"The hockey gods will get even"
Tonight the Predators out shot the St. Louis Blues by 30. But Nashville could not find the back of the net because their ex-number one goaltender played like a brick wall. But so did Nashville's goaltender Dan Ellis, who turned away every Blues shot through 3 periods and an overtime.
In the end, the Predators lost in a shootout. The Blues had Ellis' number and Mason seemed invincible.
Predators coach Barry Trotz said his guys did "everything" he asked them to do. Trotz said the team played close to its best game of the year. And yet, he said, "the hockey gods will get even", referring back to a game the Predators stole in San Jose after getting thoroughly outplayed.
The game had several lines:
- A national TV audience on "Versus". The network executives had to like what they saw.
- The return of Chris Mason as an opponent in the Sommet Center. If a goaltender was going to do that to us, I'm glad it was Mason.
- A franchise record for outshooting an opponent with the 47-17 shots on goal total.
It's the best I've felt after a loss ever. These guys played their hearts out, but the hockey gods said "not this time".
I caught Mason's game clinching stop of Ville Koistinen in the shootout on my Blackberry Bold video camera. Take a look on my YouTube page.
