to spring the outlet with Fisher and Erat and then finding Fisher high in the center slot for a tricky snapshot with traffic in front of the net. To be fair, Detroit only had one real good scoring chance in the opening half of the period itself, the result of a Nashville turnover on a clearing attempt which led to a scrum in the goal crease.