A day earlier they had suspended their two
top scorers in the playoffs, Alex Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn, for a
violation of team rules, as the Preds had fallen down 2-0 in the series.
Had
the Predators not responded, they would have fallen into the abyss of
an 3-0 deficit that few teams in NHL history have ever escaped.
As
it happened, coach Barry Trotz had the pulse of his team, and the Preds
pulled out a much-needed 2-0 victory, as goalie Pekka Rinne stopped 32
shots and David Legwand and Mike Fisher tallied first-period goals that
stood up.
"In the big picture, when you make decisions for what I
felt were the right reasons, the group will respond," said Trotz, the
only coach in team history. "I listened to a commentator on CBC between
periods of the (Rangers-Caps) game and he thought I was totally wrong.
He would let them go out all night and still play them and that's not
how we do it here, so I disagree.
"The guys respond because
everyone wanted to be a part of it. The group was committed to the
effort. I will never apologize for doing what I felt was right. In life,
I think a lot of people have done the right thing and had to pay a
price for it. That's when you do it right and you don't have to
apologize."
On the ice, the Predators won by getting back to the
fundamentals of how they play, as they had talked about. That's defense
first with offense building off that.
Not only had Radulov and
Kostitsyn violated team rules, but they also weren’t playing the right
way. Radulov in particular was excoriated on national television for his
lack of effort and execution.
Taking their place in the lineup
were left wing Matt Halischuk and right wing Jordin Tootoo, who,
incidentally, played on the fourth line on Wednesday. (Radulov had
played on the second and Kostitsyn on the third.)
Not
surprisingly, it was somewhat symbolic that two blue-collar
fourth-liners helped the Preds to get back to playing their style of
hockey in a huge victory.
"That was a lot better," Preds captain
Shea Weber said. "That's the way we need to play. We didn't give up as
much (in terms of chances). They're a good team. They're quick and we've
got to play the same way."
Defenseman Ryan Suter said that
allowing nine goals in the first two games — as many as Nashville had
allowed in its entire five-game series with Detroit in the first round —
was "kind of embarrassing."
"You play good teams, and you have to match their desperation," he said, "and we did that tonight."
As
the Preds look to even the series on Friday, the major subplot will be
whether Radulov and Kostitsyn return to the lineup. On Wednesday morning
Trotz said that if Nashville won, he would likely keep the same lineup.
However,
he might have an out if he wants one. Halischuk went awkwardly into the
boards on a play in which Phoenix's Adrian Aucoin received an
interference penalty. Halischuk received treatment and the team said his
return was questionable; however, he returned to play.
The
23-year-old has been banged up, and that might be one reason why
Wednesday represented only his fourth game of the playoffs. If he is
injured, Trotz might be able to reinsert one of the prodigal Preds into
the lineup.
But he doesn't have to. He could just as easily insert
rookie Craig Smith, who was held out on Wednesday but received
consideration a day earlier as a possible replacement.
Having
steered his team through some rough waters, Trotz now faces more
challenges, but — for now — not as choppy as what he navigated the Preds
through in Game 3.
