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Barry Trotz’s assessment of Game 1: “Not acceptable”

Nashville Predators v Vancouver Canucks - Game One

VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 28: Head Coach Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators speaks with the media after losing Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals 1-0 to the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 28, 2011 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Rich Lam

It goes down in the books as a 1-0 loss for Nashville against Vancouver in Game 1 of their second round playoff battle, but for Predators coach Barry Trotz, he demands better of his team at all times and what he got out of his team was a rather lackluster effort.

While Pekka Rinne was outstanding in stopping 29 shots for Nashville, Trotz had a bone to pick with just about everyone else that hit the ice for Nashville on Thursday night.

After the game, Trotz spoke up and threw his team to the wolves for what he believes was a very poor effort in Game 1. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen got the vitriol from the only head coach in Predators history as he spoke his mind about how things went in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.

You mad, coach?

“Yeah, I am, and I think there is a lot of guys in that room that should be pissed off,” Trotz said from the podium. “We always talk about winning as a group, and the biggest disappointment you can have is when you have an expectation from someone who you want to go forward with every night and they’re letting you down. We had too many passengers, not enough guys pulling on the rope. We are in the Conference Semifinal. Are you kidding me? Not acceptable.”

As for who he might’ve been talking about, it might be easier to find guys he thought played well instead. Of those that had poor games, defensively you can single out defensemen Kevin Klein and rookie Jonathon Blum who couldn’t clear out the likes of Christopher Higgins and Maxim Lapierre away from the net on the only goal of the game.

You can throw any one who took a faceoff in the game on that list as well as the Canucks dominated on draws all night long. Jerred Smithson was the one guy able to win draws consistently winning seven out of ten. Others fared much poorer. Mike Fisher was 10-24 and David Legwand was 4-18. Those numbers must improve.

A 1-0 loss doesn’t seem indicative of major problems generally, but Trotz demands the best out of his team and considering the Predators piled up just 20 shots on the game as well as having those other problems, he’s making sure to nip any problems in the bud now. There’s a reason why Trotz has been a head coach in Nashville as long as he has and calling his team out like this is a reason why. Don’t expect Nashville to play with kid gloves in Game 2 on Saturday.