Juuse Saros and a young Predators team pulled off a 2-1 win over David Pastrnak, Linus Ullmark and the NHL's best Boston Bruins. Here are three keys to that surprising win.
Juuse Saros and a young Predators team pulled off a 2-1 win over David Pastrnak, Linus Ullmark and the NHL's best Boston Bruins. Here are three keys to that surprising win.
The Nashville Predators pulled off the unlikely upset over the Boston Bruins last night. This Bruins team is chasing history with a record of 57-12-5 and 119 points in 74 games, and the Predators are a team decimated by injuries while starting a new chapter after an active trade deadline. So how did Nashille's David overcome the NHL's Goliath last night?
It's important to acknowledge what is real about last night's win - Boston did not play their best game against the Predators. The Bruins have had a tough schedule in March and may have gone into this game looking past a 36-28-8 Predators team that on paper isn't much of a threat to the top team in the NHL. Even the best teams lay an egg once in awhile. Nashville did several things well to ensure the victory, but Boston also didn't put up their best fight last night.
Another important point to note - this was a night that was about far more than hockey for the Predators. After an especially difficult few days for the Nashville community, the Predators entered this game with a painful big picture perspective. This game wasn't about two points but about showing love and care in some small way for a hurting city.
Having said that, there were three things that Nashville did well to help steal a win.
The Preds matched Boston shot for shot...at least through two periods.
With the firepower of David Pastrnak, Patric Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Krejci it is no wonder the Bruins rank ninth in the league in shots on goal per game and have scored the second most goals in the league.
Nashville's top four players in shots on goal this season? Three missed last night's game due to injury (Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Matt Duchene) while the fourth is no longer with the franchise (Nino Niederreiter). Yet in the first and second periods of the game, the Predators were able to match the Bruins nearly shot for shot.
Some of the credit must go to Juuse Saros for limiting rebounds and second chances as well as the tenacity of this Predators lineup who worked hard to win puck battles and interrupt Boston's offense. Some credit also belongs to players like Tyson Barrie, Cole Smith, and Luke Evangelista who didn't hesitate to put shots on net.
The Preds have played games recently in which the team spent too much time looking for the perfect shot and losing opportunities to get the puck on net. Last night Nashville recorded nineteen shots on goal to Boston's twenty through forty minutes of play. Of course the third period was a different story, and that's where Juuse Saros helped steal the win.
Saros Came Up Big for Nashville in a Tough Third Period
Coming out for the final period, it was obvious that the Bruins were not happy with their performance through the first two periods. The third period was an offensive barrage from the Bruins who dominated possession with a Corsi For of 89.29% according to Natural Stat Trick. The Predators were outshot 16-4 in that final twenty minutes as well.
While Linus Ullmark is clearly the Vezina frontrunner this season, Saros played an outstanding game for Nashville against a team that recorded an xGF of 2.04 but only scored one last second goal to ruin the shutout for Juuse Saros.
Nashville's Penalty Kill Did Well
The Bruins are a surprising middle of the pack team when it comes to the power play this season, and the man advantage has been a challenge for Boston of late. Despite David Pastrnak ranking 6th in power play goals in the league, the Bruins haven't always been able to capitalize on special teams chances.
Last night the Predators penalty kill not only managed to contain Boston's power play but also generated a handful of shorthanded chances - something Nashville hasn't done much this season. Ryan McDonagh played over five minutes on the penalty kill while Cole Smith, Yakov Trenin, and Colton Sissons spent plenty of time playing shorthanded for the Preds as well.
Keeping Pastrnak and Boston off the board during those penalties was big but so was the momentum and confidence gained from those five successful kills. The Predators were able to kill off the penalties and continue to hang around in this game.
Nashville's win last night probably doesn't say more about the Boston Bruins than they were caught flat against a team with something bigger than hockey to play for. That also isn't to say the Predators didn't do some things well enough to steal two points and the win. This loss is unlikely to affect Boston down the stretch, but the two points may end up being important to Nashville as they continue to chase a potential playoff chance.
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