Predators Hold Off Senators in Wild 6-5 OT Win

The bounces finally went Nashville’s way early in the game as they scored three goals in the 1st period, all of which involved deflections off of a Senators defenseman. Given their difficulty creating offense lately, the Predators weren’t about to complain about the “how”, and they gladly enjoyed the 3 goal lead, at least until they gave it away in the 3rd period as the Senators potted three goals over the course of seven minutes.

It all started with a long shot from Ryan Suter out on the right point; it deflected off Picard, and put the Preds up 1-0 just 5:03 into the game. A big highlight came on defenseman Cody Franson’s 1st NHL goal, which came just three minutes later. He jumped up into the slot, took a feed from J.P. Dumont, and sent a hard shot in on Ottawa goalie Pascal Leclaire. While the initial save was made, the rebound caromed right off Alexandre Picard and into the net.

The wild ride wasn’t done, however, as Anton Volchenkov buried a shot into an empty net to tie the game with 4:20 left in the third. Jason Spezza carried the puck down the right side, pulling Pekka Rinne entirely out of his crease, then fed the puck back into the slot for the easy score by Volchenkov.

From there it took the Miracle of Miracles, a genuine Power Play goal, for Nashville to take a late 5-4 lead. The Predators PP being what it is, however, they left Chris Phillips wide open in front of their own net during a late push by Ottawa, where he scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game with just 2 seconds left, sending it to OT.

The ultimate killer for the Senators was three late penalties, which gave the Preds those PP chances, including the final one in overtime that led to Shea Weber’s (slightly misfired) shot from up high beating Leclaire for the win.