Category: Sports

Viktor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators

You could make the argument it’s the Nashville Predators’ biggest victory of the season to date.

Those who made it happen sure seemed to think so.

A commitment to team defense was evident on Saturday night at SAP Center as the Preds held the Sharks to two goals in a 4-2 win to conclude their trip to California. The victory is Nashville’s second in a row and hands San Jose back-to-back losses in regulation at home for the first time this season.

After a particularly frustrating effort and loss in Anaheim on Tuesday the mood didn’t turn sour for the Predators, but instead shifted to a narrowed focus that seemed freeing. They practiced what they preached by taking care of business with a win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. On Saturday, they delivered their best work in a long time by shutting down one of the League’s best teams in a fearsome environment.

“Looking at our situation, where we want go and where we want to get to, you could put that under the biggest win of the season, for sure,” Preds center Ryan Johansen said. “We finished up this road trip on a great note. You have a short memory this time of year, and we always talk about the one day at a time, but it’s really just putting this behind us and continuing to move forward – but we’ll enjoy this one tonight.”

“For us to come in against a really good team… it was really strong by our guys,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We played a really complete 60 minutes, and had good responses too when they scored. We were able to score right back again, which I thought was important.”

It didn’t take long – just 1:07 into Saturday’s contest – for the Preds to take a 1-0 lead, and it came courtesy of Colton Sissons, who deposited his second goal in as many games. It was the 28th point of the season for Sissons to set a career high in the category.

San Jose evened the score roughly four minutes into the second stanza, but 24 seconds after Timo Meier tied it, Viktor Arvidsson tipped home his 30th of the campaign to give Nashville the lead once more. Arvidsson’s 30th came in just his 49th outing of the season, the fastest that feat has ever been attained in Predators franchise history. He also joined Filip Forsberg as the only two Preds to record multiple 30-goal seasons in franchise history.

“It’s been a crazy year with injuries and stuff like that,” Arvidsson said of his accomplishment. “I started good, then got going pretty well in the beginning of the year, and then got injured, but then I’ve just been going really good again. [Johansen] and [Forsberg] have been unreal and setting me up and giving me passes, and I’m just trying to work hard and give them the puck as much as I can.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Johansen said of Arvidsson. “It’s too bad for him having that injury during the middle of the year, because he could be doing something really special that not a lot of players in this League achieve… He just goes out there and works his butt off and gives everything he’s got. All the guys are pretty lucky to have him on our group.”

Joe Thornton made it 2-2 before the period was out, but that was the last time the Sharks found a way to beat Juuse Saros.

The Predators had to dig deep in the third period – their final one of the road trip and ninth against the strong, heavy teams of Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.

It was Forsberg who wrapped the puck around the San Jose net and got it to go to give the Preds their third and final lead on the night. From there, Saros continued to shut the door, and Arvidsson iced it into the empty net with his 31st of the season – and second of the evening – to give the Predators four points to finish off the California swing.

“We kept taking small steps in the right direction, and we just have to keep taking small steps and work on the details,” Arvidsson said. “[We have to keep doing it to] really find our game and to find it consistently.”

“We’ve had a lot of guys step up their game these last couple days,” Johansen said. “Now, it’s about continuing to move forward.”

Notes:

As was the case on Thursday, Kyle Turris, Cody McLeod and Matt Donovan were once again scratched for the Preds on Saturday.

Arvidsson’s first goal was his 28th even-strength marker of the season, which set a Predators franchise record.

Forsberg recorded career point No. 300 on the evening, while Johansen hit No. 400.

With their final California swing of the season complete, the Preds will now head home to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (at 7 p.m. CT) and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday (at 7 p.m.) before embarking on another road excursion.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

In its second home match of 2019, Nashville SC fell to Saint Louis FC in a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at First Tennessee Park Saturday night. Though Nashville dominated Saint Louis in possession, the team could not outshoot nor outscore the visitors in an otherwise equal matchup.

NSC now prepares for its first road test of the 2019 USL Championship season with back-to-back away games against New York Red Bulls II and Ottawa Fury FC in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively.

90 in a Nutshell

Nashville and Saint Louis were deadlocked with nearly equal possession and just one shot on target total. Matt Pickens’ diving save in the 38’ minute was the highlight of the first 45’. The veteran keeper deflected Caleb Calvert’s well-placed header to snuff the half’s only quality opportunity.

Nashville’s urgency was apparent in the second half as the team earned five corners in a span of three minutes. Though no one could get on the end of the attempts, the spree revived NSC’s attack and sparked a string of chances.

Cameron Lancaster nearly found the breakthrough goal in the 74’ minute when he connected with a dangerous free kick, but his shot sailed wide. Matt LaGrassa then took a turn in the 82’ minute, but Saint Louis’ Jake Fenlasen punched his header over the crossbar.

Despite NSC’s pressure, Saint Louis was first and last to get on the board when Calvert redirected a corner past Pickens in the 84’.

Goals

84’ STL- Caleb Calvert (assisted by Joaquin Rivas)

A Possession Game

While Nashville SC didn’t win the game, it did have the ball the majority of the night. NSC led the possession nearly 64-36 percent and that number was even higher in the second half as Nashville out-possessed STL 74.7-25.3 percent.

Rare Home Shutout Loss

The 1-0 loss is only the second shutout loss for Nashville at home since the team began in the USL Championship in 2018. Last season, Nashville lost 2-0 to Indy Eleven in the only previous instance. Tonight’s game was just the fourth home loss for Nashville in 19 home games since the beginning of 2018.

Winning Set Pieces

Nashville SC dominated the stat sheet in corner kicks. Nashville had 12 corners to Saint Louis’ 3, including nine corners for Nashville in the second half.

LaGrassa with a Look

Despite nine shots, Nashville SC recorded just one shot on a target, a header from midfielder Matt LaGrassa. A cross from Kosuke Kimura found the head of LaGrassa a few feet from goal and LaGrassa put it on frame near the crossbar. The Saint Louis goalie made a diving save to keep the game scoreless at the time.

Up Next 

Nashville SC will make its first road trip of the season next weekend as it travels to New Jersey to take on New York Red Bulls II on Sunday, March 24 at Noon CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Friday Prep Results

CHS Baseball at Marshall Co – Read the story HERE  

CHS Boys’ Soccer fell to Henry Co – 3 to 0 at Smokey Mt Cup in Gatlinburg – Read the story HERE

Saturday Prep Schedule

9:00 AM(ET) – CHS Boys’ Soccer vs Seymour – Smokey Mt Cup at Gatlinburg

2:30 PM(ET) – CHS Boys’ Soccer vs. Morristown West – Smokey Mt Cup at Gatlinburg

The Coffee County CHS soccer team opened play in the Smoky Mountain Cup Tournament in Gatlinburg on Friday.  Opening up against Henry County, the Coffee County defense got shut out for the 2^nd game in a row.  Coffee County fell by a final score of 3 to 0.

Henry County grabbed a pair of first half goals as they scored in the 18^th and 36^th minutes to carry a 2 nil lead into halftime.   The Patriots added a 2^nd half goal to drop Coffee County to 1 and 2 on the young season.

Coffee County will be back in action on Saturday for a pair of games.  The Red Raiders will open play at 9 AM as they take on Seymour High School.  Coffee County will finish tournament play at 2:30 PM when they take on Morristown West.  Both game times listed are Eastern time and the games will take place Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg.

Thursday Prep Results

4:00 PM – CCMS Tennis HOSTS Warren Co – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

4:00 PM – CHS Tennis at Lincoln Co – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

4:00 PM – CHS Track HOSTS Red Raider Relays – PPD – Makeup Date is March 21st

4:00 PM – WMS Tennis HOSTS Tullahoma – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

4:30 PM – CCMS                Boys’ Soccer HOSTS South Franklin – PPD – Makeup Date is April 2nd

4:30 PM – WMS Boys’ Soccer HOSTS Cascade – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

5:00 PM – CCMS Softball HOSTS Warren Co – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

5:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS MTCS – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

5:00 PM – WMS Softball HOSTS Cascade                – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

6:30 PM – CHS Baseball at Marshall Co – PPD – Makeup Date is Friday, March 15th

Friday Prep Schedule

5:00 PM – CCMS Baseball(JV) at Tullahoma

6:30 PM – CHS Baseball at Marshall Co

TBD – CHS Boys’ Soccer at Smokey Mt Cup in Gatlinburg

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team will be hosting the 2^nd Annual Lady Raider Volleyball Fishing Tournament.  The tournament will take place on Normandy Lake and will be held on Saturday, April 20^th.  The tournament will begin at 7 AM from the Barton Springs Boat Ramp. Entry fee is $50 per boat with a cash prize going to the boat that can land the largest 5 fish total.  A $10 prize will go to the person that captures the largest fish.  All TRWA rules will apply for the tournament and all proceeds will go to the Coffee County CHS volleyball team.  For more information, contact Andrew Taylor at: 931.273.2863

Viktor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators

The urgency was there. The execution was there. And perhaps most importantly, the quality start was finally there.

After falling behind multiple goals in each of their last two losses, Viktor Arvidsson snapped home a shot during a 2-on-1 in the first period, and the Nashville Predators never trailed on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

On the surface the win is No. 40 on the season for Nashville and gives them a three-game season sweep of the Kings, but most importantly, the club is hoping that it serves as a foundation for improved play down the stretch of the regular season.

“[There are always points in the] season where you look to build off of something, or a certain game, especially late in the season like this, where you want to start getting on a roll, and tonight was one of those games for us,” Preds forward Craig Smith said. “It was great. When we go back and look at film, we’re probably going to see a lot of good things… so it was great to see.”

“It’s never a perfect 60 minutes, there’s another team over there that’s really good, so it’s never perfect, but to me it was a good game,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was a really steady road game.”

After Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne stopped Ilya Kovalchuk on a point-blank chance at one end, Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen countered with a 2-on-1 the other way, and Johansen fed No. 33 for his 29th of the season and a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

“It was a big one for us,” Preds forward Colton Sissons said. “We were not very happy with the previous effort, especially to the start of the game. It was something that we focused on, and I thought that was great tonight.”

The Kings tied the game less than three minutes into the second, but the Preds answered twice before the stanza was done. First, Smith buried a loose puck in front past Jonathan Quick to give Nashville the lead again, and just over two minutes later, Sissons potted his 12th goal and 27th point of the season – the latter of which tied a career high – to give the Preds a two-goal lead through two periods.

“I just dedicate myself to whatever I can do to help our team win,” Sissons said. “If that’s scoring a goal, getting an assist, I’m all for it. Whatever way I can help, I will.”

If anything, the second period served as a reminder that even after giving up an early lead, resiliency coupled with a killer instinct can go a long way. Just like the game wasn’t over when Nashville held a 1-0 lead, they also didn’t need a “here we go again” attitude after the game was tied. Instead, Smith and Sissons drove to the net and put Nashville ahead by two with a chance to close it out in the third.

The Predators held the home team to nine shots in the final frame, and Rinne turned them all aside. Twenty-five saves on 26 shots from their ace in net guided the Preds to a bounce-back victory on the road.

Not only did the Predators collect the victory on Thursday, they also did so the “right way.” At this time of the year, much is made about the process of the way they play the game, and that was just as satisfying as the two points.

“We played the right way, we played hard from the start to finish and there were very few lulls throughout the game,” Sissons said. “Everybody stepped up and did their job, and that’s great to see. We need a lot of that this time of year heading into the playoffs, so we’re really happy with the result.”

The Preds will now face their toughest test of the trip on Saturday night in San Jose, and they’d love nothing more than to build off of this effort with just 10 games to play in the regular season.

“There’s two ways of looking at it – you can look down and feel bad about yourself or pick up your crap and move forward, and I think that’s what we’re doing here,” Smith said. “We’re taking some ownership in our game from what happened in Anaheim, and that’s what this group has been good at the last couple years. We take ownership of the way we show up and the way we want to play, so we have to take this game forward and try to replicate it in San Jose.”

Notes:

Kyle Turris, Cody McLeod and Matt Donovan were scratched for Nashville on Thursday night.

Viktor Arvidsson has hit the 29-goal mark for the third consecutive season.

The Predators will head up the California coast on Friday ahead of their meeting with the Sharks in San Jose to conclude their road trip on Saturday night (at 9:30 p.m. CT).

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Wednesday Prep Results

CCMS Softball defeats Harris -12 to 1  – See Results HERE

CHS Softball blanks Moore Co – 3 to 0 – See Results HERE

Thursday Prep Schedule(weather permitting)

4:00 PM – CCMS Tennis HOSTS Warren Co – PPD – Makeup Date is TBD

4:00 PM – CHS Tennis at Lincoln Co

4:00 PM – CHS Track HOSTS Red Raider Relays

4:00 PM – WMS Tennis HOSTS Tullahoma

4:30 PM – CCMS                Boys’ Soccer HOSTS South Franklin

4:30 PM – WMS Boys’ Soccer HOSTS Cascade – Gilley Crane Hometown Sports broadcast on Thunder Radio

5:00 PM – CCMS Softball HOSTS Warren Co

5:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS MTCS

5:00 PM – WMS Softball HOSTS Cascade

6:30 PM – CHS Baseball at Marshall Co

Savannah Cooper of CCMS softball

The Coffee County Middle School softball team traveled to Shelbyville on Wednesday night to take on Harris.  In a makeup game from Monday, the Lady Raiders completed the season sweep over the Eaglettes.  Coffee Middle dropped Harris 12 to 1.

The Lady Raiders once again got on the board first in the 1^st inning as they pushed across 3 runs as doubles by Katelyn Davis and Chloe Gannon drove in 2 runs.  Coffee Middle scored in all but 1 inning as they pounded out 12 hits on the night.

Savannah Cooper went the distance in the circle as she surrendered only 4 hits while striking out 2.   At the plate, Cheyenny Vickers swung the big stick as she had a single and a solo home run while scoring 3 times.  Davis, Madison Pruitt, Channa Gannon and Alivia Reel also finished with 2 hits on the night.  Pruitt drove in 3 runs.

Coffee Middle is back in action on Thursday at home, weather permitting.  The Lady Raiders will host Warren County in a makeup game from March 4^th AND March 8^th.  First pitch is set for 5 PM at the CCMS field.