New Jersey Devils win third straight, edge Nashville Predators 3-2 in shootout -NHL Match Update
New Jersey continued their winning streak to three while Nashville lost their second straight as Devils edged Predators, 3-2, in a shootout on Saturday night, October 15, at the sold-out Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
Despite getting off to a strong start, Nashville gave up its defences later on in the matchup as New Jersey Devils eventually caught up and took over in the shootout.
Knowing the calibre of Nashville goalie, Pekka Rinne, Devils knew ahead of time that they would have to try out new and different things if they wanted to crack the veterans defensive mechanisms.
"We were watching highlights before the game", Kovalchuk said. "We knew Rinne was a big goalie who could move really quick. We knew he was going to go down and try to block the shot".
Colin Wilson opened the scoring a little over midway through the first during their first power play advantage as New Jersey’s, David Clarkson, was awarded a five-minute major for boarding. Jerred Smithson extended the lead for the Predators nearly a minute
later, closing the period, 2-1.
After a scoreless second period with both teams scrambling to get a goal, New Jersey was finally put up on the scoreboard as Ilya Kovalchuk scored on a power play which carried over from the second period.
David Clarkson potted his first of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season with 12:03 remaining in the final period of regulation to level the match and eventually force an overtime extension.
Both teams were forced into a shootout decider as they lacked to score in the five-minute overtime.
Kovalchuk and captain, Zach Parise, scored on both New Jersey attempts while Nashville missed their first two to lose their second straight matchup.
"I think we deserved to win", New Jersey head coach, Peter DeBoer, said. "Their goaltender made a few big saves early to give them a chance to have the lead they had. We felt really good about our game and we just needed to stick with it. That is what we
did".
New Jersey Devils look to extend their near perfect winning streak against San Jose Sharks on Friday while Nashville Predators kick off their three-game Canadian road trip against Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
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