Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Ellis Blunders, Preds Lose 4-3 to Sharks (and Morning Round-up)

Happy Veterans Day!

We would like to honor all service men and women and veterans on this special day for their service for our country. My Grandfather served during WWI and my father and uncle served in WWII so hearing of dedication and sacrifice was something I heard throughout my upbringing.

Mark at the View from 111 has a very nice piece in commemoration of the those who have served. His is far better than what I could produce.

Sharks 4- Preds 3



The Nashville Predators played one of their better games of the season but ended up on the short end of the scorecard against the Sharks in San Jose on Tuesday night.

With a minute left, Dan Boyle sent a shot toward the net that Dan Ellis completely muffed and allowed into the net for the game winning goal for the Sharks. It was one of the more disappointing losses for the Predators in recent memory.

Preds goalie Dan Ellis looked like he would like to crawl under a rock and hide after the puck slipped into the net.

Going down the stretch, it appeared that the Preds had captured an important point on the road with a chance for another in overtime but Ellis' mis-handle put an end to that.

With a 3-2 lead and 6 1/2 minutes to play, the Predators were riding high in the saddle until the Sharks tied the game on a Devin Setoguchi shot from the face off circle that was tipped by a Pred defender.

In the closing day of the season when the Preds need a point or two to clinch the eight seed in the West, this will be a game that they will look back to as a real back breaker in the hunt for points in the early part of the season.


In spite of the collapse, there were several positives in the game. Patric Hornqvist scored a goal and had five shots and is learning to play around the net and create havoc in the blue ice for opposing teams.

Mike Santorelli was awarded a goal after crashing the net hard in an odd play in the first period to tie the score at one. Good things happen when you establish a presence in front of the net.

Marcel Goc celebrated his return to San Jose with the second game tying goal in the middle period.

Shea Weber returned to the ice after missing two games and was able to play regular shifts.

Steve Sullivan was more involved in the offense and was more visible on the ice than he had been in a few recent games.

Prior to the sad ending, the Predators had come back from one goal deficits twice against the hottest team in the NHL and were playing with the Sharks stride for stride.

What remains to be seen is whether the Predators will build off of their solid play against the Sharks or if they will sulk over the bitter collapse at the end. They will get another chance to hit the ice quickly against the Blues in St. Louis on Thursday before returning home to play Montreal on Saturday night.

Other Game Stories...

John Glennon has a story and a positive piece on the game at the Tennessean.

The San Jose Mercury News describes the Shark's win as a ralley.

TSN and CBC have full stories on the game as it was carried live across Canada on the NHL Network as a marquee late game.

Forechecker has all the detailed numbers that don't look too bad for the top line, despite the loss.

Section 303 writes about a gift while What the Puck and See Puck City have their takes on the game.


In Pred Nation...


David Poile appeared on NHL Live on Tuesday and other than a mention of the Radulov/KHL issue and Poile's loyalty to his coaches, there was really no Preds related discussion.

Mark from the @TheViewfrom111reports "Predator fans: New third jersey's are here and will be distributed on the 27th and 28th to season ticket holders. Details to follow." Mark got the info from his ticket rep and was nice enough to share with all. Jackson will be chomping at the bit wanting his new sweater.

I missed a few quality posts from Jim Diamond at the Examiner. Jim discusses the injuries to prospects Taylor Beck and Michael Latta who play for Guelph on the OHL. He also has his weekly round-up of prospects. Finally, Jim does a great job of explaining the plus/minus rating in understandable terms.

In a timely post, Pierre LeBrun has a point (buried in this post) about David Poile questioning Brad Staubitz's uses of MMA forearm tactics in a game last year when he bloodied up Jordan Tootoo.

The Preds have a couple of new promos going. They have a Black and Blue Ticket offer where you get a bunch of stuff and tickets for six games starting at $110. They also have set Family Photo day for STHs on December 6, where you can get your picture made with Gnash or a Predator Dancer in a Santa outfit.

Around the NHL...

Biggest story of the first day of the first day of the GM meetings was that the Trapezoid rule was retained. I'm glad they are hitting the big topics first.

Adrian Dater has his latest edition of No Holding Back and takes a look at the five best and worst free agent signings. Sully makes the bust list for his lack of production so far this year. I think most Pred fans would agree with Dater on this one.

It's time to make your #SaturdayNHLPicks once again. Amazingly, I finished in a tie for ninth last week with 9 of 13 correct. The results are interesting, especially with how many folks picked the Preds over the Kings.

If the season had ended over the weekend, the playoffs would have had an odd look to them. On Goal Analysis has more.

More third jersey news from @NHLschuylerb: "Colorado Avalanche assistant captains Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny will unveil the team’s third jersey Thursday at the Pepsi Center"

Along the same lines, Stay Classy has a few unusual stats and trends from the season so far.

Puck Daddy continues his Decade Top Tens with the top 10 upsets of the decade. It's a good mix of NHL, international and college. It will be a rough read for Red Wings fans who's team dominates the article.

Bill Daly discusses the possibility of a second franchise in Southern Ontario at the Globe and Mail. This further confirms my argument that the whole issue with Ballsillie was driven more by an issue with the owners not getting their percentage of the expansion fee more than anything else. Ballsillie just made it easy for the league to reject him by being difficult to deal with.

Kevin Baumer has an article asking Gary Bettman to encourage more Twitter use by NHL players at Inside Hockey.

Google is offering free WiFi at 47 airports (including Nashville) as a Christmas gift to flyers. Check here for the list of terminals participating.

This is truly unbelievable that a Twitter account can turn into a TV sitcom. It is funny but the TV gurus must be desperate for ideas.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

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