Will Hornqvist Get Supplemental Discipline and Friday Findings

The above play, where Patric Hornqvist hits Tyler Seguin in the corner late in the first period (view at the 45 second mark), of last night's Predators' 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins will get plenty of discussion and scrutiny in the media and court of public opinion today.

It was a play that would not even be considered for supplementary discipline had it not been for the NHL General Manager's meetings this week that focused on any type of hit to the head with an emphasis on charging and boarding calls.

As it was, Hornqvist was accessed a five minute major (that included short-handed time) and a game misconduct for elbowing which the Predators survived but the team lost the services of Hornqvist for the final 42:50 of the game and had to play short-handed.

After the game, Preds' coach Barry Trotz said, "At first you look at it and the referee says I saw his elbow out and he made contact with the head. When I watched it on the replay, it looked like Hornqvist had his elbow out and as he goes to Sequin, he brings his elbow in and puts the brakes on and sort of turns so when I looked at it I didn't really think it was a penalty."

Seguin was somewhat non committal as he said, "I can't say. I saw him coming down and braced for a hit and then I felt something kind of hit my ear." When asked again he said,"It was from the hit. I don't know if I hit the boards. I think it was from the hit."

That's not necessarily something that would convince a jury of any intent on Hornqvist's part so it will be interesting to see what the NHL's wheel of justice will do on this one.

I'm going against the grain here as my bet is that Hornqvist will get a verbal warning and that the game misconduct will be rescinded and that he will pay on Saturday against the Red Wings when they visit Bridgestone Arena.

Update: from @RealKyper: #Preds Hornqvist has scheduled #NHL hearing today regarding head hit on Seguin.

Preds Bruins Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night with post game video.

Josh Cooper had his game story, notes column, and postgame ponderings.

Jim Diamond goes into detail on Patric Hornqvist's ejection from the game.

David Boclair has his story at The City Paper. David is a "real pro" as Barry Trotz likes to say.

From the blog world reports come from Ryan Porth, Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Chris Burton, Jeremy Gover, Predatorial, Fang Finger Fever, and Hockey Night in Nashville.

The other side of the story from a Bruins point of view come from The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Bruins Blog, CSN Northeast, The Bruins Blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder, NESN, Hub Hockey, and Something's Bruin.

Audio clips from the Predators include Sergei Kostitsyn, Shea Weber, Pekka Rinne and Colin Wilson. From the Bruins comes Tuukka Rask, Tyler Seguin, and Coach Claude Julien.

In Pred Nation...

Puck Daddy looked at Pekka's case for the Vezina before last night's game. I still say he is a better Hart candidate provided the Preds make the playoffs.

Is AJ really going to punch somebody? Check out Pull My Fang Finger to see.

Here is the preview for the Lifetime Channel's "Coming Home" episode that features the girl who posed as a goalie to see her husband for the first time in a year at the Predators game last month.



Around the NHL...

Ryan Porth met up with Tyler Seguin before last night's game for a conversation.

Nick Cotsonika chronicles the Washington Capitals turnaround.

Max Pacioretty may in fact be able to return in time for the playoffs. That is a far quicker time frame than anyone expected a few days ago.

Chris Pronger is also expected to return before the playoffs from his hand injury.

Ryan Porth does a redo with the current standings using the Olympic point standings. There would be changes in the East battle for eight.

Mile High Hockey debates whether Coach Joe Sacco should be fired.

Dave Nonis was named the GM of Team Canada for the World Championships that begin next month in Slovakia. Rob Blake and Bob Murray will assist.

Here is the only upside to a departure from Phoenix for the Coyotes from @jtbourne: Glendale is looking into a minor league team if Coyotes move? If it's an ECHL team, I will 100% get my ass in shape, tryout, write about it.

Paul "BizNasty"Bissonnette had plenty of time while sitting in the press box during the Coyote's game in Calgary to check out the "Big Country Ice Crew" and even got specific as to his pick.

Odds and Ends...

The Office was renewed for next season albeit without Steve Carrell. No word on my favorite show, Outsourced at this time. Parks and Recreation, Community, and 30 Rock will also return.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Have Luck of the Irish in 4-3 Overtime Win over Boston

The Nashville Predators pretended to all be Irish in the pre-game skate, donning green jerseys with each player's name altered to be Irish-like. You had players like O'Tootoo and MacKostitsyn skating in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Shane O'Brien was the only one to go with his real name.

The Irish hockey gods must have liked what they saw as they smiled on the Predators in their 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins. Shea Weber's power play bomb from the blue line with 1:27 left in extra play gave Nashville their first overtime win of the season.

"It was a great pass and I had a little time to step into it and a pretty good lane to shoot through," as Weber described the shot.

"It was a big power play goal in overtime." said Barry Trotz. "The right guy got it too. Webs has ben a rock back there. They moved around real well and Sutes got it and let that big bomb go."

Sergei Kostitsyn, Colin Wilson, and David Legwand also scored for the Predators in regulation in a game where they came from behind in the final period to force overtime. Boston's goals came from Tyler Seguin, David Krejci, and Patrice Bergeron.

Fans were disappointed that the much anticipated match up between Vezina favorite Tim Thomas and contender Pekka Rinne did not happen. Rinne made the best of the situation by stopping 35 of 39 Boston shots in capturing the victory. Tuukka Rask took the loss for the Bruins, giving up four goals on 31 shots.

"Peks today was spectacular. He kept us in there all game and that's why I think he is a Vezina and a Hart candidate," declared Trotz.

Rinne said, "We've been trying to find a way and it's been a little up and down. Hopefully, from now on, we can turn these one goal games on to our side. We did a really good job in OT with the power play when it mattered they really stepped up."

The game started in a somewhat familiar fashion with Seguin picking up a quick goal early in the game at 1:50 in the first when the Preds gave up an odd man rush with Jon Blum in the middle of Seguin and Chris Kelly. Seguin kept the puck and put it past Rinne as Blum was stuck in the middle.

The Predators came back to tie the game 1-1 at 7:53 when there was a scramble in front of the Bruins net and Wilson nudged the puck to Kostitsyn who put it past Rask for the score.

As the first period wound down, Patrick Hornqvist received a five minute elbowing penalty and a game misconduct that was a somewhat controversial call that probably would not have been made if similar hits had not been place under the microscope at the NHL General Manager's meetings that ended yesterday.

Trotz explained what he saw on the play, "At first you look at it and the referee says I saw his elbow out and he made contact with the head. When I watched it on the replay, it looked like Hornqvist had his elbow out and as he goes to Sequin, he brings his elbow in and puts the brakes on and sort of turns so when I looked at it I didn't really think it was a penalty."

The Predators did get a boost in confidence from killing off the five minute power play that was divided equally over two periods.

The Predators took the lead at 10:59 in the second when Wilson wristed the puck past Rask from the right face off circle. It was Wilson's second goal in sixteen games. "I needed that one. It's was a really nice pass from Blummer and a good bounce and I was really excited to see it go past him," said Wilson after the game.

The lead vanished 2:34 later when Krejci picked up a loose puck on a rebound and tied the game 2-2.

As the third period got underway, at 1:42, Boston re-took the lead on a shot from the slot from Bergeron that got past Blum as well as Rinne to give the Bruins a 3-2 advantage.

The Predators came back to tie the game once again at 10:56 when they fired three consecutive point blank shots at Rask. After Erat and Kostitsyn failed, the third time was the charm as Legwand was able to lift the puck into the net to tie the game 3-3 which sent the match into overtime.

With 5:08 left in the game, the crowd of 16,839 responded to the Predators' effort with a huge TV time-out ovation that was as loud as it has been for a regular season game. Trotz commented, "You talk about inspiring, the crowd was fantastic tonight especially in the third when we were running on fumes and getting a little discouraged. We're going to need them Saturday night and then right to the bitter end."

At 2:59 into the overtime period Steven Kampfer was called for holding as he pulled down Mike Fisher in the corner of the Bruin's zone. After a Boston time out, the Predators took control and cycled the puck until they got it to Weber who was open in the high slot to deliver the game winner.

It was the Predators first overtime win of the season after six straight losses. "It's one of those thing that brings a little confidence when we go into overtime games in the future", said Rinne.

The win gave the Predators 82 points which was good for ninth in the Western Conference at the end of the night's action. They are a point behind Calgary, two behind Chicago and Dallas, and three back of Los Angeles.

The Preds face a tough back to back set this weekend with Detroit at the Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night and a game 21 hours later in Buffalo against the Sabres.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

No Vezina Match-up, Ward Out, Dumont In, Marchand Suspended for Preds-Bruins Game Tonight

We had word from Josh Cooper that our projected dream match-up between Vezina favorite Tim Thomas and contender Pekka Rinne would not happen in tonight's Predators-Bruins match-up. I'm sure that even if the pairing had occurred that it would have little influence on the outcome of the voting but it would have been fun for the fans and the players involved.

Instead of Thomas, the Bruins will go with Tuukka Rask (10-12-1, 2.69, 919), brother of Preds' prospect Joonas Rask who was selected in the seventh round of last summer's NHL Entry Draft.

Pekka Rinne did receive good publicity this morning as he was the focus of this Puck Daddy piece when it was thought that he would face Thomas.

We also found out that Joel Ward's day to day status would continue for another day with J.P. Dumont getting a second start in a row with a little more time to prepare this time.

Hopefully, Colin 'the winger" Wilson, who went to college at Boston University, will be inspired to play better than he has recently when he was called out a couple of times last week. He has only had one goal and an assist in the last 15 games and both came on February 26 in Dallas. It was in last years game in Boston that he scored his first career NHL goal.

Here is Boston Coach Claude Julien's comments after this morning's skate from Bruins.com.



The NHL also announced that Brad Marchand would be suspended two games, starting tonight, for his hit on R. J. Umberger in Columbus on Tuesday. Here is the video of the hit and Marchand's reaction to the suspension.





More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Vezina Showdown In Nashville and Thursday Thoughts

This is the game that Nashville Predator fans have had circled on their calendar for some time when they finally get to see the Boston Bruins (39-21-9) with Vezina leader Tim Thomas invade the Bridgestone Arena to face the Preds (35-25-10) and Vezina challenger, Pekka Rinne.

As with most Eastern Conference teams. this is the only meeting of the year between the two squads. The Predators won 3-2 in a shootout in the last game in Nashville on February 14, 2009 while the Preds lost 3-2 last season in Boston on October 21, 2009 when Colin Wilson got his first NHL goal.

The Predators traditionally have played well against Eastern Conference teams.This year they have gone 7-4-4. Boston has not fared that well against the West going just 7-7-2. Last time the Predators were in Nashville, Coach Claude Julien remarked that he did not like the Western Conference style of play.

The Predators have been mediocre since the All-Star break going 8-8-4 and are in tenth place in the Western Conference but remain one point out of the eight and final playoff position.

The Bruins lead the Northeast Division with 87 points. They had a seven game winning streak before losing four in a row. Their losing streak ended on Tuesday against Columbus when they won 3-2 in a shootout.

Tim Thomas (29-9-8, 2.03, .938) is expected to be in goal tonight for Boston. He has had an incredible season that has kept him at the head of the Vezina Trophy race all year. Pekka Rinne (25-20-8, 2.09, .929) has been his closest rival in save percentage and goals against average. It will be interesting to see the two face off in a rare meeting.

After tonight, things will not get any easier for the Predators as Detroit will be at the Bridgestone Arena on Saturday for a 7 p.m. face off. On Sunday, 21 hours later, the Preds will play the Sabres in Buffalo, 700 miles away.

If you don't have tickets for tonight there are big things going on with College Night and a St. Patrick's Day promotion too.

Other previews come from Amanda DiPaolo, Bryan Mullen, David Boclair, Paul McCann, Predatorial, HNIN, Sam Page, The Tennessean, Preds Insider, and Predators.com.

Previews from a Bruins point of view come from The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Bruins Blog, CSN Northeast, The Bruins Blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder, NESN, Hub Hockey, and Something's Bruin.

David Legwand and Pekka Rinne speak after the last meeting with Boston in Nashville.



Programing Note...

Yesterday's RLD Hockey Radio, produced by Ryan Porth, was plenty of fun with special guest Joe Yerdon of NBC's Pro Hockey Talk. We covered a lot of ground including the GM meeting, the Chara hit, the close playoff races, the Devils comeback and ended with a Trophy round table. Go here to listen or download or use the following player.

Listen to internet radio with Ryan Porth on Blog Talk Radio

In Pred Nation...

Ryan Porth discusses the close race that the Preds are in once again.

Section 303 founder Mark Hollingsworth appeared out of nowhere to write a post on Zdeno Chara. I want to see more from Mark.

John Manasso has a feature on Blake Geoffrion at FS TN and talks about the weight of the rookie's name.

Aaron Knoll has a feature about Colin Wilson. Surly he is not writing about the player Barry Trotz called "the winger" on Saturday.

Tyler Davis asks where J P Dumont has been at NHL Hot Stove.

The new concussion protocol went into effect last night. David Poile speaks about the new rules.

Forechecker's empire is growing with yet another new writer, Marc Torrence.

Robby at HNIN had high hopes for a Mike Fisher goal against the Kings and it didn't happen so Fisher is getting called out in this post.

Not surprising news from Craig Custance: David Poile says talks with Shea Weber regarding a contract extension are on hold until the off-season.

Another no brainer from @kausatoday: David Poile said he can't rule out Matthew Lombardi coming back this season, but he hasn't seen any signs that will happen.

The Admirals lost 2-1 in a shootout at the San Antonio Rampage last night but the main storyline was Mark Dekanich leaving the game with an injury.

Predators.com has their weekly Milwaukee Update.

Fifty years ago, Blake Geoffrion's grandfather "Boom-Boom" scored fifty goals to win the league scoring title.

Many folks don't remember part-time Preds radio guy Stu Grimson as "The Grim Reaper." Here is a classic fight on the Kings site of Stu facing off with Marty McSorley in 1994.

Around the NHL...

Vancouver became the first team to clinch a playoff berth with a 4-2 win over Colorado.

The GM meetings ended with discussions about replay and shootouts.

Nick Cotsonika has a great write up about all the GM's watching hockey in a bar, just like normal folks do.

San Jose's Dany Heatley received a two game suspension for a hit to the head of Steve Ott in Tuesday's game.

In a press conference late yesterday, Blues owner Dave Checketts announced that the St Louis franchise was for sale lock, stock, and barrel.

With March Madness starting today, Puck Daddy has 68 reasons why the NHL playoffs are better than the college basketball playoffs. My number one reason would be that the last five minutes of a game doesn't take 20 minutes.

Folks in Winnipeg are drooling now that the Goldwater group is moving forward with a lawsuit. The sale of the bonds appears to be moving forward.

With Vancouver set with a spot in the playoffs, will a better rested Roberto Luongo lead to better playoff success.

MIchael Farber has a feature story on Mark Recchi who will be in town tonight.

Adrian Dater found a sign that Adam Foote plans to retire at the end of the season.

Steve Lapore looks at positive changes at Versus including a full updated NHL Overtime show late night. Steve also has dates for two more weeks of NBC playoff coverage.

The Hockey News explains their process for determining who is a prospect for their Future Watch issue that is currently out.

Intent to Blow has the story of Colin Campbell telling the players to quit hitting each other in the head.

Odds and Ends...

The Motorola Xoom WiFi version is set to release on March 27 with discounted prices as low as $539. The "I wants" are going to get the best of me.

So sad. The Space Shuttle Discovery is undergoing an "autopsy" before it goes to the Smithsonian Museum.

The Hairpin has surreal bra ads from the past. These seem fairly tame compared to the stuff you see today.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass