Final: Nashville 4 - Buffalo 1
This game was all Nashville from the get go. The Predators played with a lot of energy coming off of an overtime victory in a game they should've won walking away. The team played much more deliberately in the third period as they protected a two goal advantage before Gaustad sealed the deal with an empty net goal. Nick Spaling kept up his scoring after his return from a minor injury. Craig Smith tallied his team-leading 20th goal, the first Predator to do so in 2 seasons since Hornqvist and Fisher both did it in the 2011-12 season. Shea Weber rounds out the Predators scorers and now trails Karlsson by 1 goal as the highest scoring defenseman, a statistic that helped Karlsson trump Weber for the Norris trophy two years ago. The Predators have scored 4 goals now in each of their last 2 contests, perhaps this is a sign of things to come.
Just when I started to doubt him Colin Wilson has proven me right and shown that he is indeed capable of anchoring the Predators at the Center position. He had two assists last night following his point in the Ottawa game on Monday. His passing is crisp, he is calm and deliberate with the puck, his positioning has few holes, and he is physical in the neutral zone. Also impressive was his 61.5% wins in the faceoff circle taking some of the defensive zone pressure off of Gaustad. These past two games have been glimpses at his potential and I am reaffirming my position that Wilson, along with Smith, will eventually become a star on this Predators team.
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