Final Thoughts on Preds-Devs Game and Friday Round-up

Predator fans are basking in the excitement of their current four game win streak that includes wins over the San Jose Sharks, the best team in the West, and the New Jersey Devils, one of the top two teams in the East.

As my friend Ryan at the Red Light District points out in a great piece there are reasons to be excited as he says...

"The most positive sign for the Preds is that they are playing the way they did last February when they made their push for a playoff spot. Remember when they were beating everyone in their way and saying ‘Only if they played this way in the first half of the season’?? Well, this stretch is just what the doctor ordered.

They are executing in all three zones, playing sound defensive hockey, and actually scoring on the man advantage. Although they came up short last year, they were one of the better teams since the All-Star Break. This has only been a 10-game stretch of an 82-game schedule, but since they are turning it on here in November, it’ll pay dividends down the road in their push to get a taste of the postseason again."

In the preseason, I expected to see a return to the level of play in the second half that Ryan discusses. With many new faces and several young players, especially on defense, it was not surprising that the Preds suffered through the six game losing streak at the beginning of the season.

Since that time, the Preds are 9-3 and things on both ends of the ice and in goal are clearly looking up.

Cody Franson seems to have resolved the revolving door on finding the sixth D-man that was on open audition in the first few weeks.

On offense, with everyone but Colin Wilson back from injuries, the current line combinations are
really starting to click and all four lines are contributing on both ends of the ice.

Pekka Rinne has returned to last year's form winning eight of his last nine games, being dominant at times.

We understand that things are never as good as they seem when things are going well or as bad as they are when they aren't. Barry Trotz and David Poile have a very unique perspective on this that few other teams recognize in the the sports world where many teams change coaches like underwear.

In the midst of the earlier slide, many fans were ready for a change while Trotz was pointing out the positives in the postgame interviews. Now, during the Pred's success, He is not resting on his laurels and still looking for ways to improve. This staff is focused on the end result and refuses to get caught up in the emotional roller-coaster that the fans endure.

Saturday's game against Columbus will probably be a bigger test than the prior two games. We are the Jackets most hated rival and they will be ready. The game is wedged between games with two great teams and the Preds biggest rival in Detroit.

Can this team stay focused on one game at a time? Tomorrow night, we will see.

Game Wrap-Ups...

Here is the link to our story and post game videos from last night.

John Glennon has the game story, the stars coming out and some interesting final thoughts on the game. Hat's off to the Tennessean for giving John more room to cover the Preds this year.

Mike Strasinger has the story at The City Paper.

Other stories come from Jim Diamond, Forechecker, Brandon Felder, What the Puck, Pull My (Fang) Finger, and See Puck City.

Tom Guilotti has the Devils side of the story at North Jersey.com

In Preds Nation...

Pred Prospects Gabriel Bourque and Charles Oliver Rousell each had three points in the first two games of the Subway Super Series versus Russia. Ryan Ellis and Taylor Beck get their shot tonight.

John Glennon has an interesting story about the Preds supporting Prostate Awareness Month by sporting mustaches. Pekka, Hammer, Hornqvist, Weber, and Sully are said to be participating so far. I asked Pekka about his interest and thanked him for his involvement since I lost my father to prostate cancer. He related that he is very much into this cause as he lost his grandfather to prostate cancer too. Hats off to Pekka and the others for their support.

Mark at The View From 111 has our Friday favorite, The View.

The Preds-Senators game is in the running for the NHL Network Viewers choice game for Thanksgiving Day. Go here to vote. So far the Preds have a big lead but it is no time to slow down. Vote early and often before the 10 p.m. EST deadline tonight. I have a real interest in this since I was at the Grand Canyon when this was played and could only follow the game via Twitter on the phone.

@toddstepp was our first two time winner of free POTG tickets yesterday. Since we used Twitter yesterday, we will go back to the blog today. The first comment below with a Twitter address or email address that says "I want the tickets" will win a pair of free tickets to the Preds-Panthers game on Saturday November 28 when the Preds will be wearing the new thirds.

It was good to meet Jennifer of Addicted last night at the game and to sit with our friend from New Jersey, via Indiana, Scott Mermelstein. For Jackson, the highlight was him getting to meet Doc Emrick and here is the proof.


More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Beat Devils in Shootout (Postgame Interviews Included)

Barry Trotz Post Game Press Conference

Predators player comments from Jason Arnott, Pekka Rinne, J P Dumont, Jordin Tootoo, and Ryan Suter

Devils comments from Coach Jacques Lemaire, Dainius Zubrus and Travis Zajac

The Nashville Predators went toe to toe with the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils and won by a 3-2 score in a shoot-out in a game that was much like a chess match from start to finish.

Marty Erat broke a 1-1 tie in the shootout for the game winning goal. Mike Satorelli had opened the shootout with a goal for the Preds and Travis Zajac had tied the match on the Devil's final attempt setting the stage for Erat's goal.

The Preds thought they had won for a split second when Zajac initially appeared to have lost the puck but it never stopped moving and he was able to recover for a very awkward shot that left Pred Goalie Pekka Rinne somewhat confused.

"I just quit the play and it cost me," Rinne explained. "Luckily Marty came back and scored. I honestly thought the ref was going to blow the whistle when he lost the puck but it wasn't over. It was a good goal."

The Predators had been on a roll coming into the game having beaten the best team in the Western Conference on Tuesday in San Jose and were facing the Devils who had their eight game winning streak snapped by the Flyers on Monday.

The Jacques Lemaire coached Devils are the best team in the league at playing a controlled, stifling game that dictates the pace and limits the oppositions chances.

"It's a tough team to play against, their system is very sound and then you have to beat Marty in net," Jason Arnott said after the game. "They are a very tough opponent and we just stuck with it and going into a shoot-out with them it's a good test for us that if we stick together we can do good things."

Jason Arnott had all the offense the Predators needed to take the game into overtime. Arnott scored two goals, the first at 4:44 in the first period, and the second goal, on the power play, at 1:09 in the third.

After both goals, the Devil's Zach Parise came back and scored quickly to even the match. His first was at 8:35 in the first shortly after a Devils power play had ended. Parise's second came at 4:39 in the third.

The game was played much like a chess match between two teams with similar styles. Ryan Suter discussed the teams styles, "I think they (the Devils) sit back a little more than we do. We want to go after them and try to make stuff happen and they kind of sit back and wait for us to make the mistake so that's where we are different. It's tough because they are so patient."

For someone who likes defensive hockey, quality goal tending, and physical play the game was all that and more. It was easily one of the best games this year from a spectator standpoint.

The Devils, who have been hampered by injuries, lost Dainius Zubrus after only nine shifts when he was hit in the leg with a Kevin Klein slap shot that sent him hobbling to the bench. After the game, he wasn't sure if he would continue with the team to Dallas or return to New Jersey for evaluation.

Both teams officially had 28 shots but the Predators had 34 additional attempts that were misses or blocks while the Devils had only 19.

Both goalkeepers were on their game, each stopping 26 of 28 shots for the contest. Devil's goalie Marty Brodeur came into the game needing one shut out to tie Terry Sawchuck's record of 103. Those wanting to see a record were quickly disappointed when Arnott scored early in the first period.

The Predators continued to improve their special teams play going one of two on the power play and stopping both Devils chances on the penalty kill.

Agitator Jordin Tootoo played a disciplined game in spite of being whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the first period. The Devils were trying to draw him into a fight for most of the contest.

"I'm a lot better player out on the ice than I am in the penalty box," Tootoo related. "Peters plays five minutes a game and the trade off is not there in our favor. I told him many times that I'm a way better player than he is and I'm better off out on the ice."

Coach Barry Trotz put this week's games in perspective, "They (the Devils) have been on a roll the last ten games, so you had the two hottest teams (Sharks and Devils) and they both played extremely well and we had to play extremely well against both teams to get points."

"They (Devils) play a really structured system," Trotz explained. "We haven't seen that in a while, as much structure, the way they play, and it was actually good for us to play a team where we have to be a little more patient and work for every inch because they don't give you a lot."

Since losing six games in a row early in the season, the Predators have gone 9-3 and have won their last four games. They currently sit in tenth place in the Western Conference, one point out of a playoff position and only five points behind the division leading Chicago Blackhawks.

The Predator's schedule does not offer much relief in the next few days. Division rival, Columbus comes to the Sommet center for a Saturday night game and the Detroit Red Wings follow in a Versus televised contest at 6 p.m. Monday.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Preds-Devils Game Day and More

The streaking Nashville Predators (10-8-1) will face the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey (14-5-0) Devils at the Sommet Center tonight in what should be an exciting inter-conference match.

The Predators are coming off a hard fought Tuesday night 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks in a game that could be labeled "clock operator-gate" after a couple of long clock resets in the final minute left Barry Trotz fuming after the game.

The Devils suffered a 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Monday night that was their first road loss of the year after nine straight wins away from the Prudential Center. It was also broke their eight game win streak.

The Predators have really gelled in the last few games with all four lines starting to come together and contributing. In Tuesday's game against the Sharks in the first period the Preds had 14 shots by 14 different players.

Steve Sullivan seems to be coming out of his early season scoring funk as he has had three goals in the last two games including two on the power play. David Legwand and Joel Ward each had a goal and two assists in the last outing to help balance the scoring among lines. The Preds are 7-0-0 in games where Ward has a point.

Pekka Rinne is one of the leagues hottest goalies at this juncture. With Tuesdays 29 save performance, Pekka is 7-1 in his last eight games. Since October 28, Rinne has two shut outs, a .940 save percentage, and a 1.51 goals against average.

At the other end of the ice, Marty Brodeur is 12-5 and is on the verge of holding every NHL Goalie record. His next shut-out will time him with Terry Sawchuck's record of 103. Hopefully it will not be tonight. He is 13 games shy of tying Patrick Roy for the most games ever played and is only 183 minutes short of passing Roy for that record too.

Although Nashville's power play is 28th in the league (13.7%) overall, the Preds are 9 for 46 (19.6%) in the last 11 games . The Preds are 8-0 when scoring on the PP. The Devils are 13th at 20.8%.

The Devils and Preds have had an odd series history. The teams have only met 13 times and the road team has won 10 of the contests. Last year, the Devils won in Nashville 3-1 in the last game before the all-star break. The Devils are 6-1 at the Sommet Center.

The Devs are one of three teams (Atlanta and Florida are the others) from the East that the Preds play twice as the teams will meet again on February 12 in New Jersey.

After tonight's game, the Predators will wrap up the homestand against division rivals, Columbus and Detroit on Saturday and Monday, respectively. Monday's game will have a special 6 p.m. start due to it being on Versus (sorry DirectTV customers).

In Pred Nation...

@stackiii was yesterday's winner of free tickets from POTG. Keep reading POTG and following on Twitter. We got several more to give away!

Season ticket holders on the 20/20 plan should be looking for an email advising them how to pick up third third jersey this Saturday or Monday. It appears the thirds will be worn by the team on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Jim Diamond discusses the Predators improving penalty kill unit at the Examiner.

Bryan Mullen discusses tonight's game being a "statement" game. The Preds also give their respect to Marty Brodeur in his notes column.

David Boclair points to the improving power play unit at The City Paper.

Puck Daddy jumped into the middle of "clock operator-gate" yesterday with this humorous piece.

Ryan Ellis was named captain of Team OHL in the Subway Super Series that begins today.

NJ.com has a story on Patrik Elias' recovery from recent surgeries as the Devils prepare for tonight's game. Tom Gulitti has a good piece about Zach Parise at North Jersey.com.

In Lou We Trust has a preview of tonight's game from the Devil's perspective.

David Pollak has a notes piece as he left town yesterday that included Barry Trotz's lunch reccomendations.

The View from 111 and Section 303 have their final say on Tuesday's win over San Jose.

Ok, this is weird. The Preds have "highlights" of crowd shots from the megatron from Tuesday's game. It appears that it was mostly during the intermission and it has an odd mix of live music and the radio broadcast as a soundtrack. Any thoughts?



Around the NHL...

Abel to Yzerman has a commentary and video of the worst call of the year from last night's Wings-Stars game. After watching the video, there is no question of how horrible the call actually was.



Mirtle takes a look at injuries in the NHL currently and the fact that over 10% of the teams cap space is currently unable to play. The Yahoo injury list is really impressive.

Inside Hockey's Devils Correspondent Michelle Kenneth is running a 21 days of Shanahan series to commemorate Shanny's 21 years in the NHL.

The Hockey News takes a look at the growing number of 18 and 19 year olds playing in the NHL and the successes and failures of the trend.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Preds Win But Trotz Raises Specter of "Clock Operator-gate"

Preds-Sharks Game Highlights

The Nashville Predators are flying high after last night's 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. After the game, Coach Barry Trotz elaborated on his theories about "Clock Operator Gate". See our video from the postgame and Jim Diamond's post below for the full conspiracy theory.

Although the Preds played a much tougher opponent than they did on Saturday when they dominated Montreal, it appears that they continued to build on the positives which translated into a big win against the Sharks.

Here is our game story from last night which includes our usual postgame interviews with Preds players and Barry Trotz. For the first time we also have comments from the visitor locker room with words from Todd McLellan, Scotty Nichol and Thomas Greiss.

Other Game Stories...

Bryan Mullins has the game story for the Tennessean. He also has a discussion about the problems with the game clock that infuriated Barry Trotz.

Jim Diamand has more on "clock operator-gate" at the Examiner.

Forechecker has all the numbers of the game along with his wrap-up at OnTheForecheck.

David Boclair has his take on the game at The City Paper.

Brandon Felder has his always complete coverage at Hockey Buzz.

See Puck City and What the Puck have their usually classic commentary too.

The San Jose version of the game from David Pollak at the San Jose Mercury News story is here.

Joel Ward and David Legwand got Honorable Mentions from Puck Daddy on his Three Stars of the day for their three point games.

In Pred Nation...

Admiral fans are rejoicing! Bryan Mullin reports that Colin Wilson will do a re-conditioning stint in Milwaukee when he returns from his injury.

From @NHLPredsInsider: "Good to see Marty Gelinas, dir. of player development in town for a couple days. He's been busy traveling the globe to watch preds prospects"

SlapShot has a nice piece on former Pred and current Shark Jed Ortmeyer.

The Preds ECHL franchise, the Cincinnati Cyclones, is leading the league in attendance at 6653 per game.

Around the NHL...

Michelle Kenneth has news on tomorrow's opponent, the New Jersey Devils and a few notes from her Monday POTG Radio appearance.

Brendan Shanahan officially retired on Tuesday.

Nikita Filatov's future in Columbus has been up in the air recently and now he has been "loaned" to CSKA Moscow for the season. This is really an odd move considering the frosty relations between the NHL and KHL.

Finally, the first person to comment on this article below and say "I want the Tickets" and provide a valid email or Twitter address will win two free tickets to the Preds-Panthers game on Saturday, November 28. This will be a free look at the new third jerseys for the lucky reader.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Preds Get Revenge in 4-3 Win Over Sharks

Barry Trotz Post Game Comments

Locker Room Audio from Joel Ward, David Legwand, and Pekka Rinne

Sharks Locker Room Reaction from Coach Todd McLellan, Scotty Nichol, and Thomas Greiss

The Nashville Predators were able to revenge last week's heart-breaking loss in San Jose by defeating the Sharks 4-3 at the Sommet Center on Tuesday night.

The Predators never fell behind to the Sharks after Steve Sullivan scored on a five on three power play at 13:19 in the first period. The shot was almost a carbon copy of Sully's PP goal against the Habs on Saturday night.

Ex-Predator Scotty Nichol came back to score a short-handed goal less than a minute later to tie the game 1-1. Before the period ended, Jerred Smithson gave the Preds a 2-1 lead on a feed from David Legwand.

The Preds scored another power play goal at 8:16 in the second period on a deflection by Joel Ward. David Legwand scored less than three minutes later to give the Preds a 4-1 lead heading into the final period.

The Sharks showed why they have the best record in hockey as they fought back with a goal by Joe Thornton with less than a minute left in the second period. The Preds were clearly scrambling as the period closed.

Both defenses stiffed in the final period with no scoring until Patrick Marleau scored with 52 ticks left on the clock. In spite of some odd officiating, the Preds were able to hold on for the rest of the period to claim the victory.

After the game, Preds Coach Barry Trotz was livid over the officials giving San Jose the equivalent of two free time outs in the last minute of the game as the clock was being reset. "The officials made a home ice advantage into a home ice disadvantage (by resetting the clock twice), Trotz exclaimed. "It allowed them to have their top guys on the ice the last fifty seconds of the game and they are probably the most dangerous five guys you could put on the ice."

Pekka Rinne was solid in goal for the Predators, stopping 29 of 32 Sharks shots. "We had to be focused all sixty minutes," Rinne said. "Those games really build up your confidence and gives you a good feeling about yourself and about your team mates."

Coming in to the game, the Sharks had not lost in regulation in 12 games, going 9-0-3. They had clearly been playing the best team in the league to this point in the season. The Preds also have been playing well going 8-3 since their early season six game losing streak.

Ex-Predator Scotty Nichol made his return to the Sommet Center for the first time since signing with the Sharks in the off-season. Nichol scored a goal and was involved in several scuffles with his old team mates and even gave Pekka Rinne a bit of a shot to the head at one point. After the game Nichol put the game in perspective, "Give them credit, they played well and we'll get them next time."

Sharks coach Todd McLellan was disappointed with his team's play but was realistic saying, "This Nashville team... you give them four goals, and they win."

The Predators will have little time to bask in their efforts as the New Jersey Devils will arrive in Nashville on Wednesday to prepare for Thursday match-up with the Preds. The Devils currently own the best record in the East so it won't get any easier for this hot Predator team.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Game Day, POTG Podcast, and More

Monday night's POTG Radio show was a fun one for us to do. We featured two of our best friends from the hockey blogosphere at the same time. We had Chris Wassel of The Program and Inside Hockey's Devil's beat writer, Michelle Kenneth.

After a recap of the new look Preds, we had an extensive discussion about the New Jersey Devils and the fast start that they have had as they have the best record in the Eastern Conference. For Preds fans, it is a good primer for the upcoming game on Thursday.

It was a bit of a bummer for our guest that the Devs lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 during the course of the show to end the Devs perfect 9-0 road record. That will make the Devils an even for fierce opponent for the Predators on Thursday night.

In the non-live portion of the podcast, we touched on a wide variety of topics from headshots, to poker, and Michelle travels and forthcoming book.

On a programming note, POTG Radio will not be on the next two Mondays due to Predator home games. We will return on Monday December 7 at the regular time and site.

Game Day vs. the San Jose Sharks...

The Nashville Predators (9-8-1) take on the San Jose Sharks (14-4-4) in a rematch of last week's 4-3 Sharks victory at the Shark Tank.

The Predators outplayed the Sharks for the better part of the game and led deep into the third period. The Sharks went ahead on a muffed play by goalie Dan Ellis with one minute to play.

The Predators rebounded from the heart-breaking loss with solid victories at St. Louis and at home against Montreal in what was as close to a perfect game as I have seen in recent memory. The Sharks are coming off a tough 4-3 overtime loss at Chicago on Sunday night.

Pekka Rinne will start in net for the Preds which is Barry Trotz tradition of rewarding goalkeepers with he next start after a shutout. Rinne is very close to re-solidifying the number one goalie position after sharing the top spot with Dan Ellis at the start of the season.

Evgeni Nabokov will probably start in goal for the Sharks but Shark's beat writer Davis Pollack indicated that another start for Thomas Greiss was possible since he got the win in last weeks match.

Tonight's game begins a pair of games where the Preds play the best team from the West, the Sharks, and the team with the best record in the East, the New Jersey Devils, in a 51 hour period. With the Preds on a roll over the last two games, it should be a good test to see the true character of this Predators team.

On paper, the game looks like a mis-match. The Preds are a respectable 7-3 in their last ten games but the Sharks have an even more impressive 12 game streak where they have not lost in regulation, going 9-0-3 during the run. They have lost two of the last three in overtime.

The Sharks are averaging 3.2 goals per game while the Preds are eeking out 2.1 goals per contest. The Sharks are fourth in the league on the power play (25.0%) and first in the league on the penalty kill (87.8%) while the Preds are last on the PP (11.6%) and 22nd on the PK (79.0%).

As we saw in last week's game, the stat page doesn't always tell the story as the teams were comparable until the last minute of play. After back to back solid games for the Predators, it will be interesting to see if they can piece together another strong effort to revenge last weeks loss in San Jose.

I would say that all eyes will be on Nashville but it would not be true. This is the third game this season that the Preds have been involved where there was on television coverage from either team, Versus or anywhere else. So if you want to see the game, pack up and head to the Sommet where tickets should be plentiful.

In Pred Nation...

John Glennon agrees with us that the Preds have hit a tough part of the schedule.

Bryan Mullin has a look at the Pred's Monday practice.

Jim Diamond takes a look at the G.O.A.L Program, a food drive and lunch with Pete and Terry.

Forechecker rounds up the Predator's "Not Alone" program.

Taking a long look ahead, with the recent improved play, Sports Club Stats has the Preds up to a 27.3% chance of making the playoffs with the magic number for points being somewhere in the 93-96 range.

Predators.com has a good roundup of the Milwaukee Admirals and how their season has gone to this point.

Dan Hamhuis talks about bonding over steak and lobster on the west coast at Inside Predators.

Eric Kent looks at the potential goalie controversy in Milwaukee at Admirals Short Shifts.

To get a look at what the Sharks were doing in Nashville on Monday check out David Pollak's story on the Sharks on their day off. Nashville is everyones favorite off day location.

Around the NHL...

Matt Reitz always has good stuff and he how has come up with 22 and under teams for both the Eastern and Western Conferences. He also has a look at the New Jesrsey Devils with commentary by Michelle Kenneth and Carlos Figueiredo.

From @TSNBobMcKenzie: "Forsberg staying in Sweden this season and playing for MoDo. No NHL for Foppa this season. If foot holds up, perhaps next year".

XM 204's Mike Ross found additional benefits to moving to the morning show it appears. From @HomeIceRossy: Looking forward to February when I will make my NHL public address announcing debut....Sens-Flames, Sens-Caps, Sens Leafs (in March). He should call Paul McCann for tips.

For some reason, Titans owner Bud Adams felt inspired to repeatedly give the Bills the bird at Sunday's Titans-Bills game. This really does wonders for Nashville's reputation in the sports world. Let's keep in mind that Bud is a transplant and not a local. I'm not sure his apology changes much. I'm not sure the $250,000 fine does either. Is it bad that I don't feel sorry for Bud and his fine?

Finally, our good friend Jeremy Gover dared his boss, Dawson McAllister to ride a mule to the Spring Hill McDonald's and here is what happened.



More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Reborn After Slow Start

The Nashville Predators entered the season anticipating a return to the playoffs but appeared to be very mediocre at the start of the season. After winning their first two games, they proceeded to lose the next six contests.

GM David Poile and Coach Barry Trotz never hit the panic button in spite of the concerns of fans and questions from the local media regarding the Predators chronic lack of scoring.

Since the slow 2-5-1 start the Predators have gone 7-3 and have improved in all areas of play, albeit goals still seem to come at a premium.

The most unexpected change has been the Predators complete reinvention as a team that fires shots from everywhere on the ice. The Preds have had a long history having a deliberate, passing before shooting offense but Coach Barry Trotz has either seen the light or convinced his team to start shooting the puck.

In Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadians, the Predators put a record setting 55 shots on net including 24 in the first period. An additional 23 shots either missed or blocked for a total of 78 attempts on net. In the prior game against St. Louis, the Preds attempted 68 shots.

After the game against the Canadians, in which Pekka Rinne picked up his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 win, he explained the Pred's change of personality, "I think it's just a mindset, we shoot from everywhere, the power play is shooting the puck. We're not trying to be too cute any more, everybody is just shooting the puck and crashing the net."

Steve Sullivan, who scored both Predator goals had his own take on the new look Preds, "It's been building for the last three games. We've been dominant in the other team's zone, created a lot of havoc, had a lot of puck possession time and threw a lot of pucks on net, created a lot of scoring chances, and put a lot of pressure on their defense."

Sully also gave credit to the return of J.P. Dumont for his own individual increase in production, "I really feel comfortable playing with J P. He really settles the play down for us in the offensive zone. He's so good at puck possession and nifty passes. When you are open, you are getting the puck. I feel so comfortable playing with him, so having him back is huge for me."

Barry Trotz was glowing like a proud father after watching the Predator's aggressive play against the Habs. He described the recent play, "We skated and played to our identity. If you look to our road trip I think we out shot everybody but maybe San Jose. We skated well. We were first to pucks."

Further Trotz said, "Their (the team's) buy in on how we have to play is really good. They are seeing results. We can play any team in the NHL and we don't waiver. This group knows we are going to throw a lot of pucks. It's hard to score on the rush, you have to go to the hard areas and score the greasy goals."

When questioned about the change in style Trotz echoed Rinne's comments, "It's just the mindset. You break down team's defense by putting shots on net. You don't need to make a pretty play. You put it on net and it breaks down a team's defense because they are scrambling for the puck. They are reaching instead of tracking the puck, so it's a mindset. Detroit has that mindset and they break you down by throwing a lot of pucks at the net."

Trotz feels he has the buy in by the team and hopes to continue on the same path, "What we want is to be a team that is hard to play against. Then you (opponents) come to this building every night and it's a tough place to play. We become Smashville."

The Predators will get their chance to be "Smashville" on Tuesday when they have a rematch with San Jose, the team with the best record in the Western Conference. On Thursday, they take on the New Jersey Devils, who have the best record in the East.

These two games will provide a strong test to see if the new look Predators will be able to sustain their aggressive style against the top two teams in the league at this point. These are not make or break contests, but successful outings would be something for the Predators to build on as the season progresses.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Tonight and Monday Tidbits

After a weekend of internet problems we appear to have them resolved and are ready for tonight's POTG Radio show.

This week we will take a look back at the Preds recent success and have a few post game comments from Coach Barry Trotz and a few players on the team's turn-around and recent ability to fire pucks at the net.

We will also have a special look at Thursday night's contest at the Sommet Center between the Preds and the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have the best record in the East and the Preds are playing their best hockey in the last couple of years so it should be a good match-up.

We will have Chris Wassel of The Program and Inside Hockey's Devil's beat writer, Michelle Kenneth to give their take on the Devil's somewhat surprising success this season.

Please tune in live at 7:00 Central or catch us on the podcast later.



In Pred Nation...

In the midst of a good run, John Glennon asks about the third line center position. He also talks about the top line getting back together.

Jim Diamond puts a ribbon on his Forbes criticisms with valid proof from two teams that Forbes had no access to any financial information. Jim also has his weekly Pred prospect roundup.

Mark at The View From 111 had a good piece on the Preds season so far that was posted before Saturday's big win but we are still catching up from our outage so here it is. It's worth a read if you missed it.

See Puck City has an interesting idea that Ilya Kovalchuk would be a good addition to the Preds.

Amazingly, I finished in a tie for second last week in the #SaturdayNHLpicks on Twitter. Everyone can play again this week by making their picks here.

Finally, Congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes and their fans for hanging on for their third victory of the season yesterday. I really do feel for their fans and wonder what I was thinking when I picked the Canes to win the Southeast Division this year.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Play Near Perfect Game in 2-0 Win over Habs

Apologies to all of our readers for the lateness of our post. We have had severe technical issues with our internet as well as Youtube. We will have some of the missing material on POTG Radio on Monday Night at 7 p.m. Central.



The Nashville Predators played as close to a perfect game as has been seen in recent history on Saturday night as the beat the Montreal Canadians 2-0 at the Sommet Center.

Steve Sullivan provided all the offense and Pekka Rinne provided the shutout in a game that could have been much worse without the performance of Habs goaltender Carey Price who stopped 53 of 55 Predator shots.

It was truly a team effort as every skater except Ryan Suter had at least one of the record 55 shots on goal. Steve Sullivan had 11 shots including his first goal at 10:48 in the first period that was on a rebound from another of his shots.

In spite of the constant barrage of shots from the Preds, that included 24 first period shots (also a record) and 18 in the second. For Pred fans, it was an uncomfortable feeling that their team could be so dominant on the ice and still be in danger of being tied on a fluke play.

Finally at 12:59 in the third period, three seconds into a 5 on 3 power play, Steve Sullivan picked up a rebound off of a Shea Weber shot and buried it behing Carey Price to give the Preds a little more breathing room at 2-0.

Pekka Rinne picked up his second shutout of the season stopping all 20 Montreal shots and improved his recod to 6-4, having won six of his last seven game. Rinne saw little action in the first two periods as the Habs only had ten shots in the first forty minutes.

The Predators have Sunday off before returning to the ice on Tuesday for a rematch with the San Jose Sharks who the Preds out played in a 4-3 loss last Tuesday.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Habs Make Rare Visit to Nashville

The Montreal Canadians (9-10-0) make a rare visit to Music City tonight when the play the Nashville Predators (8-8-1) at 7 p.m. at the Sommet Center.

The Habs last game in Nashville was on February 22, 2007 when they beat the Preds 6-5 in a shoot-out. All time, the Preds are 3-5-3 against Montreal and last won at home against the Habs on March 23, 2001 when the Preds came out on top in a 5-1 game.

Both teams are coming off road wins on Thursday night, the Preds against St. Louis 3-1, and the Habs in Phoenix, 4-2.

Montreal has played without much consistency this season and are 3-5 in the last eight games. The Preds seemed to have righted their ship and have gone 6-3 since losing six in a row early in the season.

The Preds have gotten much healthier and only have Colin Wilson (groin) and Wade Belak (day to day, lower body) that are injured at this time. The Habs have several injuries including Andrei Markov (ankle), Hal Gill (foot), Georges Laraque (upper body), Matt D’Agostini (concussion), Ryan O’Byrne (lower body), and Jaroslav Spacek (leg) will be a game time decision.

The Predators will go with Pekka Rinne in net after a strong performance in St. Louis on Thursday. Carey Price, who has struggled, will get the start for Montreal after winning on Thursday.

John Glennon of the Tennessean reports the lines at the morning skate were as follows:
Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont
Smithson-Legwand-Ward
Erat-Santorelli-Hornqvist
Thuresson-Goc-Tootoo

One of the highlights of tonight's match-up will be seeing Francis Bouillon play against his old team, that was also his childhood favorite.

This will be a true test for the Predators against a team that they don't see very often. Now that they have returned to a healthier status and with 12 of 15 games in the next month at home, this is the time that the Preds will need to start racking up points in order to make a run for the playoffs.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Pred's Persistence Beats Blues 3-1

The Nashville Predators continued their recent improved play in a tough match against the St. Louis Blues that resulted in a 3-1 road victory that improved their record to 8-8-1 and moved them higher in the pack in the crowded Western Conference.

The Preds fell behind quickly when Brad Boyes scored 2:03 into the game to put the Blues ahead 1-0. The Blues held the lead until Patric Hornqvist's tenacity paid off with a shot that he forced by Chris Mason at 13:50 in the second period that tied the game 1-1.

The teams remained even until Jordin Tootoo fired a shot at the Blues net at 16:17 that found it's way past Chris Mason to give the Preds a 2-1 lead. David Legwand put the sprinkles on the cupcake with an empty netter with seven seconds left in the contest.

It was truly a team victory for the Preds who have continued to improve with each game. They played tough team defense and fired shots continually at the net. The Predators out shot the Blues 37-22 with even a wider disparity on the Corsi total, 66-38.

Pekka Rinne was stellar in goal stopping 21 of 22 Blues shots. On the opposite end of the ice Chris Mason played well, stopping 34 of the 36 Pred shots that he faced..

Several Preds played really strong games to contribute to the effort. David Legwand may have played his best game of the year going 13-5 in the face-off circle which included 9-4 in the Pred's defensive zone. Leggy also led the team in blocked shots with three.

Andreas Thuresson, who could have been the game's goat for an early penalty and his losing position on the Blues goal, had 5 shots on goal in 10:11 in ice time.

Jason Arnot led the team in shots with six with four more on the Corsi side.

Patric Hornqvist continued to be the break-out player of the year with his aggressive play around the net. Along with his goal he had 7 Corsi shots and a couple of hits.

The defensive pairing of Kevin Klein and Francis Bouillon continued to perform well mostly facing the top two Blues' lines.

J. P. Dumont played a full game in his return from a back injury. He had four shots and five additional Corsi attempts. Preds fans were holding their breath at the end of the second period when David Backes ran Dumont into the wall, receiving a game misconduct for the hit. Dumont was able to return for regular shifts after the incident.

On the negative side, the Predators power play did not produce any goals. In seven minutes of man advantage, they only produced three shots. During the first period PP, the Preds did appear to be moving the puck better producing more opportunities but the shots did not go through.

The oddest stat of the game was that the St. Louis media awarded losing goalie Chris Mason the first star of the game, with Jordin Tootoo and Patric Hornqvist picking up the other two.

The Predators have to consider the four game road trip to have been a success. They won two of four tough contests on the road and should have parlayed their good play in San Jose into another point.

The Predators flew out after the game and will be ready to settle in to some home cooking as they play their next five at home and 12 of their next 15 over the next 30 days at the Sommet Center.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Key Game for Predators and Blues

Although it is still early in the season, tonight's match-up between the Nashville Predators (7-8-1) and the St. Louis Blues (6-6-4) could already be considered a key game for both teams.

This is the first meeting of the year between both teams who expect to be competing for a playoff spot at the end of the season. Every match-up in the competitive Central Division could be considered a rivalry game.

Another aspect to watch will be how each team reacts after their respective games on Tuesday night.

The Predators lost a heart-breaker to the San Jose Sharks after leading late in the third period and giving up the losing goal with a minute left in the game on an incredible blunder by goalie Dan Ellis.

The Blues had lost five games in a row going into Tuesday's game with Vancouver and exploded for four goals in the first 7:36 of the first period in route to a 6-1 shellacking of the Canucks.

Tonight's game is the last for the Predators on a four game road trip where .500 would probably be considered a success. A win would achieve that goal while a loss would drop the Predators two games under the .500 mark for the season.

The Predators will be bolstered by the return of Pred point leader (11) J. P. Dumont bringing together this first line of Arnott, Dumont and Sullivan for the first time since October 17. After having lost 43 man games to injury this season, only Colin Wilson (groin) remains out due to injury.

Dave Scatchard was returned to Milwaukee this morning to make room for the returning Dumont.

The Predators will go with Pekka Rinne (4-4, 2.81 gaa, .904 Save %) in net while it is expected that ex-Pred fan favorite Chris Mason (4-4-3, 2.32, .923) will go for the Blues.

St Louis has not played well at home this season going 3-5-1 while going 3-1-3 on the road. The Preds are 4-5-1 on the road and 3-3 at home.

On paper, the Predators look to be at a big disadvantage one again on special teams. The Preds remain in 30th place (11.9%) in the league on the power play in spite of going 7 for 30 (23.3%) recently. The Blues are 23rd at 15.9%. On the penalty kill, the Preds are 24th (77.2%) while the Blues are 7th (84.9%).

Hopefully, the Predators will defy the statistics and continue their improved play as they have gone 5-3 since their early season six game losing streak. This is the healthiest the team has been since early in training camp so the Preds have reached the point where they need to start accumulating points in order to make a playoff run.

After tonight's contest, the Preds will return home for a game against Montreal on Saturday night that will start a run of 12 of the next 15 games at the friendly confines of the Sommet Center.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Dave Scatchard Returned to Milwaukee

As we speculated this morning, Dave Scatchard was returned to the Milwaukee Admirals this morning. With the return of J. P. Dumont, Scatchard's time with the Predators came to a close for the time being.

Mike Santorelli, who scored a goal on Tuesday against the Sharks and Andreas Thuresson who has been impressive in recent games, were other candidates to return to the AHL but remain with the Predators at this time.

Here is the full press release from the Predators...

PREDATORS REASSIGN FORWARD DAVE SCATCHARD TO MILWAUKEE

Nashville, Tenn. (November 12, 2009) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that forward Dave Scatchard (DAYV SKAT-chuhrd) has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL).

Scatchard, 33 (2/20/76), played nine games with Nashville during his recall, posting a pair of assists while leading the team in face-off winning percentage (58%). He played in his first NHL game since Jan. 27, 2007 on Oct. 21 at Boston, and posted his first NHL point since Jan. 7, 2007 at Ottawa the next night.

The Predators wrap up a four-game road trip tonight at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis (7 p.m., FOX Sports Tennessee, 104.5 The Zone). The team will return to Nashville following the game, and open a five-game homestand with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets to this game, and all other regular season contests are on sale and can be purchased by logging onto nashvillepredators.com. Tickets are also available by calling (615) 770-PUCK and at all Ticketmaster locations.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Thursday Morning Predators Update

Tonight's game between the Preds and Blues in St. Louis will be a big test for both teams.

For the Preds, we will see how they come back from a stunning loss in the last minute in San Jose late Tuesday.

For the Blues, it will be a test to see how they return after a blowout big win over Vancouver on Tuesday that ended a five game losing streak.

We will look at the game breakdown in more detail later today.

We also expect to see a roster move prior to tonight's game with the return of J. P. Dumont. John Glennon speculates that Dave Scatchard may be the one but also considers Andreas Thuresson and Mike Santorelli.

In Pred Nation...

John Glennon confirms the news that J. P. Dumont should return for the Preds game in ST. Louis tonight. He also has updated attendance figures that show that the Preds are slightly ahead of last year through six games.

From @NHLPredsInsider: "Dumont rejoins the team in STL. He will probably play tomorrow, which may mean the 26-19-71 line is together for the 1st time since game 1."

Jim Diamond discusses the Forbes story that places the Predators at 27th in the NHL in franchise value. He also discusses that the figures are a complete shot in the dark. Forechecker comments on a throw away line about the Preds owners wanting to sell. This will be headlines in the Tennessean soon, I'm sure.

Puck Daddy addresses the issues of Mixed Martial Arts fighting that David Poile is pushing at the GM meetings. The Tootoo-Staubiz debacle of last year is the poster child for these tactics.

Around the league...

At day two of the GM's meetings very little was done other than a decision to further study the "head shot" rules. Ken Campbell of THN doesn't see any changes on the horizon. Colin Campbell will be on the NHL Hour today with Gary Bettman so he should give his take on head shots as well.

Ryan at the RedLightDistrict has a prediction for what Team USA will look like. I think this is a good guess at what the team will look like but I don't see them making the medal round this time.

SB Nation makes the list of top 25 most valuable blogs. Congrats to Dirk, Mirtle and the rest of the great SB bloggers.

Defending Big D has a look at Dallas' attendance and compares it to the other Sun Belt teams. This is definitely going to be a tough year for all with unemployment over 10% and rising.

Another day, another leaked third jersey at Icethetics... this time it's the Panthers.

Adrian Dater has a video of Matt Duchene at the morning skate in Chicago. He's not concerned about his mini-slump.

Along those same lines, Matt Reitz has an extensive article about Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly.

Off Topic but a classic Tweet faux pass...
17:20 RT @RWZombie: Dallas! We are here to destroy. You better be f---ing ready to get it on!
17:24 RT @RWZombie: Actually we are in Houston. We won't be destroying Dallas for another 48 hours. My life is a blur. HOUSTON ARE YOU READY!?
(haven't we seen this in a commercial before?)

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

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

Happy Veterans Day!

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

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

Sharks 4- Preds 3



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Game Stories...

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

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

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

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

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

In Pred Nation...

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

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

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

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

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

Around the NHL...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Face Sharks in San Jose

Coming off a surprising win against the Kings in Los Angeles on Saturday, the Nashville Predators complete their California trilogy tonight against the Sharks in San Jose.

On paper, the Predators (7-7-1) again appear to be no match for the high flying Sharks (12-4-2). The Sharks have not lost in regulation on home ice this season in six games while the Preds have fared well on the road at 4-4-1.

The Sharks have a potent offensive attack with Patric Marleau (22 pts), Joe Thornton (22 pts), Dany Heatley (19 pts), and Dan Boyle (16pts) leading the attack. By contrast, the injured J. P. Dumont is the only Predator in double digits (11 pts).

The offensively challenged Predators, who have scored 30 goals this year, face a Sharks team that has almost double that number with 59 goals. Of the Preds 30 goals, 11 have come from the blue line. On the defensive side, the Sharks have only allowed seven goals in their last seven games.

On special teams, the Preds have slipped back into last place in the league on the power play with a 12.3% success rate, while the Sharks are third at 25.3%. A similar mismatch occurs on the penalty kill where the Preds are 24th at 76.8% and the Sharks are 3rd at 85.1%.

Indications are that Dan Ellis (3-3, .906, 2.75) will start in goal for the Predators. On Saturday, he stopped 27 of 28 Kings shots to gain the win. Evgeni Nabokov (11-3-2, .925, 2.14) will be in net for the Sharks.

Update: John Glennon reports that "Back-up Tho­mas Greiss (1-1-0, 1.38 goals against ave­rage, .957 save per­cen­tage) will make his second start of the sea­son."


The Predators appear to be getting healthier with the probable return of leading goal scorer, Shea Weber. J. P. Dumont (back) and Colin Wilson (groin) will remain on the sidelines tonight.

The Sharks are expecting the return of Devin Setoguchi (7 g,2 a in 11 games) and Ryan Vesce (3 g, 1 a in 4 games). Each have missed the last seven games. Captain Rob Blake remains on injured reserve with an upper body injury.

This will be ex-Predators Scotty Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer's first game against their old team. Both have had good success in their new surroundings this year.

There appears to be a good chance for bad blood in tonight's contest as Jordin Tootoo and Brad Staubitz squared off in a really nasty bout last season when Staubitz used some mixed martial arts elbow moves on Tootoo that really bloodied him up and put him out of action for a few games with a nose injury. Jody Shelly is also a long-time Preds protagonists. The Preds have only been involved in two fights so far this season.

After tonight's game the Preds will travel to St. Louis to prepare for Thursday's match-up with the Blues. The Predators return home on Saturday to play Montreal. It will begin a streak of 12 of 15 games being played at the Sommet Center.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Dater Makes Amends with Predator Fans on POTG Radio (and more)

Last night's POTG Episode was an excellent show. I was a little under the weather but managed to hang in there for the two interviews.

Adrian Dater from the Denver Post was a really interesting guest. He has been under attack from Predator fans for almost a month for his "No Holding Back" article on Versus where he bashed the Pred fans for not selling out opening night when he was in town with the Avalanche.

At the beginning of the interview, Adrian confronted the issue head on and gave an explanation of the origins of the piece. He went further and acknowledged that the attendance dynamics around the league have become considerably different than he realized when he wrote the Versus piece and back-tracked considerably from his original take.

I think that most listeners will find him to be a very likable guy with an interesting background and a love for studying the Civil War. He really likes Nashville and would like to spend some time visiting the Civil War sites around Middle Tennessee area. He also offered advice for Jackson and others wanting to get into the sports business.

Next up was David Rogers who is a full-time Associate Editor for Fanball and runs the Frozen Notes blog. We covered a good bit of ground on this year's version of the St. Louis Blues and what we might expect when the Blue and Preds match up in an important game on Thursday.

David also discussed his fantasy hockey Owners Edge NHL where most of his stuff is on the non-pay version. He also gave owners a couple of tips for those needing help with their teams with all the injuries that have occurred.

We would like to thank Adrian and David for joining us and hope to have them back on again in the future.

In Preds Land...

John Glennon takes a look at former Preds playing for other teams including Jed Ortmeyer and Scotty Nichol, who they will face tonight with the Sharks. He also indicates that Shea Weber will return tonight. Dan Ellis is the likely starter in goal.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Vesce will return to the Sharks tonight after missing seven games each. They also have a story about Jed Ortmeyer and his continuing issue with his blood disorder.

Forechecker has the grades for the Predator's forwards. If my kids brought home grades like this, they would be grounded for months. Maybe that's not a bad idea for the players.

Paul McCann takes a look at the NHLPA mess at HockeyBuzz.

Around the NHL...

Monday's made for TV Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony was a big NHL event. Here is Puck Daddy's roundup of inductees. For those who missed it, NHL Snipers has all the speeches in one post.

Big news from @schuylerb: Beginning November 16, NHL Network will simulcast XM's "NHL Power Play." Show airs weekdays from 4pm – 6pm on XM Channel 204. For those wanting more live programing on the NHL Network, this is a big step in the right direction.

Matt Reitz takes a look at Allan Walsh's tweet over the weekend that has stirred up the masses. I saw it and realized that he repped Halak and thought that he was making a good point (disclaimer, I have Halak on a fantasy team).

Bill Daly says the league will pay Wayne Gretzky what he is owed.

Scott Burnside at ESPN rubs more salt into the Preds wound with another Rick Peverly story.

School of Block has some interesting goalie stories at Dobber Hockey.

Episode 26 of KingsCast has a review of the Kings-Preds game and an interview with PsychoPuckLady.

Mashable has an article discussing the NFL's Larry Johnson being released by the Kansas City Chiefs and the role a few Tweets may have played in the dismissal from the team.

Epic Fail or Feat at Hockey Independent. On a more serious note, B. D. Gallof has his latest take on the Lighthouse Project.

In a rare move, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat is returning for an online only edition after a 23 year hiatus. They appear ready to embrace social media to spread the news.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Adrian Dater and David Rogers on Tonight's POTG Radio (and More)

Another Monday means another edition of POTG Radio. This weeks show will feature Adrian Dater and David Rogers.

Adrian Dater is the Hockey expert from the Denver Post and will discuss the Avs fast start to the season and what we can expect from them for the rest of the season. His Avs Mailbag feature runs weekly on Monday's and is a great connection with the readership. All Things Avs is his main blog at the Post. Adrian is also very active on Twitter at @adater.

Adrian raised the ire of Predator fans after he took Preds fans to task for not selling out the Sommet Center on opening night when his Avalanche were the opposing team. His "No Holding Back" article on Versus can be found here.

David Rogers is an Associate Editor for Fanball and runs the Frozen Notes blog that covers all aspects of the St. Louis Blues. He is also active in NHL Fantasy on a couple of sites.

David will discuss this years version of the St. Louis Blues and their upcoming game with the Predators. Thursday's game in St. Louis will be a critical game for both teams in the tough Central Division race.

In Preds Nation...

John Glennon has insight into Saturday's big win over the Kings.

Rachel from What The Puck spent the weekend in the Southland and has recaps of the Anaheim and Kings games. That sounds like a great reason to visit LA.

Stephanie takes the reigns at See Puck City for a review of the win over the Kings.

Terry Murray called off Sunday's skate for the Kings because they looked so tired on the ice against the Predators.

Mark at the View From 111 takes on the head shot debate (head on shall we say).

Dacid Boclair at the City Paper has a nice piece on Jerred Smithson and the Pred free agent signings over the years.

Ryan Miller at Ads Shorts Shifts is still feeling the pain of the shootout against Peoria.

Here's a bit of an oddity. John Glennon is back on the road again this year with the Predators and being the team player that he is, he volunteered to help with the Titans coverage in San Francisco on Sunday. Here is a rare NFL piece by John.

Around the NHL...

In a long exhaustive piece, Elliotte Friedman takes a comprehensive look at the NHLPA situation, the past issues and the possibilities for the future. This is a good primer for those who are confused by the current issues. Update: Buzz Hargrove resigns.

When it seems like things couldn't get any worse for the Carolina Hurricanes, Cam Ward was cut by Rick Nash's skate and will be out for a while. This morning we hear this from @DarrenDreger: Legace will sign with Hurricanes today.

Injuries have become the rule of the day this year. Sam McCaig at the Hockey News looks at the fact that 12 of their top 50 players are out at this time.

Allan Muir at SI has an early look at the 2010 Entry Draft's top 30 prospects.

With the Hall of Fame inductions tonight, Brian Costello takes a look at the strength of this year's class.

Ryan at the RLD takes a look at where Peter Forsberg would be a good fit in the NHL.

This is something new where we are trying to reward our readers. This is our second give away. The first person to leave a comment below that gives me an email address or twitter name along with a comment that "I want the tickets" will receive two tickets to the Predators game vs San Jose Sharks on Tuesday Nov 17, 2009. They aren't the best seats but they are free to the winner.

Way off topic, surfing champ Kelly Slater returned to Cocoa Beach yesterday to surf in his brother's benefit event. I would love to see Slater surf in the waters that launched his unprecedented career.

Finally, here is a neat little video that is very French Canadian that reflects back to 1946 when every boy in Quebec was a Maurice Richard fan and had to have his sweater.


More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Surprise Kings with 3-1 Win

The Nashville Predators surprised everyone Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center. It was only the King's second home loss in regulation this year.

It was a rare non-televised game so it was only seen by the 15,237 that were in attendance. Everyone else was left to imagine the on ice action through the play-by-play call of their favorite announcers.

The game was scoreless until late in the second period when Francis Bouillon scored his first goal of the season at 16:38 on the power play. Assists were awarded to Cody Franson and Marty Erat.

The Preds took a 2-0 lead in the third period when Cody Franson nailed a slapshot on a feed from Marty Erat. Andreas Thuresson had his first NHL point on the secondary assist.

The Kings came back at 8:25 in the third with a power play goal on a tip by Dustin Brown. A little over a minute later Joel Ward put a wrister past Jonathon Quick to regain the two goal advantage for the Predators.

The Predator defense held firm for the remainder of the game despite the Kings 15 shot barrage during the final period.

Dan Ellis re-established himself in net stopping 27 of 28 Los Angeles shots. Those in attendance tweeted that he got several lucky bounces in the early stages of the game that undoubtedly contributed to his confidence.

Marty Erat had his first multi-point game of the year with two assists in his first game back from injury. In his second game back, Jason Arnott's minutes were down substantially with only 20 shifts and 14:23 in ice time.

Shea Weber has joined the team but did not skate today as he recovers from his foot injury. J. P. Dumont (back) and Colin Wilson (groin) remain in Nashville rehabilitating.

With the win, the Predators returned to the .500 mark at 7-7-1. The Preds travel north to the Bay area where they will play San Jose on Tuesday night.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Face Red-Hot Kings

After laying an egg in a 4-0 loss in Anaheim, the Nashville Predators travel north the the Staples Center to face the red-hot Los Angeles Kings in a "radio only" game at 3 p.m. Central.

While the Predators have been fighting to reach the .500 mark the Kings have not lost in regulation in their last eight games (6-0-2). The King's last game, on Thursday, was a one-sided affair where they dominated the Stanley Cup Champion, Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Predators remain without key players Shea Weber (foot), J.P. Dumont (Back) and Colin Wilson (groin). They are hoping to have Martin Erat back for today's game.

On paper, the game really appears to be a mismatch. The Kings are led in scoring by Anze Kopitar who has 13 goals and 13 assists to lead the NHL. The Predators do not have a player with more than three goals and only J.P Dumont is in double digits in points (3 g, 8a).

Dan Ellis (2-3-1) is slated to start in goal for the Preds in his first start since he was pulled in Minnesota after giving up three quick goals on October 28. Ellis is 4-1 lifetime versus the Kings. The surprising, Jonathan Quick (10-3-2) will start for the Kings.

The Predators will be at a disadvantage on special teams as they are ranked 29th (11.3%) on the power play while the Kings are ranked ninth (22.4%). The teams are a little more evenly matched on the penalty kill as the Preds are 23rd (76.9%) and the Kings are 27th (75.4%)

This is the first meeting of the year between the two teams. Last season the Predators swept the four games against the Kings, with the Kings only point coming in an overtime loss in April. The teams don't play again until March.

After the game, the Predators continue their road trip with a game in San Jose on Tuesday. The Kings end their brief home stand and head east for five games starting in Chicago on Monday night.

In Pred Land...

Dirk Hoag has the best preview of today's game at OnTheForecheck.

John Glennon has a story about injuries around the league and a visit to the Oakley Sunglasses factory with the team on Friday.

A very frustrated Eric Kent writes about the Ads loss last night at Short Shifts.

Mark Willoughby has his weekly Friday feature "My View."

Brandon Felder has a final wrap-up from the Preds-Ducks contest. Adam Brady does too (from the other view).

Forechecker has a post about Adam Sherlip's newest venture to promote hockey in the Himalayan state of Jammu & Kashmir. If you aren't familiar with Adam or his Hockey Foundation, check out an edition of POTGRadio from over the summer where Adam spent an entire hour with us.

Pierre LeBrun has a rare ESPN story on the Predators.

Around the NHL...

Tim Rosenthal has something that is a little hard to describe from the early rap era. He showed this to me earlier this week and I was at a loss to know what to do with it.

Here's an video interview with Chris Chelios from yesterday from OnTheWings.

From @gencarter via @scott_douglas UC Santa Cruz seeks a "Grateful Dead Archivist". Why can't every job title sound so awesome?

Finally, this girl needs to move from soccer to hockey and then see how tough she thinks she is then. Maybe women's soccer needs to consider an enforcer for each team.





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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass