Man, I woke up this mornin' feelin' like I'd had a plate of cold Prince's Hot Chicken, and that ain't right. The Nashville Predators dropped a tough one on the road last night, 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. We were fixin' to steal a point, maybe even two, but a late goal sealed our fate. Jere Kemell got us on the board in the second period, a real nice shot off a pass from Filip Forsberg, and then Forsberg himself tied it up in the third. But Corey Perry, bless his heart, put one past us with just a few minutes left. It felt like a gut punch, bud, especially with how hard the Nashville Predators were pushin'.
Now, let's talk about the key moments here, because there were some real swing plays. That second period goal from Jere Kemell, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Jeremy Barron, was pure beauty and got us back in it after we went down. Then you had Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel with a goal and two assists, just makin' plays all night. That second goal for us, from Filip Forsberg, assisted by Fedor Svechkov and Adam Wilsby, that's the kind of grit we need, comin' back to tie it up right after going down in the third. But when Perry netted that game-winner, it felt like the air went out of the Bridgestone Arena, even all the way in Tampa Bay.
So, what's this mean for us? Well, the Nashville Predators are sittin' at 34-31-9 now, still holdin' onto that Wildcard #2 spot, but the margin for error is gettin' tighter than a guitar string on Lower Broadway. We've gone 5-4-1 in our last ten, which is alright, but "alright" ain't gonna cut it down the stretch. We gotta tighten up and find a way to close out these close games. Every point matters from here on out, buddy. The mood in Nashville this morning is a little subdued, I reckon. Folks are just hopin' we can shake this off and get back to business.
From Smashville — bless their hearts and let's go Preds.
The boys on the morning show are probably still riled up about this one — y'all should check 'em out live at mornings.live.