Above, P.K. Subban, Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi react following the game.
Whenever a team is up 3-0 late in a game, the opposing team often loses its composure. That’s what happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night as the Nashville Predators dominated them in a 3-1 victory.
It was a big night for the Nashville Predators blue line as P.K. Subban tallied two goals, Ryan Ellis registered three assists and Roman Josi added another assist.
“I think that our ability to generate offense is pretty exceptional,” said Subban. “We have guys that can skate the puck and have the ability to make plays. I think that when we’re at our best is when we’re really just keeping it simple and take what the other team is giving us. Everybody here can play against other teams’ top lines and can generate offense and that’s a strength. When you look around the League, it’s tough to find puck-moving defensemen that can defend and contribute offensively.”
It was Viktor Arvidsson that kicked off the scoring the Predators in the first period. Arvidsson now has six goals on the season. Last year, he only put eight in the back of the net. His effort continues to impress each and every game.
And while it’s been tough for Filip Forsberg to score goals, he continues to register assists. On Subban’s second goal, Forsberg notched his 12th assist of the season, tying him with Subban for 13 points.
“I’m trying to work hard,” said Forsberg. “I’m trying to make nice plays and hopefully someone can finish them off.”
Forsberg recognizes the talent coming from the blue line with Subban.
“He’s been playing really good hockey the last couple of weeks and he’s a player that wants to contribute offensively and it was great to see him do that tonight,” said Forsberg.”
Nashville continued to control the game into the third period. With about six minutes remaining in regulation, Roman Josi took a hard hit along near the end boards behind Pekka Rinne. J.T. Brown plowed his shoulder into Josi’s head, and Josi remained on the ice for a few seconds following the play. The officials did not make a call on the ice. Instead, Mike Fisher was called for roughing following the play.
“I didn’t really see it,” said P.K. Subban. “There was no call on the play so it is what it is. My thing is, the game’s over now and just making sure everyone is okay and after the game he looked fine so that’s the most important thing. In a 3-0 game, things get chippy. I don’t know, I don’t want to comment on it because I didn’t really see the hit live so maybe tomorrow I’ll have more of an answer after seeing the replay.”
In the locker room following the game, Josi confirmed that he was pulled and sent down the tunnel to be checked for a concussion. He looked to be well following the game as he spoke with the media.
About four minutes following this hit, retaliation occurred when Ryan Ellis laid J.T. Brown out on the ice in the offensive zone. Immediately following the hit, Brown got on top of Ellis and started wailing hits on him. Ellis received a five minute major for interference and a game misconduct. Brown received a two minute roughing call and a 10-minute misconduct. The officials completely let the game get out of control. After missing multiple calls during the game, a match between teams that only see each other twice during the regular season turned into chaos.
In the end, the Nashville Predators kicked off their three-game home stand with a victory over one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. They’ll continue at home on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars.
