POTG Tuesday Headlines, News and Links: Countdown to Opening Day

The Predators roster is a day closer to opening night as we saw a couple of moves yesterday with Ryan Ellis going to Milwaukee and Kyle Wilson being put on waivers with the assumed purpose of sending him to Wisconsin also. We will know shortly after 11 a.m. this morning if he made it through the process.

We also learned that Mike Fisher and Francis Bouillon will not be ready for opening night but both participated in practice to a degree.

The final questions revolve around whether Mattias Ekholm will stick with the team as the seventh defenseman and if David Poile will make a move to bring in someone from the outside. We took a look at his past history of moves near opening day and it has been rare for him to stand pat as the season starts.

Later this morning, we will post our Eastern Conference predictions which will be followed by our look at the West tomorrow.

Make the jump for today's news and links...


Programming Note...

Looking ahead to Wednesday's RLD hockey, we will have our Western Conference preview with Craig Custance of ESPN and Dennis Bernstein from The Fourth Period. Join us at Noon Central.

In Pred Nation...

Josh Cooper has all the news from Monday's Preds. practice.

Ryan Porth talks about Craig Smith's big weekend. He also caught up with all the injured players at Centennial and has a positive report.

Jim Diamond spoke with Francis Bouillon after he skated with teammates for the first time since his concussion last January.

David Boclair says the Preds have one eye on the opener and the other on the future.

Preds.com has a look to the week ahead.

Jon Blum blogs about house hunting and other stuff.

Robby Stanley says that the road to Nashville goes through... Madison?

Matt Reitz has his preseason outlook for the Predators at PHT.

Dirk Hoag has his Patric Hornqvist and Kevin Klein season previews.

Pred, White, and Blue has some key observations on decision day. He also starts a trip around the division with a look at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Hockey House says that Craig Smith is on the hot seat.

Colin Fitts will have Preds stuff on the 7th and 12th man show on BTR today at 5:30.

Shanny TV...

A new video was produced indicating that Ryan Malone would not be suspended for his hit on Chris Campoli in last weekend's game. This is new ground for Shanny TV in that he explained why a hit did not get a suspension. We commend Brendan Shanahan for his continued efforts in communicating his decisions to the fans.

Sean Gordon at the Globe and Mail gives the opposing view on the Malone hit.

As usual, Mike Milbury used the stage of an NBC conference call to blast Shanahan's efforts, saying that there are a lot of "pink hats" out there.

Around the NHL...

It was officially announced that Sidney Crosby will be placed on Injured Reserve, making him unavailable for the first seven days of the season.

Ryan Porth handicaps all the over/under lines from Bodog on the season point totals. There looks to be several her that might be worth betting a few Dr. Peppers on. Ryan also looks at a few teams that may get off to a fast start.

Marc Torrence has more Bodog fun with Shea Weber as the favorite for the Norris. I'd like to take Rinne at 10-1 on the Vezina and bet against Mike Green at 7-1 for the Norris.

ESPN's first power ratings have the Predators at 19th with concerns about their ability to score.

Adrian Dater has the Central Division Preview for Sports Illustrated.

Ryan Lambert has finally become a Preds believer. Welcome aboard.

Cheers go out in Edmonton as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will join the list of top draftees to start the year with the Oilers.

Ray Emery is the new back-up goalie in Chicago. That should make a strong team better.

Sean Leahy reminds me how much tax deduction I will be claiming for the privilege of having the NHL Center Ice package this season.

While US fans have a new ten year deal with NBC, fans in Europe are sweating the fact that no deal is in place as the season begins.

Michael Langlois gives ten reasons why the Leafs may make the playoffs this year.

Alex Ovechkin has now been immortalized at Madame Tussauds' Museum. He also is leaving the country for his uncle's funeral. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

Odds and Ends...

Chrome is coming to Android in the near future.

My wife and another 100,000 people pre-ordered their new Kindle Fire on opening day of sales.

Space X has proposed a fully reusable rocket and capsule.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass