After a few days with no games while the rest of the Western Division catches up with the "games in hand" it appears that the Predators will hit the ice on Tuesday hanging on to eighth place. That is truly amazing to me considering not that long ago we were in 14th place and weren't looking too spiffy.
We have a very special out of town guest on Monday's PredsOnTheGlass Radio show on BlogTalkRadio. Our good friend in Edmonton, Neils Bristow, has made arrangements for Jason Gregor of Just A Game - The Team 1260 to appear on POTG radio to discuss the race for the playoffs between the Oilers, the Preds and the rest of the Western Conference.
Jason Gregor is the guru of Edmonton's sports radio scene. He delivers post-game interviews and daily stories in his own unique style. His show runs 3:00-6:00 Monday through Friday. You can check out his web site at Just A Game.
We can also announce that Mark Willoughby from "The View from 111" blog will also be our special guest to discuss his travels following the Preds on the just completed west coast trip.
As far as the cheat sheet we have a long list of news items that we have come across.
As always the lead story is the last week of Predators action and the current playoff chances and standings. Here's what the official Preds site says.
Our main eyes and ears on the trip were thosse of Mark at the View from 111 who did a great job as an unpaid road correspondent.
Injuries have played a big part over the last couple of weeks and it appears Bonk will return on Tuesday and Arnott won't. Belak is also questionable and since Tootoo got mauled and was last seen sporting a visor, it is unknown who will defend the team against the Ducks who lead the league in fighting majors.
There was also a big stink over the last few days where the Tennessean jumped the gun to allege that the Preds were $400,000 behind in taxes and it turned out that it wasn't true.
Another off ice story involved owner Herb Fritch hiring counsel to deal with the DelBiaggio mess.
Still another story discusses naming rights and sponsorships and includes the Preds.
The Tennessean seemed really busy on the off-ice front but had very little of substance about the Preds on the trip. Paul McCann was even criticle of their coverage in the middle of his post.
I've been wondering about the weird 5:00 start for Saturday's Kings-Preds game for a couple of months. Rachel clears that up over at What The Puck. We will try to touch on that.
Paul McCann also has an update on the topic and news of a concert on the Plaza after the game. I'm not sure how that save energy.
Tuesday is autism awareness night at the Preds game.
I got an invite to the Preds Wine Tasting Event next month. I probably won't make it.
From the farm, Jonathon Blum and Chet Pickard have picked up honors.
The Hockey God over at the Red Light District gives some food for thought as he gives names the most critical player for each team down the stretch for both the East and the West. Guess who Nashville's is?
Boo to this one. Scott Cullen at TSN ranks Pekka as the sixth best rookie in the NHL this year. Consolation prise is five in the top 100.
The Hockey News discusses the league's 10 best line combos. No Preds here. Surprised?
James Mirtle is good for a cpouple of mentions. The third part of his ever growing Nashville series and a really nice piece about hockey scholarships to minor players who don''t make it.
The Globe and Mail has a good story on the history of how many points it takes to get into the playoffs.
Here's one that gives a different slant on salaries and caps. With escrow payments players are getting far less that the announced salaries and it will be worse next year.
The NCAA brackets were announced Sunday with Boston U getting the top seed and Notore dame not too far behind. More analysis is here. Pred fans will be excited since soon to be Predator Colin Wilson plays for BU and may win the Hobey Baker Award. Pred Prospect Ben Ryan had the game winning goal in ND's last two wins. ESPN also weighs in on the field. In all four Preds are in the final field. John Glennon also adds this.
Not to leave out the women, Wisconsin took home the ladies title.
We can't go without mentioning Marty Brodeur's record breaking night and Ovie's 50th. Shawn Laveigne at XM204 has a good article on how the media is tainting hockey's big moments.
Another good rant that I gave the thumbs up to is Chriss Wassel over at the program.
Our friend Paul Nicholson and soon to be mom Christy are featured in Predator Radio ads.
As a final thought, I don't know why I did all this as Dirk at On The Forecheck has the best info and week wrap-up anywhere at his site.
Last but not least, thanks to Smashville for our spiffy new PredsOnTheGlass Banner. Check out his other masterpieces over at On The Forecheck. His stuff is better than what the Predators pay good money for. My advice to the Preds... hire him!
I will probably add to this list on Monday so check back for more interesting links and stories.
Buddy for PredsOnTheGlass
Monday Additions
James Mirtle takes a look at Selke Candidates with 10 games left. The Preds are well represented in the top 30.
NHL Three Stars of the Week - Ward (not Joel), Malkin and Doan
If the playoffs started today, the Preds would meet up with our favorite, the Sharks!
Grim news from the Forchecker - Preds have toughest road to the playoffs of all contenders.
John Glennon of the Tennessean returns with bad news, Jones out on Tue and Sulzer headed for surgery. You were missed. John also appeared on XM204 this afternoon with Mike Ross and Espo. Welcome back John!
Puck Daddy has an article up with Six Reasons why the Ducks get in.
The Hockey God has his weekly Power Rankings
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3 comments:
That's a hefty hour of programming.
Thanks for the mention! Glad you like the banner
Codey - I couldn't read all that in an hour if I had to. It's mainly a personal security blanket to avoid any potential dead air on a live show. I doubt we will get to much of it at all with the two folks we are having as guests. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for reading.
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