Game 2 - 1st Period
Friday, 04.13.2012 / 7:22 PM
By Jay Levin - Nashville Predators / 2012 Playoff Blog -- Conference Quarterfinals vs. Detroit
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The Preds lines to open the game (in order of first shift) were:
Legwand centering A. Kostitsyn and Radulov
Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
Spaling centering Bourque and Hornqvist
Gaustad centering Halischuk and Yip
Defensively:
Josi and Klein
Suter and Weber
Bouillon and Hillen
Despite the scoreboard reading 2-0 Detroit, Nashville didn't play a bad first period. The Preds out-chanced the Wings in the period and --- if not for some unfortunate bounces --- could easily have been up by two or three goals midway through the period. Still, Detroit capitalized on its chances and takes the lead into the first intermission.
THREE MUSINGS
1) Physical First -- It was a much more physical tone to the first period. Mike Fisher and Johan Franzen sparred behind the play on their first shifts (around 1:20 into the game). Shea Weber and Todd Bertuzzi dropped the gloves 1:36 in (Bertuzzi sought out Weber after the whistle). Beyond that, the hitting was more pronounced and the pace much quicker.
2) Missed Opportunities -- The Preds generated a ton of quality scoring opportunities in the first period, but were just unable to convert. The Fisher and Legwand lines were much more noticeable, with Erat creating the play that led to Nashville's first power-play with a strong move down the right wing before taking the puck back in front of the net. The Nashville power-play had four or five dangerous opportunities that misfired for one reason or another. The Spaling line created good chances on two shifts during the second half of the period.
3) Mental Mistakes -- The Preds made two mental mistakes in the first period and Detroit made them pay both times. One of the Preds defensemen cheated too far down low in the zone and then Brandon Yip peeled away from the point for the hit along the boards high in the defensive zone and the combination of the two decisions left Ian White all alone at the right point --- White took his time and slowly skated in before picking his corner for the first goal. Kevin Klein made a poor puck decision with Nashville buzzing in the Detroit end, leading to an easy shot-block and two-on-one for the Wings in the other direction; Klein then took an awkward angle getting back on defense allowing a more pronounced odd-man opportunity which Emmerton converted for the 2-0 lead.
Legwand centering A. Kostitsyn and Radulov
Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
Spaling centering Bourque and Hornqvist
Gaustad centering Halischuk and Yip
Defensively:
Josi and Klein
Suter and Weber
Bouillon and Hillen
Despite the scoreboard reading 2-0 Detroit, Nashville didn't play a bad first period. The Preds out-chanced the Wings in the period and --- if not for some unfortunate bounces --- could easily have been up by two or three goals midway through the period. Still, Detroit capitalized on its chances and takes the lead into the first intermission.
THREE MUSINGS
1) Physical First -- It was a much more physical tone to the first period. Mike Fisher and Johan Franzen sparred behind the play on their first shifts (around 1:20 into the game). Shea Weber and Todd Bertuzzi dropped the gloves 1:36 in (Bertuzzi sought out Weber after the whistle). Beyond that, the hitting was more pronounced and the pace much quicker.
2) Missed Opportunities -- The Preds generated a ton of quality scoring opportunities in the first period, but were just unable to convert. The Fisher and Legwand lines were much more noticeable, with Erat creating the play that led to Nashville's first power-play with a strong move down the right wing before taking the puck back in front of the net. The Nashville power-play had four or five dangerous opportunities that misfired for one reason or another. The Spaling line created good chances on two shifts during the second half of the period.
3) Mental Mistakes -- The Preds made two mental mistakes in the first period and Detroit made them pay both times. One of the Preds defensemen cheated too far down low in the zone and then Brandon Yip peeled away from the point for the hit along the boards high in the defensive zone and the combination of the two decisions left Ian White all alone at the right point --- White took his time and slowly skated in before picking his corner for the first goal. Kevin Klein made a poor puck decision with Nashville buzzing in the Detroit end, leading to an easy shot-block and two-on-one for the Wings in the other direction; Klein then took an awkward angle getting back on defense allowing a more pronounced odd-man opportunity which Emmerton converted for the 2-0 lead.
