NHL Update- Nashville Predators win Atlanta Thrashers 2-1
One of the toughest and hard fought contests in the NHL preseason was the 52nd match which saw the Nashville Predators up against the Atlanta Thrashers on their home at Bridgestone Arena. The match took place on the 27th September 2010
and only three goals were seen during the course of the match.
Before the match started, the Nashville Predators captain Shea Webber said “we will be looking to continue our winning run and look to win once again.”
The Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in their last match 2-1 and as soon as the match begun, both teams were seen holding their positions rather than pressing forward. The Nashville Predators managed to get past the Atlanta Thrashers
defence two times out of which they managed to score once. A fourth minute tip-in by Sergei Kostitsyn managed to get past the Thrashers goalie.
The rest of the period didn’t see much happening as both teams came up with frequent goal attempts. At the end of the first period, the score was 1-0 in favour of the Nashville Predators. The Atlanta Thrashers were able to make 6 goal attempts but weren’t
able to score. On the contrary, the Nashville Predators came up with 8 goal attempts out of which they scored once.
The second period was a strong one for the Atlanta Thrashers, as they managed to form a very tight and non-porous defence. However, it was no different on the other side either. The game was more of a defensive battle and a goal could only come as a result
of some mistake.
Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators restricted each other to their own halves for most of the period. When the Nashville Predators pushed forward for a goal to establish a healthy lead, they were caught on the counter attack. This resulted in the Atlanta
Thrashers scoring in the sixteenth minute through a 13 feet wrist shot by Ben Eager.
The remaining four minutes of the period were also dominated by the defences of both teams. Smooth plays were seen developing until the puck reached the opposing defence and from there the offensive team lost possession. At the end of the second period,
it was all level with the Atlanta Thrashers managing to score once out of the 10 goal attempts and the Nashville Predators not scoring even once out of the eight goal attempts they made.
Experts and commentators said that though this game might seem boring and dull but this shows how tough competition is, in the NHL. Not only this, but the tight defensive line of both teams has really gelled together excellently and isn’t allowing any players
to get past it.
As soon as the team went into the break, the home fans started to cheer for the home team and continued in doing so until the third period began.
The home team was urged by the fans to get past the Atlanta Thrashers defence and score goals. This was not to happen as both maintained the defence they had established at the start of the second period. There was not a lack of goal attempts or the team’s
reluctance to go on the attack but it was the tight defence they managed to establish.
However, backed by the home crowd and with constant pressure, the Nashville Predators managed to score in the twelfth minute if the third period. The goal was a result of 61 feet superb shot by the captain Shea Webber who put the Nashville Predators in the
lead at 2-1 with 6 minutes to play.
The Nashville Predators pressed on forward until the very last minute so that the Atlanta Thrashers didn’t get a chance to level the score. Though the Thrashers had share of the chances later but weren’t able to convert any into goals. The game ended with
the score on 2-1 in favour of the Nashville Predators.
At the end of the game, the Nashville Predators captain Shea Webber said “to captain the side and score the winning goal means a lot.”
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