Blake Geoffrion Has First NHL Fight with Derek MacKenzie (Video)

Blake Geoffrion was involved in his first NHL fight on Friday night with 5:08 remaining in the second period of the Predators 4-1 win over Columbus at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Geoffrion has only two pro fights in the AHL fights to his credit according to HockeyFights.com. Derek MacKenzie was also a relative novice in the fight arena with only one prior NHL fight in 125 games.

After the game Geoffrion commented, "It's just one of those things that happens in the game of hockey. Tempers kind of flare and it is what it is. I'm glad I didn't loose."

The crowd went crazy after the fight and started a new chant for the first time cheering "Geoff-ri-on" repeatedly. "That was pretty cool. Anytime the crowd chants your name it is pretty awesome."

His fellow players seemed to enjoy seeing the hometown rookie stepping up. Shane O'Brien went by the penalty box and tapped the glass in a sign of support.

Geoffrion appreciated the gesture, "I got a lot of support from the guys and it was pretty special."

It's not likely that we will see many more fight's from the young Brentwood native so this is one to remember.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Predators Wrap Up Playoff Spot with 4-1 Win over Columbus

The Nashville Predators did what was needed in piecing together a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night at the Bridgestone Arena. It was the 17th consecutive win for the Preds over the Jackets in Nashville dating back to start of the 2006-07 season.

Patrick Hornqvist scored two goals to lead the Predators' attack while Matt Halischuk and Sergei Kostitsyn each had single markers. Derick Brassard had the lone goal for the Jackets.

Pekka Rinne had a masterful night in net for the Predators, stopping 44 of 45 shots, many of which were highlight reel saves. Steve Mason allowed four goals on 25 Predator shots.

Rinne said, "It was just one of those nights. They shot everything, and you have to give some credit to the team. I was able to make some saves tonight so I was obviously pretty happy."

The game started off with the Predators clearly controlling play. A few minutes into the game, a catfish was hurled all the way to the center of the ice just inside the Preds' blue line. Play was not suspended as several rushes passed by the dead bottom-dweller.

With the fish still on the ice, Hornqvist took a pass from Mike Fisher at and buried it past Mason at the 6:00 mark to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. For the remainder of the period, the Jackets seemed to play rope-a-dope with the Preds trying to bring them down to their level of play.

The Predators came out in the second period with quick back to back goals to extend the lead to 3-0. At 1:48, Halischuck made a masterful move driving through the slot to slip the puck under Mason's pad. At 2:42, Hornqvist stole the puck at the right board and made a move past two Jacket players and then snapped the puck into the net for his second goal of the evening.

As the second stanza was winding down, Brassard broke up Rinne's shutout attempt wit 1:28 remaining in the period.

The final Predator goal was on a neat move where Hornqvist fired a pass across the blue ice to a charging Kostitsyn who met the puck at the net to make it 4-1 Predators.

For the third game in a row the Predators opponent scored soon after a fight. This time the protagonists were Blake Geoffrion, in his first NHL fight, against Derek McKenzie who is also not known for his pugilistic skills with only one prior fight at the highest level.

The game also marked the return of Steve Sullivan who had not played since February 24th. He skated 13 shifts for 10:05 minutes on the ice. He did not hit the scorecard other than for a two minute tripping penalty.

Sullivan explained, "(Getting back) takes a lot more than you would think. Those boys are fast and in great shape. It takes a little while. I'm glad to get one under."

The Predators have one more game and their destiny is in their hands. If the Preds win against St. Louis on Saturday night, they will clinch fourth place and home ice in the opening round. They finished the game in fourth place with 99 points but hold the tiebreaker with Phoenix who also has 99 points.

Rinne was clear, "We still have a lot on the table. We can still finish fourth. I think we need a little help from other teams but it is still in our hands. That would be amazing to start at home."

Sullivan was positive on the playoff picture, "It's good to go in on our own merits. We want to be a team going into the playoffs on the right foot. The way the guys have been playing lately is a good thing."

Barry Trotz was reflective on the win, "This group has been resilient all year. A month ago, we weren't in the playoffs. We were hovering around ninth or tenth."

"We have played top teams and had to bring it every night. There were some nights that we weren't at our best but Pekka Rinne has been at his best. He is our MVP and without a doubt, he is the best goaltender in the National Hockey League."

Trotz declined to give any hints about the goaltender for Saturday's game. "I'm not going to decide until after midnight and don't call me," he said in jest.

The Predators left for St. Louis immediately after the game and will finish the regular season at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis against the Blues.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Predators' Home Finale Could be the Playoff Clincher and Friday Findings

The stage is set in Music City for the Nashville Predators (43-26-11) to secure a playoff berth if they can get a point against the Columbus Blue Jackets (34-33-13) tonight at the Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are looking for more than just a playoff berth as a pair of wins to close out the season would give them a reasonable shot at home ice if Phoenix and Los Angeles split each of their weekend series against San Jose and Anaheim respectively.

The Predators have won sixteen straight games against Columbus in Nashville and the Blue Jackets would like nothing more than to block Nashville's entrance into the playoffs and end the streak.

The Jacket's futility in Nashville is documented by Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch, "As you know, they are 0-11-5 since the start of the 2006-07 season. It's the longest current streak of futility in the NHL. But in the past two seasons, for reasons that remain unexplained, the cost has been much higher than another 'L' in the Music City. The last five trips to Nashville have triggered losings streaks of: 5-games, 9-games, 2-games, 5-games and 7-seven games."

This is the fifth meeting between the two teams this season. The Preds lost the first meeting 2-0 on November 22 at Nationwide in a perfect outing for the Jackets. On December 1st, Steve Sullivan had the shootout winner in a 4-3 Nashville win. On January 2, the Predators took a 4-1 win in the "paint peeling" game in the first meeting of the year at Bridgestone Arena. On February 22, the Predators looked horrible losing 4-0 in Columbus.

On February 27, the Preds won 3-2 in Nashville. Coming into that game, the Predators had lost four in a row and were in danger of falling into 12th place with a loss. Since that game, the Predators have gone 12-3-3 and have risen to fifth place while the Jackets went 3-10-7 and are mired in 13th place in the Western Conference.

The Blue Jackets have nothing to lose and are playing on a wing and a prayer. Rick Nash has been shut down for the season and Steve Mason (24-19-7, 2.97, .903) is hoping to fell well enough to be in net. Kris Russel is also out with a broken ankle, suffered in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to Dallas.

Per Josh Cooper, Barry Trotz said "there's a chance Sullivan could return before the end of the regular season." I would not expect to see him against Columbus. Also, it appears that Marty Erat, who left the game on Tuesday night, will not play which may allow J.P. Dumont to return to the line-up if Sullivan doesn't go.

Pekka Rinne (32-21-9, 2.14, .929) will be in net for the Predators and is likely to finish out the season against the Blues tomorrow night. The Predators will leave immediately after the game to travel to St. Louis for the last regular season game.

The Predators are offering a special Bonus College Night tonight sponsored by Best Buy. Tickets are $25 for the lower bowl and $10 for upstairs with a student ID while they last. All fans in attendance will receive a Predators team poster.

Other Game previews come from Amanda DiPaolo, Marc Torrence, Predatorial, The Tennessean, and Predators.com.

Game Previews from Ohio come from the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

Game Notes from NHL Media Services can be found here.

In Pred Nation...

The most unbelievable news to come out in a while comes from Jim Diamond. Pekka Rinne's jersey did actually fly on the space shuttle discovery in February. How could they not figure this out before now?

Josh Cooper writes that he Predators are still waiting and points out that the Preds winning ways follows the offense of Sergei Kostitsyn.

David Boclair discusses the quiet, steady leadership provided by Shea Weber in his first year as captain.

Dirk Hoag looks at the numbers to determine if Shea Weber is a Norris contender.

Dirk also found this little gem where the Preds may play the Capitals in a preseason game labeled the Baltimore Hockey Classic on September 20. A press conference is set for Monday.

No Thursday night game means Mark Willoughby's "My View" was up early this week.

Fang Faction takes a look at the talent brewing in Milwaukee.

Darren Eliot states the obvious in his SI piece saying that Nashville's hopes rest on Pekka Rinne.

Barry Trotz finishes second to Dan Bylsma in The Hockey News' picks for the Jack Adams Award. The Hockey News also awards their Calder picks.

Kris Martel looks at a fork in the road on February 27 when Columbus and Nashville headed in diferent directions.

Chris Burton says David Poile chose to play with "house money" at the trade deadline.

Several Preds do well in Kevin Allen's unofficial awards.

Cody Franson was on Puck Daddy Radio yesterday. He is on at the 32 minute mark.

The Milwaukee Admirals have several promotions going on as they try to clinch the Western Division tonight against the Texas Stars.

Around the NHL...

The NHL mourns the passing of EJ Maguire, VP of Central Scouting. He was 58. Here's a great story on his last meeting.

First the octopus in Detroit, then the catfish in Nashville, and now salmon are hitting the ice in Vancouver.

Adam Foote is expected to announce his retirement today at 11 a.m. local time at the Pepsi Center.

Vancouver's Raffi Torres was given a four game suspension for his hit on Jordan Eberle which will be the Canucks final two regular season games and the first two playoff games.

Patrick Hoffman looks at the messy goalie situation in Philadelphia.

Carolyn Christians looks at how the race for eight in the east has raised the bar.

Kingscast hit Episode #100! This is one to see as they look back at the history of the show.

Adam Proteau takes a look at his preseason predictions to see how they turned out. We will do this when the season is over. Here was my midseason look.

It was confirmed yesterday that Henrik Zetterberg is out for the regular season and day to day for the postseason.

From @Sean_Leahy: Versus will air the 2011 #NHL Draft Lottery next Tuesday, April 12 at 8 p.m. ET. That's really something to look forward to on an off night for the NHL.

Jon Jordan at Kukla's Korner is running a playoff beard contest. Go here for the rules.

Odds and Ends...

In an odd move, The Hangover 2 trailer was pulled form theaters. Here is what they don't want you to see.

Here's a photo slide show of a few last big west coast waves from winter. I really like the views since I've seen most of these beaches.

For those who long to own a Commodore 64, your chance is coming.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Clash of Enemies and Trade Deadline Monday Round-Up

After yesterday's game, the first thing Barry Trotz said was "It was a war." That pretty much summed it up in four words. As in any war, it was actually made up of many small battles that culminated in a final victory as the sixty minute clock wore down.

I have about decided that in spite of the lopsided win-loss record in favor of the Predators that the Jackets-Preds rivalry may be one of the strongest ones in the league and certainly for Nashville since the lockout.

The winning goal came from none other than David Legwand, a player that has given his all for the Predators and played the last part of the game in spite of a injured foot that had to be covered in ice after his skate was removed.

The two teams really do not like each other... at all. Legwand spoke of the Jackets, "That's one of our enemies over there and they played us hard."

There were minor skirmishes throughout the game that intensified as the clock wore down. With ten seconds left in the game, R. J. Umberger knocked captain Shea Weber into the dasher board face first that left a bloody gash beside his right eye. The officials whistled nothing.

The hit was worse than the boarding call against Weber in Dallas on Saturday and Shea took exception to the no-call. On the ensuing play, after a Predator time out with six seconds left Weber's hatred for the Jackets erupted again as he was charged with a roughing penalty as well as a cross check.

The Dark Blue Jacket gives another side of the story talking about Weber's "petticoats". I hope those two never meet because they'll need more than Petticoats to clean up the blood..

Later on in the evening, Aaron Portzline indicated that the league was reviewing the end of game skirmish with a Tweet saying, "Told the NHL is reviewing actions of #Preds D Shea Weber - two x-checks, one punch on Tyutin - @ end of today's game."

As Barry Trotz has said on numerous occasions, the Predators never take the easy way. So, once again, if Weber is accessed supplemental discipline and the Predators have to pluck another player from Milwaukee then it will be one more example of "the Predator Way."

Predators - Blue Jackets Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night with postgame video. As a supplement to yesterday's story, the Preds finished the day with 72 points and in tent place. Minnesota, Dallas and Chicago are also at 72 and are in seventh through ninth place.

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

Yesterday's win was sweet but Jim Diamond has the great story about Blake "Boomer" Geoffrion's welcome to Nashville during warm-ups.

David Boclair has his story at The City Paper with a twist about a different role for Shea Weber..

From the blog world reports come from Ryan Porth, Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Dirk Hoag (with his advances stats), Jeremy Gover, Predatorial, and Fang Finger Fever.

Special recognition to Robby of Hockey Night in Nashville who spent his first game on Bloggers Row and in the post game locker room. Great Job!

The sad stories from yesterday's game come from the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

Postgame audio from the Predators comes from Jon Blum, Blake Geoffrion, David Legwand, and Shea Weber. Blue Jacket audio comes from Rick Nash, Kris Russell, Fedor Tyutin, and Coach Scott Arneil.

In Pred Nation...

A note from last night from the Predators indicated that practice was canceled for today.

Josh Cooper spoke with David Poile about the swirling trade rumors during yesterday's game.

Yesterday's no-goal call that went against Columbus is the object of questioning the NHL war room at Puck Daddy. It appeared to be a goal but I never saw a good camera angle on it.

Dirk Hoag was up early with his morning links today.

Around the NHL...

The last first rounder from the 2003 draft finally made his first NHL appearance. Ex Pred Hugh Jessiman hit the ice with the Florida Panthers yesterday. He had two shots in 12 shifts and 9:31 of ice time in the Panthers 2-1 loss to the Devils.

A couple of early trades went down last night. The Anaheim Ducks sent David Laliberte and Steaputfan Chaput to Boston Bruins for Brian McGrattan and Sean Zimmerman. Then the Buffalo Sabres picked up Brad Boyes from St. Louis for a second rounder.

Kevin Allen has his deadline day preview and reminds folks that the deadline last year that produced 31 deals involving 55 players was two days after the Olympic roster freeze was lifted.

One player in numerous trade rumors appears to be staying put as Chris Phillips signed a three year deal with Ottawa.

Matthew Hulsizer tells FSAZ that he Coyotes deal will close despite the recent delays.

It doesn't sound like The Sporting News-Fanhouse deal went as smoothly as anticipated.

Odds and Ends...

Are you ready for for some "baby gaga" breast milk ice cream?

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Predators Win Critical Game Against Columbus 3-2

The Nashville Predators won one of the most critical games of the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Bridgestone Arena. The Predators scored all three of their goals in the third period.

As the clock ticked down and the Preds were hanging on to a 3-2 lead the season could have been hanging in the balance. A loss to Columbus would have moved the Jackets past the Preds in the standings. However, with the win the Predators moved back in to the top eight in the Western Conference which could change with further action tonight.

Barry Trotz said, "It was a war!" That was highly descriptive of two teams that were desperate for a win on the day before the trade deadline when teams have to decide if they are buyers or sellers and whether they are committed to the playoff race all the way to the end.

The Predators scoring came from Shea Weber, Jon Blum, and David Legwand who had the game winner with 1:35 remaining. The Jackets got goals from Matt Calvert and Kris Russell.

Pekka Rinne got the win in net stopping 25 of 27 Columbus shots. Mathieu Garon took the loss allowing three goals on 28 shots.

Rinne was relieved after the game, "It's about time. We've been working hard. It's been a tough go for us for sure. We play almost every second night and we've been losing so it's draining but that's the best thing. You always get a new chance and we responded. Now we can build a little bit of winning streak. It will be a big road trip for us. Big win tonight."

The first period was reminiscent of so many we have seen lately. Chippiness was at a premium as you would expect between two teams that really do not like each other. There were few shots and minimal stoppages as the Predators out shot the Jackets 6-5 while Columbus led the Corsi 21-11.

The middle Period was all Columbus, primarily due to a series of penalties that kept the Preds on their heels. The Predators appeared to catch a break at 12:25 when after one of the longest reviews in league history the officials gave the no-goal sign to Columbus on a shot where the puck appeared to be in the net.

Shea Weber was called for hooking at 13:04 and on the resulting power play Calvert scored his second goal in a week against the Preds at 14:17 to put the Jackets ahead 1-0.

For the second period, Columbus out shot Nashville 12-9 with half of their shots on the man advantage. The Corsi was even more lopsided at 25-13.

The Predators came out in the third period with a determination not seen in about ten days. Weber scored at 1:47 on a shot that almost killed Jan Hejda as the slap shot appeared to bounce of Hejda's face into the Columbus net.

At 7:18, Blum threaded the needle through a pack of players to score his first NHL goal and put the Preds ahead 2-1. "My first goal, especially at home, I couldn't stop smiling," said Blum. "After I scored, the fans - it was so loud and you don't see that kind type of atmosphere in the minors."

Columbus came back to score on Russell's unassisted goal at 12:34 and I'm sure the Predators felt an eerie case of deja vu from some of their recent third period troubles.

The hero of the game turned out to be Legwand who picked up a rebound off of a Martin Erat shot at 18:25 and flipped it into the net to put the Preds back in the lead 3-2.

The win was the Predators sixteenth straight at home against Columbus. Barry Trotz was asked about the streak and gave tribute to the fans in his answer. "The teams are very close and the difference is that much (holding two fingers an inch apart). Maye it's those people out there that give us that edge. It's hard not to play hard in front of our fans. They are always great."

The Predators now head out west for games in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and San Jose and will not play at home again until they face Minnesota on March 10. After this road trip, the Preds play 12 of their last 15 at home.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Gut Check Time in Nashville and Wednesday Wrap-Up

It's gut check time in Nashville for the Predators. Granted, they have been decimated by injuries, but the effort by those who were healthy was not what it needed to be in last night's 4-0, no-show loss to Columbus.

While some may want to blame the coaches for the lack of effort, they are not the ones on the ice. In the last couple of weeks we have seen outstanding efforts as well as ones like last night in the third period. A few individual players have been virtually invisible on the ice.

Due to the graciousness of those around them, the Predators managed to hang on to sixth place in the Western Conference at 70 points in spite of the loss. With 22 games remaining, it looks like they will need 13 to 15 wins to be in the hunt for at least the final playoff position.

The Predators need to rebound tomorrow night against Chicago and play with confidence and play a full sixty minutes. When they travel to Dallas on Saturday, they need to kick the Stars while they are down in the midst of a current five game losing streak and then come home and play with intensity against the Jackets on Sunday afternoon.

Preds-Jackets Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night.

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

From the blog world reports come from Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Dirk Hoag (with his advances stats), Jeremy Gover, Predatorial, What the Puck, and Hockey Night in Nashville.

Happier stories from last night's game come from the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

Hockey Fights has the Jordin Totoo-Jared Boll tussle.

Programming Note...

Ryan Porth at RLD Radio has scored a major coup rounding up TSN's Darren Dreger during trade deadline week for his show at noon Central today. John Forslund will also be featured in what should be an outstanding show in spite of my efforts as co-host once again. Be sure and join us live or on podcast after the fact.

In Preds Nation...

The Edmonton Journal speculates that last night's game was an audition of Jon Blum's talent for the Oilers' scouts.

The Fourth Period finally got around to running Ryan Porth's conversation with Mike Fisher.

It was shaky, but Anders Lindback won his AHL debut in a 5-4 Ads victory.

Predators.com has their weekly Admirals update.

Around the NHL...

Ryan Porth had a conversation with Shane Doan before the Preds-Yotes game on Saturday. Regardless of the hit on Ryan Suter, Doan is a good guy.

RLD Hockey also had a good synopsis of what's left on the schedule for all thirty teams.

Steve Lapore has suggestions to improve Hockey Day in America.

I love this stuff. Erik Johnson wants payback against the Blues. That is old school hockey. He did score a goal against the Blues in last nights 4-3 Avs win which broke their ten game losing streak.

In spite of the Avs breaking the streak, Peter Stastny ripped the Avalanche for making the big trade over the weekend.

Predator fans can cheer on ex-Pred Nolan Yonkman who caused Jody Shelly to have 60 stitches during the Coyotes 3-2 win over the Flyers last night.

The sale of the Buffalo Sabres to Terry Pegula was finally completed yesterday and he promised to revive the Buffalo scouting department to everyone's delight.

Odds and Ends...

How about non-alcoholic beer as a new sports drink. I don't see that this will catch on.

If these figures about the value of Facebook posts and Likes and Tweets are correct, I should be rich.

Here are a list and discussion of social media measuring tools so you can count your millions from your tweets.

Amazon is upping the bar in the online streaming fight with Netflix by offering free streaming of 5000 movies to its Amazon Prime package.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Blue Jackets Blow Away Predators 4-0

The cannon at Nationwide Arena was quiet for two periods but made up for lost ground in the third when the Columbus scored four times and Steve Mason was perfect in net to give the Blue Jackets a 4-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.

The Jackets got two goals from Captain Rick Nash and one each from Matt Calvert and Antoine Vermette for far more offense than was needed on a night when the Predators had little offensive punch. Kris Russel and Fedor Tyutin each had a pair of assists and Vermette had an assist for two point nights.

Mason stopped all 20 Predator shots in route to his third shut out of the year. Pekka Rinne had little support from his defense as he allowed four goals on 30 Columbus shots.

The first period featured plenty of back and forth action with the Jackets out shooting the Predators 13-6 and leading the Corsi 24-13. Both teams were chippy with Nashville leading the hits 16-13.

The second period was almost the opposite of the first with the Preds leading the shots 11-4 and the Corsi 17-13. R. J. Umberger had the best chance of the period by either team on a breakaway at 10:00 but was denied by Rinne.

The final period was one of the worst of the year for the Predators. The Jackets broke the scoreless tie at 1:11 into the period. Nash took the puck down the left wing all the way from the red line and cut toward the net from the circle and was like a bull in a china shop as he blew past Kevin Klein for the goal.

At 4:29, after a Shane O'Brien roughing call, the Preds had a major melt down when Rinne tried to play a puck behind his net but Alexander Sulzer deflected the puck and Calvert grabbed the puck and did a wrap around into an unguarded Nashville net to give the Jackets a 2-0 lead.

The wheels came completely off at 9:56 when Vermette was allowed to stand unencumbered in the blue ice where he took a pass from Russel and deflected it into the net to make it 3-0 Jackets.

The icing on the cake for Columbus was a beautiful tic-tack-toe power play goal at 19:10 when Nash scored his second goal after perfect passes from Vermette and Jakub Voracek to give the Jackets a 4-0 victory.

As poor as the Preds' defense was in the third, the offense matched the effort with the Jackets out shooting Nashville 13-3 and blistering them in the Corsi 21-8.

Jonathon Blum had a fairly good first game in the NHL considering how those around him were playing. He skated 19 shifts for a total of 16:02. He had two hits, two blocked shots, and was a minus 1 on the evening. He had no glaring errors during the game.

Jordin Tootoo appeared to be more like himself as he squared off with Jared Boll in the closing minutes of the game in a fight where he gave up five inches of height and even more in reach. That should set the stage for some bad blood in the rematch on Sunday in Nashville.

The Predators returned home immediately after the game where they will have to regroup before facing the World Champion Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at the Bridgestone Arena.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Injured Predators Head to Columbus and Tuesday Tidbits

The Nashville Predators (31-23-8) travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets (29-23-6) for the last time this season at Nationwide Arena with a 6 p.m. Central puck drop.

The Predators have been inconsistent lately going 4-3-2 during February while the Jackets have played their best hockey of the season going 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

The teams have met three times this season with the Preds winning twice. The Preds lost the first meeting 2-0 on November 22 at Nationwide in a perfect outing for the Jackets. On December 1st, Steve Sullivan had the shootout winner in a 4-3 Nashville win. On January 2, the Predators took a 4-1 win in the "paint peeling" game in the only meeting of the year at Bridgestone Arena.

Ryan Suter, who was injured in Saturday's game with Phoenix, did not travel with the team leaving the Predators with Wade Belak as the sixth defenseman at Monday's practice. There was an indication that Aaron Johnson, Teemu Laakso, Jon Blum, or Roman Josi would be recalled.

No official announcement has been made but the NHL Game Notes indicates that Blum is on the roster. Predators are hopeful of Suter's return from his "upper body" injury on Thursday.

Pekka Rinne (21-15-6, 2.10, .930) is probable in net for the Predators while either Steve Mason (20-14-2, 3.05, .903) or Mathieu Garon (9--9-4, 2.60, .904) could start for Columbus.

The Predators will meet Columbus again on Sunday at the Bridgestone Arena in a special 2 p.m. start time. Before then, they will play the Blackhawks at home on Thursday and at Dallas on Saturday afternoon.

Other Predator previews come from Amanda DiPaolo, Chris Burton, The Tennessean, Predatorial, and Predators.com.

Previews from the other side comes from the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

In Pred Nation...

Josh Cooper has an injury update and a discussion about Steve Sullivan's mask. Josh also has defensive options that he Preds may use.

Bryan Mullen discusses Suter's injury situation.

David Boclair has a pair of posts, one about the tight Western Conference, and the other about the defensive shuffle that we should see tonight.

Amanda DiPaolo looks at the tough stretch of four games in less than six days that the Preds are facing.

Jeremy Gover has the latest on Roman Josi's 13 game point streak. He should contend for a roster spot in training camp next fall.

Predatorial provides evidence that the NHL seems to be letting other teams take advantage of the Predators.

Hockey Night in Nashville points to the importance of having two good goalies.

Paul McCann was not happy with WSMV's preemption of the NHL on NBC's pregame show on Sunday in favor of an infomercial. WSMV continues to prove that they do not like hockey. I guess that's why you never see the bumbling Rudy Kalis at the games.

We have to add People Magazine to our new list of sources as they have the weekly Carrie and Mike update.

Around the NHL...

The trades just keep coming. Pittsburgh obtained James Neal and Matt Niskanen from Dallas for Alex Goligoski. This doesn't seem like an even deal. Rob Rossi has the Pittsburgh reaction.

Ryan Porth has the remaining top trade targets. It is not an impressive list.

Kevin Allen has ten things about the upcoming trade deadline.

View from My Seats is going straight to the fans for answers about this year's trade deadline.

It appears that the Avalanche will not make Coach Joe Sacco or GM Greg Sherman pay for the teams horrible fall with their jobs.

Brandon Worley has some thoughts on the lack of leadership on the Dallas Stars and how it has contributed to their current slump.

Here is an idea from @TSNBobMcKenzie: If you want to follow NHL/pro players on twitter, go here. This is how you know they are legit.

Adrian Dater pointed out this great piece of what not to do in the pressbox. It appears we have some work to do on Blogger's Row.

Joel Quenneville is expected to return to the Blackhawk bench in time for Thursday's game with the Predators.

Dan Bradley has some game operation nightmares from around the NHL.

Odds and Ends...

Now that Verizon has the ad for the Motorola Xoom on their site, I can officially get the "I wants".

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Trotz Peals The Paint and Monday Musings

Note: There will not be a POTG episode this week.

The Nashville Predators appeared to be headed for another lackadaisical effort last night in the first period after falling behind quickly 37seconds into the game. Pekka Rinne made several key saves to keep the Preds close as the period wound down. Things were going so poorly that Barry Trotz had to use his time out with 37 seconds left in the period.

Based on the quotes from Colin Wilson and Pekka Rinne that Josh Cooper got last night, it sounds as if Trotz pealed as much paint off the walls as he ever has and it was highly effective, this time.

The fact that Trotz does this once in a blue moon does is the reason that it yielded good results. You hear about other coaches "losing the room" and that is probably a result of going to the well with the same tactics too many times.

I feel sure Trotz's outburst last night was a built up over time due to being frustrated at seeing partial effort and off periods. Fans feel the same way but don't have the opportunity to express their frustration.

Nashville has a tough month ahead of them with only two more home games scheduled. The Predators have had success in the past few years on West coast road trips and hopefully will do so again this time. The comeback win over Columbus could be a good springboard for a successful trip.

With the win last night, the Preds jumped over the Jackets in the standings and finished the evening in ninth place in the Western Conference with 44 points. The Preds next opponent, Anaheim, jumped from eight to fifth last night with a 2-1 win over Chicago last night and are within reach at 46 points.

Predators - Blue Jackets Round-Up...

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

Bryan Mullen had his game story and notes column.

David Boclair has his story at The City Paper.

From the blog world reports come from Ryan Porth, Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Dirk Hoag (with his advances stats), Patten Fuqua, Fang Finger Fever, and Hockey Night in Nashville.

Audio clips provided by the Predators include Shea Weber, Patric Hornqvist, and Nick Spaling. Columbus clips include Rick Nash, Kris Russel, Jan Heida, and Coach Scott Arniel.

To read the Blue Jacket's side of the game story, check out the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

In Pred Nation...

Hockey's Future takes a look at the Pred prospects in Milwaukee.

Mike MacDonald takes a look at the Predators' tough January schedule.

Milwaukee was able to hold off San Antonio 3-1 at the Bradley Center on Sunday night. Jeremy Smith was the winner in goal.

World Junior Championship...

Ryan Ellis led Canada to a 4-1 quarterfinal win over Switzerland last night. Canada will face Team USA tonight with a 6:38 p.m. puck drop on NHL Network.

Sweden and Russia face off this afternoon and Sweden is a clear favorite.

Scores

Canada 4, Switzerland 1
Russia 4, Finland 3 (OT)

Today's Simi-Finals

Canada vs USA 6:30 p.m.
Russia vs Sweden 2:30 p.m.

Around the NHL...

James O'Brien at PHT takes a mid-year look at the Central division.

Ryan Porth wonders how the Winter Classic could improve on this year's event.

Adrian Dater doesn't like the odds of Denver hosting the next Winter Classic.

Early ratings numbers for the Winter Classic showed the move to a night game to have been a hughe success. Steve Lapore has the story.

Bill Metzer feels the Winter Classic is worth keeping around in spite of this year's rain.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Explode With Three Goals in the Second Period to Beat Jackets 4-1

Shea Weber led the Nashville Predators to their 15th straight home victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 4-1 win at the Bridgestone Arena Sunday evening. Weber had a goal and two assists, all during an explosive second period when the team scored three goals.

The Predators played a sub-par first period but played as well as they have lately for the rest of the game. Other Predator goals came from Nick Spaling, Patric Hornqvist, and Sergei Kostitsyn. Colin Wilson had two assists and Hornqvist had one for a two point game.

At the end of the first period, Trotz was not happy with the teams performance. Shane O'Brien explained, "Trotzy wasn't happy with the way we came out, being a division game, and he let us know about it. We're professional and all grown men so maybe it woke us up a little bit and we played a really good second and third period. For whatever reason, we didn't have our game in the first and we found it in the second and third."

Pekka Rinne stopped 19 of 20 Columbus shots in route to his tenth win of the season. Rinne commented, "The first period we didn't play that well but after that we played really well in the second and third. The pucks I saw after the first I saw really well."

Steve Mason was victimized by his own defense who allowed a couple of loose puck goals in the second period and traffic in front of the net for the entire game. Mason stopped 22 of 26 shots from the Preds.

The Predators did not start the game the way they had hoped. Thirty-seven seconds into the contest Umberger tipped an innocent looking wrister from Derek Brassard that made it past Rinne's glove and into the net to give the Jackets a quick 1-0 lead.

"If you ever want to suck the energy out of a building, then give up a goal on the first shift," said Barry Trotz.

Late in the first period, Rinne had a several excellent saves near the end of the period to keep the game close. The Jackets out shot the Preds 8-7 for the period and led the Corsi 20-16.

Trotz was forced to use his time out with 37 second remaining in the first after an icing call and his players had been out for almost a minute.

The second period started much better for the Preds as they dominated possession before and after a sharp goal by Weber at 2:59. The play developed as Colin Wilson pushed a perfect pass off to Weber who nailed the one-timer from near the blue line to tie the game 1-1.

Wilson explained the goal, "We had a really slow first period so to get that goal was a real turning point. Webby was kind of far out there, basically on the blue line,and he's got a hard enough shot that it's going to get there quick."

The Predators continued to dominate the period and went ahead 2-1 at 13:51 on a Spaling's second goal of the season. The play developed When Joel Ward passed the puck to Weber who blasted a slapper that rebounded to a falling Spaling who was able to slip the puck past Mason into the open side of the net.

The Preds came back again with a power play goal at 16:50 that mirrored the Spaling goal as Weber shot from out front and a falling Hornqvist was able to shoot the puck over Mason to give the Preds a 3-1 lead. The Preds' man advantage was the result of a Fedor Tyutin holding call at 15:49.

A mild scuffle broke out at 19:23 between Derek Dorsett and Francis Bouillon that sent box of them to the box for roughing.

For the period, the Preds out shot Columbus 11-5 and led the Corsi 19-12 with Columbus getting any real pressure on goal as they were able to do in the opening period.

The Predators struck again at 5:53 in the third when Kostitsyn picked up a rebound from a Colin Wilson shot and slipped it into the net to put the Preds up 4-1 and give the Bridgestone Arena crowd of 14,593 free Frosty's from Wendy's, a rare treat in Nashville.

The game ended with a scuffle between Wade Belak and a couple of Jackets as the two team's dislike for each other finally boiled over.

In the final period, the Preds out shot Columbus 8-7 to give them a 26-20 advantage for the game. Nashville was one for three on the power play and killed all three Blue Jacket power plays.

The only negative from the game occurred at 7:58 in the third period when Cal O'Reilly had to be helped off the ice as he could not put any weight on his right leg. After the game Trotz gave the prognosis "It doesn't look very good. I think he's going to miss some time."

It was later revealed that he had suffered a broken fibula which would probably mean that he would not return for months.

The Predators will have Monday off and practice Tuesday before leaving for a three game West coast trip that begins with a game in Anaheim on Wednesday and then the Kings and Sharks on Thursday and Saturday.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Predators' Roller-Coaster Ride on the Upswing and Thursday Thoughts

In the topsy-turvy Western Conference, a two game win streak can take you from the outhouse to being in the middle of the pack. The Predators, with 27 points find themselves tied for ninth and only two points behind second place Dallas.

The Predators' season at 10-8-5 is about as odd as it could get so far. They were the last undefeated in regulation team going 5-0-3 to start the season and were atop the league standings on October 24 after back to back road wins over Dallas and Tampa Bay that look pretty impressive at this point.

Then they tanked for the five game losing streak. Since that time, they are 6-3-2 with the six wins being split into three pairs and a four game losing streak (with two OT loses) thrown in there to keep fans off balance.

So in spite of fairly decent play for the last eleven games (exceptions - one period in Toronto, and Minnesota), fans have never been able to get comfortable with this team. The entire season has been like a giant theme park roller-coaster ride with very high highs and lower lows.

I said on Tuesday morning that this team was a four game win streak away from fourth or fifth place and it appears they are half way to that goal. If they can win on Saturday against Carolina and a few other games fall into place, they could be in the middle of the Western Conference race, at least for a few days.

It is a long season, and I think some of the worst is over for the Predators and that they will indeed grow from what they have been through as Barry Trotz always likes to point out. I don't foresee the Western Conference being a place where anyone will be "comfortable" for the rest of the season.

If you have a weak stomach, I would advise buying Tums or Alka-Seltzer in bulk because I think you are going to need them.

Predators-Blue Jackets Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night.

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

From the blog world reports come from Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Dirk Hoag (with his advances stats), and Hockey Night in Nashville.

The sad side of the story comes from the Columbus Dispatch, The Dark Blue Jacket, and The Cannon.

The final commentary on the game comes from a parody Twitter account from the BJ's new mascot @CBJBoomer Life sucks. Then they make you get into this damn suit. Wish I was back spinning that sign on the roadside.

In Pred Nation...

Be on the lookout for Predators around town today as they head out into the community after this morning's practice. Late updated from Jim Diamond - Practice canceled today.

Rachel from What The Puck has a post that makes me a bit sad. She is a good writer that I enjoy reading and is being pressured by life to not post as often as usual.

Admirals Short Shifts has the wrap up from Milwaukee's long 10 game road trip. Great goaltending and horrible power play, what other team does that sound like? The Ads played their first home game in forever last night against Manitoba and won 6-3.

Jay Levin has the Western Conference Notebook at Predators.com.

Daniel Bradley is injured and can't type so he substitutes this visual montage as his Preds preview. Funny stuff!

NHL.com featured the Preds win over the Yotes from Tuesday night.

Stephen Yeargin wrote a tribute to Brandi Burton who passed away on Sunday due to her fight with Cancer. Brandi was the child ambassador for Hockey Fight's Cancer and dropped the puck in October before the Preds-Pens game. A moment of silence was held Tuesday before the Preds-Coyotes game.

Paul McCann looks at the loss of two folks in the hockey family which made for an odd juxtaposition on Tuesday night.

Around the NHL...

The annual farce known as Forbes NHL Most Valuable Teams came out again. Would you rather buy a team on the upswing on and off the ice like the Preds at $148 million or the disaster on Long Island for $151 million. Obviously, Forbs has no idea of the disarray in New York.

The one thing Forbes did get right was saying David Poile was the GM that did the most with the least.

The NHL named Sidney Crosby, Carey Price and Dustin Byfuglien as the three stars of the month for November.

Bob McKenzie takes a long thoughtful look at the Chris Botta debacle on Long Island. It is surprising that this decision has not been reversed and that it has gone on as long as it has.

Eric Duhatschek has an article that is basically a eulogy to Jim Kelley at the Globe and Mail. It is amazing that he worked until his death.

Ryan Porth has players and teams to watch in the new month.

Chris Botta caught up with Pat LaFontaine for a discussion about concussions. He is a true advocate helping those with post concussion symptoms.

Bob Wage at Canes Country takes a look at Carolina's rebuilding project. The Hurricanes will be here Saturday night in a return match from last month as one of only three teams from the East that the Preds play twice this season. The other two are Atlanta and Florida.

Mayor's Manor takes another look at The Hockey News Curse.

The Hockey Writers looks at what the NHL is doing for the next thirty days leading up to the Winter Classic.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard was out almost as long as Steve Sullivan but made a cameo, one-game appearance in the middle of his 113 game stint before he played last night against Phoenix.

Changing a fan's flat tie after a game seven loss got Brooks Laich a place on DC's top forty shapers of 2010.

Odds and Ends...

With the NFL stating that there will be "full refunds" for games not played due to a lockout, this may be a good time to try to unload my PSLs for the Titans. With the way they are playing, they aren't worth the paper they are written on. Oh wait, I don't have a piece of paper.

A group is predicting Jesus' return on May 21, 2011 with billboards in Nashville and eight other US cities. Clearly, this is a lie and there is a special place in hell for those who try to mislead folks in the name of Jesus. Mark 13:32 clearly states ""No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." I have never used this web site to preach but if anyone ever has any questions, feel free to ask.

It may be early but NORAD already has their Santa Tracker ready with Google Maps.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Squeak Past Columbus 4-3 In A Shootout

The Nashville Predators played a complete sixty-five minute game and the took the Columbus Blue Jackets to the shootout where Steve Sullivan had the lone goal in the 4-3 Preds victory.

Sullivan's game deciding shoot out goal came when he faked Columbus goalie Steve Mason completely to his right, out of the blue ice, as Sullivan cut back to the other side for a shot at an empty net. In the postgame television interview, he said it wasn't what he had planned but he seemed elated with the result.

During regulation, The Predators had goals from Colin Wilson, Sergei Kostitsyn and Kevin Klein. Marty Erat assisted on Wilson's and Kostitsyn's goal for a two point night.

Antoine Vermette was the player of the game for Columbus, scoring two goals and assisting on Kris Russel's goal for a solid three point performance.

Pekka Rinne continued his solid play, stopping 28 of 31 Columbus shots and all three attempts in the shootout. Steve Mason handled 26 of 29 shots from the Preds.

The Predators penalty kill continued to be outstanding, with a perfect four for four effort. The unit set a new franchise record for going eight games without allowing a power play goal and have 28 kills in a row.

The power play unit was back to its usual level of mediocrity going o-5 after picking up two goals on Tuesday night.

The first period started off with several shaky moments including one sequence where Kevin Klein tipped the puck toward the Preds open net and was saved by the post.

Wilson scored the games first goal on a wrister from in front of the Jackets net at 17:02 to give the Preds a 1-0 lead. Cal O'Reilly had the primary assist while Marry Erat had the secondary assist.

In the first period, the Predators had a pair of power play opportunities and had a couple of shots while the Jackets had one man advantage with one shot. Shots were tied at 10 while Columbus led the Corsi 20-16.

At 7:11 in the second, the Jackets tied the game 1-1 when Vermette picked up a rebound off of a Jan Hejda shot and put it past Rinne for the tally. It was a four on four goal with Jered Smithson and Anton Stralman serving time in the penalty box. With the secondary assist, R.J. Umberger broke the Columbus record for points in consecutive games with ten.

The Predators went ahead at 16:29 when Erat took a pass from Marcel Goc and fired it to the front of the net where Kostitsyn redirected the puck into the net past Mason for his third goal of the season.

During the second period, Nashville out shot Columbus 8-7 while the Jackets led the Corsi 14-13 in an evenly matched effort.

The period ended with the Predators being called for too many men on the ice so the third period began with Columbus on the man advantage. As the penalty expired,at 2:01, the Predators had a poor change and a defensive collapse as Russell went into the slot unattended and put a wrister past a surprised Rinne to tie the game 2-2.

Marty Erat hit the cross bar at 8:42 which was close to putting the Preds back in front. However, the lead went to Columbus at 10:01 when Rick Nash crashed the Predators net on a shot that Rinne stopped with a leg but the rebound went off Wilson's skate straight to Vermette who had an open shot at the net.

The Preds then started peppering the net and Klein took a long shot from the blue line at 11:38 that Mason never saw due to the traffic in front of the net to re-tie the game at 3-3. The goal was unassisted.

For the third period, Columbus out shot the Preds 11-9 and then 3-2 in overtime. Ryan Suter was the key man for the Predators in overtime making several great defensive plays.

In the shootout, Cal O'Reilly and Jakub Voracek, missed in the first round before Sullivan scored in the top of the second. Nash, Erat and Vermette all missed to conclude the skills competition and give the Preds the extra point.

Nashville has now won two in a row and is 6-3-2 in their last eleven games. After the game, they headed home to prepare to play Carolina at the Bridgestone Arena Saturday night at 7 p.m. The loss was Columbus' third in a row.

Notes: Per Josh Cooper, Chet Pickard was visiting from Cincinnati to meet with Mitch Korn and the coaches... Nick Spaling drew penalties twice while Columbus was on the power play to negate their man advantage... Suter may have had his best shift of the year taking out Nash and Russel on an early shift in overtime. In his next OT shift he slowed a three on one rush long enough for the other three Preds to get down ice... Francis Bouillon and Kevin Klein were plus 3 for the game while Ryan Suter and Shea Weber were minus 3.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Columbus Beats Nashville 2-0 in Near Perfect Game

The Nashville Predators went in to Nationwide Arena on Monday night and ran into one of the NHL's hottest teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets had just completed a west coast sweep of Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose and added win number four to their streak with a 2-0 victory.

The Blue Jackets played a near perfect game and kept the Predators away from goalie Steve Mason who stopped all 27 Predator shots in the shutout. Mason played the best game that he has against the Predators in two years.

The Jackets' two goals were scored by Mike Commodore and Rick Nash, who was named the NHL first star of the week earlier in the day.

Columbus was able to take advantage of getting ahead of the Predators on the rush for both of their goals. The Predators seemed frustrated by getting out positioned by a team that they have dominated over the last four seasons.

The Predators managed plenty of shots but they were not of the quality needed to force Mason into making a mistake.

Pekka Rinne stopped 28 of 30 Columbus shots but was victimized by having an open player on the opposite side of the rush on both Blue Jacket goals.

The game started with both teams skating hard and playing very active defense. Columbus got on the scoreboard early at 8:37 when all of the skaters broke down the right side of the ice while Commodore went down the left side by himself. R.J. Umberger fired a cross ice pass to Commodore who put it past Rinne to put the Jackets up 1-0.

Chris Clark was called for hooking Alexander Sulzer at 11:09 to give the Preds a man advantage, They managed three shots but could not convert. Then at 14:30, Steve Sullivan hooked Umberger and the Jackets were also unable to score on a pair of shots.

As the period ended on a delayed call, Marty Erat was called for holding the stick as he skated past Commodore toward the net. As a result, the Jackets would start the second period on the power play.

For the first period, Columbus out shot the Preds 1-9 while Nashville led the Corsi 18-17.

The Jackets' carryover man advantage lasteduntil 1:22 when Antoine Vermette was called for tripping Marcel Goc to take it to four on four. Neither team was able to take advantage of the odd man situations.

Nashville was called for too many men on the ice at 9:20. The Jackets were credited with two shots on their power play.

The Predators got caught on the wrong end of a four on two rush at 14:14 and Jakub Voracek fired a cross ice pass to Nash who was in the clear on Rinne's left side and he was able to put it in the open side of the goal to give the Jackets a 2-0 lead.

Almost immediately, the Preds went on the power play at 14:28 as a result of Jan Hejda interfering with Patric Hornqvist. The Preds had one shot but no goals.

Again, Columbus out shot Nashville for the period, 8-6. The Corsi was tied at 11 in a more defensive minded period.

The third period did not begin any better for the Predators. Jerred Smithson was called for hooking Nikata Filatov at 1:24 to put the Jackets back on the power play where they got one shot.

Columbus continued to out work the Predators and played stifling defense. The Preds got their first break at 15:53 when Commodore was called for holding Smithson. The Preds again got a shot but did not find the net.

Pekka Rinne was pulled with 1:27 left which lasted only eleven seconds until Shane O'Brien took down Voracek who was headed for the empty net at center ice. The game ended quietly as the Jackets played out the clock.

In the final period, the Preds out shot Columbus 12-10 as they scrambled to get on the scoreboard. In the Corsi, the Preds led 18-15.

After the game, the Predators headed back to Nashville where they will practice on Tuesday in preparations for the last home game with St. Louis on Wednesday which will be a national telecast on the Versus Network at 7 p.m. Central.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Game Recap: Predators Edge Jackets 1-0 in Overtime

Barry Trotz Postgame comments


Pekka Rinne, Cody Franson, Colin Wilson and Shea Weber speak.


Coach Claude Noel, Rick Nash, and Mike Commodore speak

The Nashville Predators defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 in overtime on Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena. The win was the Pred's 14th straight over the Jackets in Nashville.

Cody Franson scored the game's only goal 1:54 into the overtime period. Franson was at the blue line and took a pass from Marty Erat who was in the corner and then sent it toward the net on half slap shot. Jacket goalie Steve Mason did not stop it completely and it tipped off his blocker and spun into the net. Mason fell prone to the ice in disgust that he had let an easy one go by.

Franson described the shot, "I didn’t see anybody there and we had guys going so I tried to put it there so hopefully they could beat it to the net and try and bang it in. It went off his blocker a little bit and trickled around and went over the line."

Barry Trotz did not see the goal, "I had just looked down the bench and I saw the puck going to the point and I was just saying ‘Let’s not get anything blocked from the point,’ and then all of a sudden everybody was cheering. Good things happen when you get the puck to the net."

The game almost ended earlier in overtime when Mike Commodore took a long pass from Kris Russel and got a rare breakaway opportunity that Rinne was able to stop. "I couldn't have gotten a better look at it," Commodore explained. "I don't think I've ever done that before at any level. It would have been nice to finish it and snap the streak here." Commodore has not scored a goal since February 9, 2009.

Pekka Rinne was stellar in net once again and extended his shut out streak to 132:21 minutes, going back to Simon Gagne's goal at the 14:18 mark in the third period in Tuesday's game against the Flyers.

Steve Mason was the hard luck loser in this game where he stopped 30 of 31 Predator shots. This has been the story of his sophomore season where he has gone 17-22-7 after winning the Calder Trophy last year as the NHL's top rookie.

Columbus Coach Claude Noel would not place blame on the young goalie, "I thought we played a really good game, the second in two nights, and got three of four points. I thought everyone from Mason on out played tremendously and it was a great game for us. Steve, for me, was fabulous."

Storylines From The Game

Pekka Rinne Has Hit His Stride...

Rinne now has shutouts in three of his last five games and with two in a row, he moves to second all time on the Pred's career shutout leader sheet with 13, behind only Tomas Vokoun. He now has six for the season and moved into fifth in the NHL, two behind Ilya Bryzgalov, who has eight.

As usual, Rinne was modest after the game and shared the glory with his teammates, "It was good. Like I’ve said before, it goes hand-in-hand. I think their team played well defensively, even though early on they had some good chances. I think after that we got it going. They didn’t get much."

In the first period, Rinne made numerous highlight reel saves to keep the game close as the Jackets pelted the Preds with 14 shots. Columbus followed with 12 shots in the second period. the Pred's defense clamped down in the third and allowed only six shots.

Barry Trotz was thrilled with Rinne's game, "He’s been really sharp. Obviously both goalies were sharp tonight. He’s doing a good job. He’s moving his hands, he’s been seeing the puck, and obviously playing very well for us. If he wasn’t playing well I don’t think we’d win a couple of these games."

Rookies Stood Out...

Codey Franson has shown great offensive upside since joining the Predators earlier this season and his defensive play has been a real unexpected plus. In 51 games, he now has six goals and 13 assists and leads the team with a +14 plus/minus rating.

Franson's goal tonight was the difference maker and is now has three game winning goals and leads all rookie d-men in that category. He is also third in goals and fourth in points for rookie defensemen.

Colin Wilson also played another excellent game. After Jason Arnott went down with an injury, he was the best player on the ice during several shifts near the end of the game, working the corners and moving the puck around the ice.

Injury Bug Hits...

In what hopefully won't become a late season trend, the Predators had two players banged up in separate incidents. In the first period, at 13:10, Jared Boll boarded Jordin Tootoo and sent him into the wall at an odd angle. Tootoo laid on the ice for several moments and only played six shifts for the remainder of the game.

Jason Arnott appeared to have a more serious injury when he was slew-footed by a Columbus player on a no-call and fell awkwardly into the boards and received a long gash to the forehead as a result.

Barry Trotz indicated that Arnott would not travel with the team to St. Louis and would be evaluated further. Initial indications were that it was not a concussion. "I'm not really concerned right now, " Trotz said. "Only Jason will be able to let us know."

Moving On Up...

At the end of Saturday's action, the Preds had moved into sixth place in the Western Conference with 87 points. Los Angeles also has 87 points but has played two less games than the Preds. Colorado is one point back at 86 and also has two games in hand. Looking further back, Detroit has 83 points and Calgary has 81, each playing one less game than the Preds.

Up Next...

The Predators left after the game and headed to St. Louis where they will play the Blues on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. Approximately, 150 fans are also making the trip in an effort organized by Preds P.A. guy, Paul McCann.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Face Blue Jackets Tonight and Saturday Round-Up

The Nashville Predators will play their final game of the year with the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at the Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are 4-1 against the Jackets this season and have won 13 straight on home ice dating back to November 18, 2006.

After the big 5-0 win over Minnesota on Thursday, the Preds are only the third team to win 40 games for five straight years with the Sharks and Devils being the other two. With Pekka Rinne's 12 shut out, he is now tied for second on the franchise list with Chris Mason and is behind only Tomas Vokoun. Rinne is 6-1 since the Olympic break.

To say that the season has been a disappointment for the Jackets is a massive understatement. Muck of the blame can be laid on the shoulders of last year's Calder winner, Steve Mason.

After a great rookie campaign last year, Mason has been disappointing, going 17-22-7. He will be starting tonight's game and is 1-1-1 against the Preds this year and 0-3-3 in the Bridgestone Arena in his career.

Pekka Rinne will start his fifth straight game for the Preds.


Predators Keys To The Game

Don't Overlook the Jackets...

While the Jackets do not appear to be a very good team on paper, they are one of the Predator's most bitter rivals and would like nothing more than to kick the Preds in the pants and dampen their playoff push.

There's also pride on the line and the Jackets would love to get the losing streak in Nashville monkey off their back so they can start fresh next season.

Play a Full 60 Minutes...

The Predators need another complete effort tonight, and every night, from now until the end of the year. As they push to move up in the standings, they can't afford to take a period, or even a couple of shifts, off or they will lose valuable points in the standings.

This is basically playoff hockey, regardless of the opponent, and the last elven games need to be played with the same intensity as the playoff games that they will face in a few weeks.

Play with Discipline...

Every game the Predators play with Columbus comes with the chippiness this series is known for. The Preds, and especially Jordin Tootoo, need to resist the temptation to respond with penalty causing actions.

In spite of a poor record, Columbus has one of the leagues top 10 power play units and can strike for multiple goals in a game if given enough opportunity.


In Pred Nation...

John Glennon has updates from today's morning skate, a look at the Western Conference playoff race, and a game at a glance.

On the Forecheck has a Preview of Tonight's game and a really good analysis of Cal O'Reilly vs Dustin Boyd by Seth Lake. Dirk also has the Saturday Breakfast Links.

Paul McCann looks at tonight's game and had done a great job organizing a fan road trip to St Louis for tomorrow's game.

From @PredsNHLhockey: Going to tomorrow's (Saturday) Preds game? Pregame tweet-up 6 pm tomorrow w/Preds PR by Sect 310/311 concession area - say hi, discuss future tweet-ups

Look for a new edition of the 303:30 later today with Brandon Felder, Aaron Portzline, and Nick Spaling as guests.

AJ at PMFF finishes off the discussion of Thursday's win with a good feeling about beating Craig Leipold.

Mark Willoughby has his weekly View.

Launy Schwartz puts a Canadian Spin on our Blake Geoffrion post yesterday at Hockey 54.

If David Climer had a Twitter account and he didn't tweet would there still be a sound? Here's a video and everything else you would want to know about Climer. Good discussion about Jim Bouton (of Ball Four fame) who was one of my favorites as a child.

Blake Geoffrion's Wisconsin Badgers lost to St Cloud State yesterday and hope to redeem themselves this afternoon versus Denver.

Around the NHL...

Michelle Kenneth has Zach Parise: The American Hero.

Columbus is ready to look at draft picks from Eric Smith.

Matt Reitz is as tired as I am of hearing about injury causing hits and suspensions.

Steve Lapore has the lowdown on ESPN's college hockey coverage leading up to the Frozen Four. Also, if you haven't realized it, this is free preview week for the NHL Network from March 20 until the 27th. In celebration they have added the Hawks - Coyotes game tonight.

Odds and Ends...

In the good old days, Blockbuster was cool but technology and competition that eliminates going to a store for a movie has killed them.

I generally keep up with space stuff fairly well but was surprised that there is an unmanned "mini-shuttle" that is ready for launch by the Air Force.

There is help available for 'Technology Addicts."

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Preds Get Beat on Ice, Then Again By Travel Company

After a disappointing loss in Columbus last night, the Predators travel company plane added insult to injury by not being ready when they arrived at the airport. The team waited almost two hours on a bus on the tarmac waiting for a customs agent to clear the plane to travel to Tennessee.

My first thought was that the history books have been wrong for the last 145 years or so and that the South was successful in seceding from the North. The reality was that the plane had come from Canada and needed to be released by customs before going further.

The delay led to some interesting Tweets by Tom Callahan, Dan Ellis and Steve Sullivan. The biggest heart breaker was that Sully was going to miss donuts with dad at his kid's school this morning if they didn't get back.

It appears that they did make it back eventually. If you were planning on going to practice at Centennial this morning, you should call ahead to see if it really going to happen.

Preds-Jackets Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night.

John Glennon has a game story, notes and postgame ponderings.

Jim Diamond's story starts with the jumbled standings where the Preds have fallen to seventh and are only two points ahead of Detroit.

In the Blog arena stories come from Brandon Felder, Forechecker, The View from 111, amd What the Puck, who had a live Blog featuring her friend Bethany from Columbus who writes for Kukla's.

For the Columbus view on the game go to Blue Jackets Extra for complete coverage.

In Pred Nation...

Admirals Short Shifts has the story of the Ads 5-2 loss in Texas last night. It did not sound pretty. The Ads are headed home for a five game home stand. They also have news of a new URL for their site and a link to Eric's podcast appearance with us on Monday night.

Preds101 takes a look at the Pred's deal with Sommet and gives some pluses and minuses on what is known. This is a good evaluation of the situation.

Around the NHL...

Chris Wassel and I combined to produce an NHL Apocalypse posting last summer and now Chris has stated an eight part (at least) series on the Referee Apocalypse with plenty of video to prove his point.

James Mirtle takes a look at what it will take for teams to get into the playoffs based on the standings after Monday's action.

Ryan at the RLD has the top five playoff commodities available.

Georges Laraque responds to his release from the Canadians at his personal blog. Rogers SportsNet has a story indicating Laraque may play in Sweden for free.

Adrian and Chris Nadeau have Episode #38 of the Hockey Zen TV and discuss the question, "Is hockey at a crossroads."

Michell Kenneth points us to Vanity Fair's Olympic hockey coverage which today has some cheesecake photos of Sweden's Hockey Studs. I think we see what to expect from their "coverage". Michelle also has a few not too happy words about the series.

Coming off good ratings last week, Steve Lapore has NBC's press release for this Sunday's Stanley Cup finals rematch. Steve also has the release about the new Versus "Community" web site.

Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun have fantasy All-Star teams since there will not be a game this year.

For fans of the green guys in Vancouver, you can follow them on Twitter @TheGreenMen. I wonder if they will be at the Olympics.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass