By Alex Daugherty
If Nashville Predators fans were wondering what a more balanced attack would look like this season, last night’s 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild was a good first glance.
The Predators had five difference players score goals, including Filip Forsberg, Mikael Granlund, Austin Watson, Viktor Arvidsson, and Ryan Ellis. The also eclipsed the Wild in shots on goal (32 to 24), shot attempts (68 to 46), and high danger chances (10 to 5).
“I thought all the lines played really well. There was good balance,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. “They all chipped in offensively.”
While last night was hardly the first time the Predators have displayed offensive dominance over a team, it had a different feel than times in the past. Mostly because newcomer Matt Duchene was helping to fuel the effort, collecting three assists on the night and helping mix up the offensive balance throughout the lineup. It was also because they didn’t need superstar efforts from elite offensive players like Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg in order to get it done.
And incidentally, the Preds had to come from behind in the 3rd period to win the game, which makes last night’s win all the more impressive.
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