Tuesday Tidbits

So this is what it feels like to be out of the playoffs and watching sixteen other teams prepare to go to battle starting tomorrow night. We have been blessed over the last four seasons to be one of the group and I am already looking forward to coming back with a vengeance next year.

We would like to thank our special guests for POTG Radio last night, Brandon Felder from Hockey Buzz and Ryan from the Red Light District. Ryan did not disclose his picks for the playoffs last night but is set to challenge "The Portal" with his coverage at RedLightDistrict this morning. We also had a surprise appearance by Mark from TheViewFrom111 who is inviting every one to join in and pick a bracket at Rinkotology. Last night's show is available on podcast here. I'm sure you will find it enjoyable.

As we announced last night, POTG Radio will make a special appearance at our first ever live remote broadcast at the Nashville NHL Tweetup Wednesday night at The Closing Bell Wall Street Pub from 7-8 central. We expect to be able to talk with several folks during our time there and it should be an interesting hour. Everyone is invited to the event and complete information is available here and on Facebook here. The NHL site for all Tweetups is here. Thanks to George Scoville and others for getting this together.

Big news out of Canada on the Preds front is that Shea Weber and Dan Hamhuis were officially added to Team Canada for the World Championships which will begin on the 24th in Switzerland. Barry Trotz was previously named I expect several other Preds to play for the European teams including Pekka Rinne for Finland.

News was breaking last night right before the radio show that Hockey Buzz had completed an agreement with the Versus Network to provide content and commentary during the playoffs from their large network of correspondents. Brandon was able to give us the full lowdown on the show last night. Here is the official announcement. This is on the heels of SB Nation tying into Yahoo Sports a couple of months ago and more recently with NHL.com. This appears to be the way of the future that there will be more mixing of the media. It's great to see hardworking bloggers and writers getting recognized for their efforts.

Forechecker released his Alternative Awards based on the "best" player in each category of penalties. It's a great read if you haven't seen it.

Jackson and I will be officially publishing our first round selections later today. EA Sports seems to have it all figured out with the Bruins going all the way as Puck Daddy reports.

Last but not least, be sure and tune in tonight at 7:00 Central to watch the bouncing balls in a 30 minute show on Versus and NHL.com to see who wins the John Tavares sweepstakes.

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass