Nashville Predators thrash Minnesota Wild 4-1 away from home
Nashville Predators Goalkeeper Pekka Rinne made 22 saves to lead his side to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday. The result also meant that Nashville ended their five-game losing steak.
Both sides came into the game looking for a win which would help them in their fight for a playoff spot. The away team started the game as the stronger of the two sides, and dominated possession throughout the first period. Even when they lost the puck to
the Minnesota Wild, they were quick to close them down and regain possession once again. It wasn’t long before their dominance paid off.
The visitors took the lead in the fifth minute through Cody Franson’s goal. The Nashville Predators then went all-out in search of the equaliser. They were able to create a number of scoring opportunities, but could not convert any of their chances. There
were no further goals in the period as the Nashville Predators went into the break leading 1-0. During the course of the period the Nashville Predators made 12 goal attempts, while the Minnesota Wild made nine goal attempts.
The second period was very tight and both teams took a cautious approach to the game. They were intent on defending well and hitting their opponents on the counter attack. The players were clearly feeling the tension, as Minnesota missed a simple tip in
shot to spurn a great chance to take the lead in the eighth minute; and that soon came back to haunt them. The Predators scored in the 11th
minute through a powerful strike from Patric Hornqvist’ to double their lead. During the period both teams made 10 goal attempts each but no further goals were scored. The Nashville Predators led 2-0 going into the break and a very entertaining final
period was expected.
Both teams attacked at the start of the final period, and then reverted to defence as the game progressed. Although both sides created some beautiful attacking moves, they were unable to score – until the final minute.
Minnesota scored a consolation goal in the 19th minute to cut the lead with Chuck Kobasew’s goal. The Nashville Predators didn’t take long to respond and scored in the same minute to regain their two-goal advantage. The goal was scored from a
brilliant shot by Joe Ward. Nashville sealed the match with another goal scored from Sergei Kostitsyn in the 20th minute, as the Predators won 4-1.
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