Usually, when you think of the Predators and Oilers, your mind goes to that "chalk one up for Nashville" place that always feels kind of dishonest. But be real: that's what you did when you perused the schedule on Monday afternoon. And then, Devan Dubnyk made you feel silly.
Oilers Vs. Predators: Devan Dubnyk Holds Nashville Back, Makes 37 Saves In First Shutout
The rookie goaltender made 37 saves last night as he posted his first career NHL shutout to power Edmonton to a 4-0 win over the Predators. Nashville came out flying in the opening 10 minutes, putting all the pressure on the Oilers’ net in the form of 13 shots over the first 10 minutes. Edmonton had just one in that stretch.
But after Dubnyk weathered that storm, the tables quickly turned when Andrew Cogliano's eighth of the year, a rebound chance in front of Pekka Rinne, went in. It was 1-0 Oilers and they never looked back.
On the Forecheck, our Preds blog, wasn’t happy with the ability of the Nashville power play to capitalize on the atrocious, bottom-ranked penalty killing of the Oilers. You’ll have to give most of the credit to Dubnyk, though, who was just fantastic from start to finish.
Happening elsewhere in the NHL...
Detroit 3, New York Rangers 2: Pavel Datsyuk returned for the Red Wings in a big way. The forward had a first period goal and an assist on Jiri Hudler's second period goal as the Wings found a way to keep New York at arms length. The loss is the fifth straight for the Rangers. You can read more on this game in our live in-game StoryStream from last night.
Toronto 5, Atlanta 4: Once upon a time, the Thrashers led the Southeast Division. Those days are long gone. Atlanta lost another game as their free-fall in the East continued, this time to the Maple Leafs. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane and Nik Antropov scored for Atlanta but that wasn't enough to top the Leafs, who mixed up their lines to help out the struggling Phil Kessel. Nikolai Kulemin and Tim Brent scored in the third period to boost Toronto to victory.
Phoenix 3, Colorado 0: Talk about a turn-around for the Coyotes. Just a few days ago, they were busy getting shut out 6-0 by Vancouver as part of a stretch in which opponents blanked them 11-0. Now, after this 3-0 win over the Avalanche, they’ve put up back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 2004. Much needed, too: Phoenix leaped from seventh to fourth in the Western playoffs with the victory.
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