POTG Radio Podcast from the Tweet-Up for Flood Relief and Tuesday Tidbits

Lat night's NHL Tweet-Up for Nashville Flood Relief was a huge success raising over $2000 for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Words cannot describe the great job Mark Willoughby did in organizing the event.

Kudos also go out to Jennifer Schwartzenberg of the Community Foundation and Rebbecca Ward of the Predators for their help. Also, the heart and soul of the event was Dani Muccio who was a driving factor in making the Tweet-Up happen all the way from Long Island. The flood victims of Nashville appreciate everyone's hard work.

There will continue to be items available at the online auction as long as they continue to come in. Several more great pieces are expected to be added over the next few days.

It was really fun to see a lot of old friends and to meet new ones too. It's always great to put faces with Twitter names. Special props go to Josh Farrar who drove in all the way from Knoxville to take in the event.

POTG Radio Podcast...

Last night's edition of POTG Radio was one of the best we have ever had. Chris Wassel of The Program ran the board from New Jersey helping us avoid issues that we have had on live remotes previously. Ryan Porth of the RLD and Jackson also co-hosted. Mark Willoughby acted as producer, running folks out to our swanky parking lot studio all night.

We had a whole bunch of guest including Jennifer Schwartzenberg of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Stu Grimson, Channel 2 news anchor Christine Maddela, Rebbecca Ward, Director of Community Relations for the Preds, Predators Coach Brent Peterson, and the voice of the Predators Pete Weber.

The hockey talk with Brent Peterson was particularly compelling as he talked in depth about the Preds-Hawks series and the current series between the Flyers and Hawks. Pete Weber talked about how he ended up in Nashville and Chris asked Stu the question about why Mary Erat was on the ice in the final seconds of game five.

If you did not listen live, click on the link below or go to iTunes for a download.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

Calder Cup Playoffs...

The Hershey Bears came alive on the road last night and defested the Texas Stars 6-3 to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the seven game AHL finals. Andrew Gordon, Kyle Wilson and Mathieu Perrault each had two goals to account for all the Bears scoring.

Ex-Predator Andrew Hutchinson, Francis Wathier, and Raymond Sawada scored for the Stars. Matt Climie had an unusual performance giving up six goals on 29 shots.

Game four will be tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. CDT in Austin.

In Preds Nation...

Bryan Mullen has a piece about Ryan Ellis this morning at the Tennessean.

From the all knowing @SLakePreds: D Robert Dietrich signs 3 year deal with Adler Mannheim in the DEL.

We had a note yesterday on the possibility of the Preds bringing Jonas Andersson back from the KHL. Dirk Hoag has more. Dirk also got his pencil working for an analysis of team faceoff percentage.

Ryan at the RLD takes a look at Predator's goaltending for next year.

Predators.com has a look at the new signage going up at the Bridgestone Arena.

Around the NHL...

Our friend Launy "The" Schwartz of Hockey 54 made the first cut in the SCORE Drafted 2 competition. Go to his video posted at their site and give positive comments to help him into the finals.

After much speculation Guy Boucher turned down the Blue Jacket's head coaching slot. Scott Arniel was later awarded the job. Here is an interview with Arneil from Neil Bristow from a while back. It is also reported, but not confirmed, that Boucher will end up in Tampa.

Steve Lapore thinks it is time that Versus receives the credit it deserves. He also has NBC's ratings from Sunday which were excellent going against the NBA playoffs.

Anthony Perez has the first part of a three part look at the Coyotes financial situation. Tonight will be the all important City of Glendale city council meeting to approve the exclusive agreement with the Ice Edge group.

Ryan Lambert deemed game five as the worst game of Chris Pronger's career. I'm betting he has one of his best in game six.

Dmitry Chesnokov interviewed Dominik Hasek about his signing with the KHL.

With all the franchises that are rumored to be for sale, Gary Bettman is keeping his options open with Winnipeg and Quebec City.

Nathan Fornier looks at the third pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft.

Chris Hayes wonders if he is turning Canadian on day 37 of his year long journey at Freddy Charles.

Jon Lawler, better known as Jon Fratelli, of "Chelsea Dagger" fame, was in Chicago over the weekend but did not make it to game five. If there is a game seven, how could the Hawks not bribe him into the arena.

The NYT has an interesting article of the growth of SB Nation and the expansion into regional sites. Our friend and media expert, Steve Lapore has joined the local New York site.

Dustin Byfuglien has stopped dancing. Intent to Blow has the details.

Odds and Ends...

More congrats to J.R. Lind who on again on Jeopardy last night bringing his two day total to $52,801. Here is last night's highlight reel. Be sure to watch tonight for day three.

Tiger Woods' Q-score, which is a marketability rating, plummeted in the most recent ranking. After being at the top for ten years, he fell to 25th, leaving Arnold Palmer as the top golfer.

Here is some amazing art done only with a pencil and paper.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Live at the Nashville Flood Relief Tweet-Up and Weekend Wrap-Up

The day for the Nashville Flood Relief Tweet-Up has finally arrived. The event will be from 6:00 to 9:00 tonight at the Tin Roof at 1516 Demonbreun St. in Nashville.

An updated list of auction items can be found here. All proceeds from the event will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Flood Relief Effort.

Scheduled to attend and meet and greet with fans are Barry Trotz, Brent Peterson, Peter Horachek, Mike Santos, Pete Weber, Terry Crisp, Tom Callahan, and Stu Grimson.

POTG Radio will broadcast live from the Tin Roof at our regular time of 7:00 p.m. CDT. We will have Chris Wassel of The Program running the board and co-hosting while we talk to coaches an fans who are able to join us. Ryan Porth will also join us and we will have Mark Willoughby on as well.

Join us live on BlogTalkRadio or on iTunes.



Hawks-Flyers Game Five...

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in what may have been one of the Hawks better games of the post season. Dustin Byfuglien lead the Hawks with two goals including an empty netter to end the contest.

The Hawks came out with plenty of jump and went up 3-0 in the first period. The teams alternated the next eight goals with the Flyers never cutting the lead to less than two. The Hawks picked up two power play goals after struggling on the man advantage in the first four games.

As good as the Flyers looked in Philadelphia, they looked even worse in Chicago. Chris Pronger was a minus five (and on the ice for a PP goal) for the evening and was drilled into the boards by Byfuglien in what was probably the statement play of the game.

When the game ended, Ben Eager was certain to make sure Pronger did not add another puck to his collection. After his poor performance, you would hope Pronger would have more on his mind.

The series returns to Philadelphia on Wednesday where the Flyers will try to keep the streak alive where home teams have won every game in the finals through five games.

Calder Cup...

The Texas Stars continued to confound the experts by beating the heavily favored Hershey Bears 4-3 again in game two on Saturday night. The game was tied with 45 seconds left when Travis Morin broke the tie and sent the Stars back to Texas with a 2-0 lead.

Tonight's game in Austin will start at 7:30 and will be available on XM Radio.

Special Thanks...

Thanks go out to one of our favorite sites, Intent To Blow, who named us as the Team Blogger of the Week. If you are not following them or making the site a regular stop in your daily reading, you are missing out.

In Pred Nation...

From @dchesnokov: According to reports in Russia and Sweden, KHL Dynamo Minsk' Jonas Andersson is close to signing with the #Predators.

Paul McCann has an idea about Jason Spezza coming to Nashville as well as game five thoughts.

Jim Diamond takes a look at prospect Gabriel Bourque. Bourque's junior coach wouldn't be surprised to see him play a few NHL games next season.

Jay Levin at Preds.com has a look at the draft with Adam Kimelman.

Blake Geoffrion was named the College Player of the Year by USA Hockey. He will receive the award on June 12, in Colorado Springs at the "Night of Tribute Dinner".

Around the NHL...

Hawknut has a good assessment of "bandwagon" fans and why teams need them at VFMS.

For what it is worth, here are the results of the KHL Draft held on Friday. Not many familiar names on the list. Pred's prospects Roman Josi was drafted 95th which makes little sense as he signed an entry level contract with the Preds a couple of weeks ago.

It looks like Ice Edge has taken the upper hand again with a vote scheduled for Tuesday night on an exclusive agreement to negotiate with the City of Glendale. Here is an analysis of the proposed agreement. This post also mentions a name change to the Arizona Coyotes.

Guy Boucher has been offered the Columbus Head Coaching job per the Columbus Dispatch.

Patrick Hoffman has another interview in his series with hockey bloggers. This time he has James "Tapeleg" Gralian in a really good piece.

Dmitry Chesnokov has a good piece about Ilya Kovalchuk's options in the free agent market at Puck Daddy.

Twtapps has a nice mention of Dani Muccio's NHL Tweetup page and use of Twtvite.

Odds and Ends...

The legendary John Wooden passed away Friday night and Sports by Brooks has another great one, Vin Scully's reaction.

Local writer and Preds fan, J.R. Lind was on Jeopardy on Friday and will return tonight to try to extend his win streak. Here is the big win at the end of Friday's show.



Evolutionary biologist Mark Moffett looks at the social structure of any colonies and how it mimics human behavior. I wonder how it would change if they developed a Twitter app and could talk to other colonies?

SpaceX's Falcon 9 had a successful first launch on Friday after the first attempt was halted as the countdown clock neared zero.

Here is a brief history of how Foursquare came to be from Wired.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Game Four Tonight and Friday Round-Up

Game four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks kicks off tonight at 7:00 p.m. on Versus. After Wednesday's 2-1 win by the Flyers, all thoughts of a short series appears to have vanished.

A win tonight for the Flyers is almost as critical as the one in game three. If the Flyers can win, the SCF will be shortened to a best of three series. If the Hawks win, they will have a chance to close out the series on home ice on Sunday night.

Fans have had a unique opportunity to experience the ebbs and flows of the playoffs this year in a way not possible in the past. To an extent, last year was the first year that several hockey writers and other media were using Twitter to report the hour to hour nuances that flow during the Stanley Cup finals.

This year, the list of folks Tweeting notes, comments and especially pictures has increased many-fold. The Ron MacLean story (below) ran rampant on Twitter almost immediately after it happened. Pictures from the games as well as around Chicago and Philadelphia have taken on almost iconic stature. We've seen an unlimited pictures of food, statues, and national treasures.

Twitter has also bonded folks together in a national network of folks and led to gatherings in remote cities like the Tweet-up for Flood Relief in Nashville on Monday. If you don't have someone to talk hockey with next door, it doesn't matter because you can have hundreds from all across North America that will discuss any topic you want to bring up.

In prior years, a few AP style write-ups a day was the best you could expect, but with Twitter fans can almost experience the "being there" feeling that has never been possible before. It will be interesting to see where technology takes us in the next few years to provide even more minute by minute coverage of the SCF and other big sporting events as well.

AHL Playoffs...

The Texas Stars did the unthinkable on Thursday night as they beat the Hershey Bears 2-1 in game one of the Calder Cup finals. Hershey had not lost a home game during the playoffs or in any game since March 21.

Deep in the heart of Texas, over 750 Stars fans gathered for a viewing party in the midst of summer heat. Scott McCulloch scored the GWG 2:10 in the third period. Goalie Matt Climie held firm stopping all 12 Hershey shots.

Game two will be Saturday night in Hershey.

In Pred Nation...

David Boclair brings clarity to the rash of recent Predator draftee signings.

The evidence is in that everyone had a good time at the very successful Rink Rebuild Event put on by Paul McCann and SlapShot Radio on Wednesday night. Here is the photographic evidence.

AJ also has a report on the evening at PMFF.

Dirk starts his season reviews with Ryan Suter at OnTheForecheck.

Mark from 111 has his weekly View. Don't ask a psychiatrist for a second opinion.

Predators sponsor and investment broker A D Vallett has been accused of fraud by the SEC. The Preds denied that he was more than a team sponsor. Here is a more detailed report from the Nashville Post.

Around the NHL...

Brian Burke is shopping Thomas Kaberle and is not happy with the negative spin he's been getting from HNIC. He also indicates that he doesn't want his staff with nothing to do on the first day of the draft.

For those of us south of the border, Puck Daddy brings us the video of the HNIC Bettman-MacLean visit on Wednesday night along with some unofficial scoring.

Ron MacLean still had enough in him to help pull a guy out of the Delaware River yesterday. Here's the video interview with MacLean giving his account of the incident.

Adam Proteau has a look at some of Bettman's other recent actions.

Fanhouse has a ranking of the top 50 Free Agents. Dan Hamhuis is #4 and Dan Ellis is #45. Michael Leighton at #40 is a bit of a surprise.

Versus did well in Game 3, and the first three games have the best ratings since 2002. Steve Lapore has the story.

The Wings have allegedly locked up Tomas Holmstrom for two more years.

Intent to Blow finds out that Kerry Frazier was really the umpire that cheated Armando Gallarraga out of his perfect game.

Forbes TV has a nice piece on how the Prudential Center has helped revitalize Newark.

Kingscast goes public with their bloopers in episode 62.

Matt Reitz wants an uncensored version of the "sounds of the game."

Odds and Ends...

There is a Firefox plugin that will replace any mention of BP with an oil smudge. There's also one to erase any mention of Justin Bieber. I could ruin my daughter's online experience if I installed that one on her netbook. Hmm...

Today is National Donut Day. It was started in 1938 by the Salvation Army to honor women who served donuts to soldiers during WW1. Dunkin Donuts gives a free donut wit drink while Krispy Kreme will give a free donut with nor purchase required.

More weird weather oddities in Arizona where dust storms are routinely closing I-40 east of Flagstaff.

I'm not an NBA fan but you can get a Lakers or Celtics badge on Foursquare just by shouting.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Flyers Make It A Series and Thursday Thoughts

Folks we have a series!

The pendulum finally swung the other way last night as the Philadelphia Flyers took advantage of the home ice change to get more beneficial match-ups and beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime.

Claude Giroux scored the game winner on a redirection 5:59 into overtime to send the crowd home with a victory.

The Flyers' Simon Gagne had a goal waived off earlier in overtime but Giroux's goal was clearly in the net and the deciding factor.

The game was a back and forth affair with both teams having the lead at times. Chicago's only lead was at 3-2 and lasted for only 20 seconds early in the third period. Patrick Kane put the Hawks up 3-2 and then Ville Leino came back and scored on the next shift to make it 3-3 which is how regulation ended.

Giroux was clearly the hero as he played well and assisted on two other Flyer goals. Patrick Kane broke out of his scoreless streak for the Hawks with a goal and an assist.

Game four will be tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Versus.

Oddly enough, for the second game in a row, I had the winner and correct score. However, I did not pick OT. So a wise person would go the opposite way of my choice tomorrow since my luck has obviously been used up.

AHL Playoffs...

In the midst of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, the AHL Calder Cup Finals start tonight with the Texas Stars traveling to Hershey to take on the Bears. This is Hershey's fourth appearance in the finals in the last five years.

Hershey will be the heavy favorite after a season that saw them set the AHL record for wins with 60.

The AHL did a good job of staggering games so that they are played on Stanley Cup off nights up until games 4 and 5 that could conflict with SCF games 6 and 7 if the series goes that far. All games will be carried by XM Radio unless games 4 and 5 conflict with the NHL finals. Here is the complete schedule.

2010 Calder Cup Finals

Game 1 – Thu., June 3 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00 ET
Game 2 – Sat., June 5 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00 ET
Game 3 – Mon., June 7 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30 ET
Game 4 – Wed., June 9 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30 ET
*Game 5 – Fri., June 11 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30 ET
*Game 6 – Mon., June 14 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00 ET
*Game 7 – Wed., June 16 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00 ET
*if necessary

In Pred Nation...

Brandon Felder crawls out from his corporate hole and accesses what has changed for the Preds since their playoff exit. It's good to hear from you Brandon.

AJ has part three of A Tale of Two Cities.

Forechecker has the story of Dan Hamhuis heading to Haiti to visit kids at a TB hospital. Here's the NHLPA release.

Aaron Sims makes the case for Claude Noel as permanent coach in Columbus. I'm not sure that would inspire the locals from what I've heard. He also notes the Lane Lambert-Steve Yzerman connection for the Tampa job.

Jon Blum is number three in the top five rookies in the AHL playoffs. Number on is Jamie Benn who leads Texas into the finals against Hershey.

The Cincinnati Cyclones announced their protected list for players that they hope to sign before the July 1 deadline.

Rumor from @HockeyJordan "Preds offered BC boy Dan Hamhuis for #canucks prospect Hodgson and 1st round pick but Gillis declined (Via 1040).

Jim Diamond has the details on the Brent Peterson's Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit Parkinson's research.

Forechecker has news on an auction to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Around the NHL...

To no one's surprise, the Coyote's Don Maloney was named the GM of the year at the GM meetings. David Poile of the Predators was a finalist along with George McPhee of Washington. It appears that the award was given to the GM with a quick turnaround as opposed to Poile who has had long term success building a competitive franchise on a limited budget.

The NHL GM's also have proposed a more permanent rule on blindside hits. It will now head to the competition committee.

The finalists were announced for Mark Messier's leadership award. Shane Doan, Ryan Miller and Sidney Crosby will find out who the winner is at the NHL Award Show in Las Vegas in three weeks.

NHL Entry Draft ticket's are free for a $1.25 download charge at the Kings website starting on Saturday.

Stever Yzerman post a letter to fans at the Lightning site.

Matt Reitz loves Ian Laperriere and has a fine article about his storied career.

With the off season looming, Michelle Kenneth has a list of hockey movies to take in this summer.

Intent to Blow reveals that Chris Pronger has won the Asshats of America award every year since 1996. ITB follows Pronger on an off day to see how he does it. Down Goes Brown also details Pronger's history.

Ducks Blog has a few suggestions for NBC. I have another issue with the sound. They can't seem to hit the right mix of arena sound and announcer sound. Maybe they should offer a SAP channel with no announcer at all and put the announcers in the forefront on the regular broadcast.

The LA Kings site now has a Fight Club.

Odds and Ends...

I'm not sure why this hasn't received more attention but the Journey's Backyard BBQ Tour will be at Cool Springs this Saturday.

There's a new theory that the US is more susceptible to hurricanes during low sunspot activity.

The flood ravaged Opryland Hotel will not reopen until November 15. In the meantime, 1700 employees are being let go as of June 12. I can't imagine that restaffing won't be a nightmare after five months.

Here's a blow to iPhone users, ATT just got rid of their unlimited data plan. Hopefully, Verizon doesn't do anything this stupid.

Interesting stuff on the new AP Stylebook that came out yesterday.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Tonight is the Night for the SlapShot Radio Rink Rebuild Event and Wednesday Updates

Paul McCann and SlapShot Radio will be having their fundraiser and silent auction to benefit the efforts to rebuild the Bellevue rink that was recently destroyed in in last month's flooding. It will be held at Pie in the Sky Pizza-Midtown at 110 Lyle Ave off of West End from 5:00 to 9:30.

Paul will have an expanded edition of SlapShot Radio and numerous local hockey luminaries are expected to attend. Pete Weber, Tom Callahan, Arena Host Mac, Gnash and many others are set to attend.

Game three of the Stanley Cup Finals will be on the big screens.

Here are some of the items that will be available in the silent auction:

• A Dallas Stars Jersey - Signed by the entire team
• Signed pucks from Steve Sullivan and Jason Arnott
• A signed framed print of our Olympic Medal winners, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter with their medals
• Fire and Ice Enetertainment Packages featuring gift certificates from Sportsplex, the wave pool and Pie in the Sky
• Rock Climbing Packages from the Crag @ Cool Springs
• Pizza Lover’s Packages from Pie in the Sky
• Pete Weber recording your voice mail announcment
• Puck signed by Gordie Howe
• Puck signed by Bobby Hull
• Two brand new Warrior "Kronik" Adult Sticks
• Bauer Hockey Roller Bag - X-Large
• Game used, signed sticks from former Preds Greg Zanon and Chris Mason and current Pred JP Dumont
• Elvis Presley Stamps - First Day Issue Collection
• A Collector's Tin containing 30 exclusive Pinnacle Joe DiMaggio cards.
• A Collector's Tin featuring Mickey Mantle Upper Deck Metallic Impressions Collector cards.
• A Cal Ripkin Ironman Commemorative issue 23k Gold Foil Card

We encourage everyone to attend and support youth in-line hockey in Nashville.

Tonight's Chicago-Philadelphia Game Three...

Hockey fans hoping for an extended series will be pulling for the Philadelphia Flyers tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks as the series moves to the East coast for game three. Coverage moves to Versus and starts at 7:00 p.m.

This series resembles the Western Conference finals where San Jose was close in every game but never broke into the win column. The Flyers best chance for a win is tonight in front of a highly charged Philadelphia crowd but Chicago has been exceptional on the road, not losing since the first round.

I expect a much more physical, game with more power play opportunities than we have seen so far. This will be a night where the hotter goalie will have a chance to be the difference.

In Pred Nation...

Scott Cullen at TSN looks at the Pred's off season plan.

Paul McCann has his latest update on tonight's event as well as a few thoughts after two games of the finals.

Ryan at RLD Radio on BTR had The Hockey News' Adam Proteau on yesterday's show. Here is the podcast.

Aaron Sims has received additional duties in Milwaukee in addition to his current play by play position.

Around the NHL...

Detroit re-signed Nicklas Lidstrom to a one year deal worth that will keep the future hall of famer in the league for another year.

Ryan's at the RLD has version two of his mock draft with a change at the top.

Puck Daddy has the story of Chris Pronger's intimidation by snatching pucks.

Steve Lepore has the big numbers for NBC for game two. Here more detail from the NBC release.

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced that Marc De Foy and Ron Weber will be inducted into the media wing of the HHOF in a November ceremony. June 22 is the day for other nominees to be announced.

We had news last week of an IHL and CHL merger. The official announcement came out yesterday.

Eric Smith discusses the Blue Jackets current needs at Bleacher Report. Also, congrats to Eric with his new gig at Fox Sports Ohio.

One of the age old traditions in new facilities is the mass toilet flush. They are looking for volunteers in Pittsburgh.

Bridgestone has signed on for five more years of Winter Classic sponsorships.

Odds and Ends...

Alleged Tennesseans, Al and Tipper are splitting up after 40 years.

Michelle Kenneth does a book review of "Eleven Minutes".

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Hawks Win 2-1 With Back to Back Goals and Tuesday Thoughts

The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to take a 2-0 series lead to Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

The game was all defense and goaltending for the better part of two periods until Marion Hossa and Ben Eager scored back to back goals 28 seconds apart at the end of the second period. Hossa's goal was on a scramble beside the net, but Eager's goal was one goalie Michael Leighton would love to have back.

Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers early in the third to make it a close game down the stretch.

After a wild 6-5 contest in game one, both teams chose to focus on clogging up the neutral zone and pushing the puck to the opponents boards. It was a very effective strategy and led to a much more physical game.

Dan Carcillo played his first game in the finals and found plenty of folks to hit and shove, turning up the hate meter between the two squads.

Leighton played a good game in taking the loss, but Antti Niemi was very sharp and kept the Hawks in the game until they were able to get the lead.

Going into Wednesday's game three, the Hawks have statistics on their side as the home team has been 32-2 when taking a 2-0 lead on the road for game three. One of the two was last year's Pittsburgh Penguins.

The first two games could have gone either way but the Hawks have come out with one goal victories in both. Fans wanting a long series hope that the Flyers will be able to break trough with a win and extend the series.

This series has a similar look to the way the Hawks beat the Sharks in the conference finals where the Sharks were never really out of it but still never won a game. Wednesdays game will go a long way in seeing just how long a series we may have.

Programming Note...

I was on SportsTalkSoup Radio on BTR after game one and correctly predicted a 2-1 Hawks win in game two. That just proves that a blind squirrel finds a nut every one and a while.

In Pred Nation...

David Boclair calls for a new captain at The City Paper. He also writes about former Preds and their shot at the Cup with the Flyers.

Jim Diamond continues casting the Predators with the defensemen.

From the all knowing @SLakePreds: Reports are D Robert Dietrich in negotiations with 4 DEL teams. Likely to play in Germany next season.

Paul McCann had a look at game one and information on SlapSHotRadio's big fundraiser tomorrow night.

The Sports Betting Network labels the Preds as a surprise team for last season and looks for bigger things next season.

Kelly at Preds Fanatic bleeds blue and lives to tell about it.

Around the NHL...

Chris Johnson met with Jeremy Roenick to discuss who he was cheering for among his former teams.

Buffalo prospect Zach Kassian was arrested over the weekend after a bar fight in Windsor. Kassian was a key member of this year's Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires.

Steve Lapore has a round-up of Saturday's broadcast by NBC.

Jay Feaster writes about what Steve Yzerman faces as the new GM in Tampa. Feaster should know.

Odds and Ends...

Some of the moon rocks that were distributed to all 50 states and over 100 countries by Richard Nixon have disappeared. There is an effort underway to locate the missing rocks.

Also on the space front, there is a huge competition among museums to land one of two soon to be retired space shuttles. Discovery is going to the Smithsonian but Atlantis and Endeavour are up for bid.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Hawks Win Unusual Opener and Weekend Round-Up

After looking through a ton of projections, predictions and analysis of what to expect from the Blackhawks and Flyers Stanly Cup Finals series, I don't recall anyone saying that game one would be a wide open 6-5 game that would look like something you would expect to see in mid-October.

The game was the perfect opener for NBC and Gary Bettman who wanted to attract non-fans for the remaining games. Having ten goals scored in the first two periods provided enough action even for a casual fan that normally claims that there's not enough scoring.

The third period was more typical of what you would expect to see in a game in the finals. Thomas Kopecky's game winner 8:21 int the period was the difference in the Hawks 6-5 victory. Kopecky had been scratched the last five games and played only because of an injury to Andrew Ladd.

Most of the scoring for both teams came from lesser known players with Patric Sharp and Danny Briere being the only "name" players to score. Briere also had three assists for the Flyers. Troy Brouwer was another hero for the Hawks, scoring twice.

The much ballyhooed match between Chris Pronger and Dustin Byfuglien was a non-factor other than Byfuglien leading all players in hits with 10.

The Marion Hossa "curse" also did not come in to play as Hossa played a solid two-way game and had two assists.

Game two will be Monday at 7:00 p.m. on NBC. I expect to see a totally different contest with the teams more focused on defense. Both teams will try to slow down play in the neutral zone and push play to the boards and into the corners.

It is unclear if the Flyers will start Michael Leighton or Brian Boucher who came in after Leighton gave up five goals on 20 shots. Boucher played better giving up one goal on 12 shots and may be called on to star game two, especially if Leighton's confidence level is down after being pulled.

One thing became clear in game one. The Flyers can be competitive with the Hawks and could push this to six or seven games if they can win game two. Game one was not what anyone expected but it still goes in the books with Chicago leading 1-0 in the seven game series.

Special Thanks...

I'd like to give a special thanks to Charter Cable and Columbia Power for their quick response to getting the power and cable lines restored after a freak storm knocked down the lines in my yard on Friday night. The Power company was on the scene within an hour and the cable/Internet was only off for 19 hours. I consider that excellent response on a holiday weekend that allowed us to watch game one last night.

Programming Note...

We will not have a POTG Radio tomorrow as it would fall at the same time as Game two of the Finals. We will return next Monday with a special Nashville Flood Relief Tweet-up Edition live from the Tin Roof. If you are really dying to hear POTG Radio, check out our archive of 63 episodes at iTunes.

In Pred Nation...

Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean sits down with Bary Trotz to get the coach's breakdown of the Hawks-Flyers series.

Buried at the end of this article is a note that the NHL GM of the Year ward in which David Poile is a finalists, will be announced Wednesday.

Mark Willoughby has a great piece on the drama playing out in the sale of the Texas Rangers and the "best interest" clause that may be invoked that could decimate future financing for sports franchises. The big issue will be whether a short term solution will lead to long term problems in the industry.

Ryan Porth looks at the Predator's forwards for next season.

Big Kev goes through the Predator free agents on defense.

Around the NHL...

Steve Lepore has the game one overnight ratings news for NBC. it was the best in eleven years.

Puck Daddy gives his readers their marching orders on how to improve ratings during the Stanley Cup Finals.

From the Point reports that Sidney Crosby will sign the biggest endorsement deal in the history of hockey.

Intent to Blow has the story behind the story of Pittsburgh getting the home ice for next season's Winter Classic.

Odds and Ends...

This time lapse video of the Gulf oil splill is a little confusing due to clouds cover at times but I guess it is the best that NASA has.

Like a lot of folks, I did not know that Seattle's Best was owned by Starbucks.

Which state has the least knowledgeable drivers. According to this survey, it is New York. i imagine part of that has to do with the fact that many urban dwellers do not drive.

Talk about the bottom falling out of the luxury housing market, a house formally owned by Cecil Fielder in Brevard County, Florida that was built for $4 million in the early 90's sold at auction for $1.16 million. The video with the story is interesting.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators sign Atte Engren to Two-Year Entry Level Contract

The Predators brought their sixth goalie under contract for next season when they signed Atte Engren to a two-year entry level contract.

The 22 year old Finnish goaltender was drafted in the 2007 NHL Entry draft and most recently played for TPS Turku in the Finnish Elete League where he was 7-1 in the post season.

Here is the full release from the Predators...


PREDATORS SIGN 2007 DRAFTEE ENGREN TO AN ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT

Nashville, Tenn. (May 28, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed 2008 draft pick Atte Engren (AH-tay EHN-grehn) to a two-year entry-level contract.

Engren, 22 (2/19/88), is fresh off backstopping TPS Turku to the 2010 Finnish Elite League (SM-Liiga) title. In his first appearance in the SM-Liiga Playoffs, the 6-1, 184-pound goaltender posted a 7-1 record, ranking fourth in postseason goals-against average (1.82) and fifth in save percentage (.936). In 35 regular-season appearances with TPS in 2009-10, Engren also ranked fourth in the Finnish League in save percentage (.921) and ninth in wins (21) after appearing in just six contests for the club in 2008-09.

The Rauma, Finland native was Nashville's ninth choice, 204th overall (seventh round), in 2007 Entry Draft.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Officially Announce Roman Josi Signing

The Nashville Predators officially announced the signing of 19 year old defensive prospect Roman Josi to a high dollar three year entry level contract. According to Cap Geek, the cap hit would be $1 million a year including salary and bonuses for any time spent at the NHL level.

The Bern, Switzerland native, has played in numerous international competitions and was scheduled to play for the Swiss Olympic team in Vancouver before suffering a hand injury. He is one of the Preds higher regarded prospects as indicated by the dollar value of the signing.

The signing first hit the Internet on Thursday at Swiss Hockey site Slapshot.ch.

Here is the official release from the Predators...

PREDATORS SIGN 2008 SECOND ROUNDER ROMAN JOSI

Nashville, Tenn. (May 28, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed 2008 second round draft pick Roman Josi (ROH-man YO-see) to a three-year entry-level contract.

Josi, 19 (6/1/90), helped SC Bern win both the Swiss League regular season and playoff titles in 2009-10. In Bern’s postseason run, the 6-1 198-pounder led all defensemen and tied for fourth overall in goals (6), in addition to ranking second at the position and tied for ninth among all skaters in points (13). During the 2009-10 regular season, Josi was limited to 26 of Bern’s 50 contests due to injury, but ranked second among Swiss blueliners in points per game (.81). In 2008-09, he led all Swiss League junior players in points (7), goals (17) and assists (24), and in 2007-08, Josi was one of just four 17-year-olds to play in Switzerland’s top division.

The 38th overall selection in 2008 also has a lengthy international play resume. The Bern, Switzerland native led Swiss defensemen in points (1g-2a-3pts) and plus/minus rating (+3) in seven games in his second appearance at the World Championships in May. He has also played three World Junior Championships and two U-18 World Championships. Josi was named to the Swiss team for the 2010 Olympics, but could not participate due to injury.

Josi will attend Predators training camp in September, and is expected to play his first North American season in 2010-11.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

The Stanley Cup Finals Picks and Friday Round-Up

The last two days we have discussed the strengths of each team in the Finals and how either could win the Stanley Cup. On Wednesday, we looked at how the Flyers could win and yesterday we looked at the same thing with the Hawks.

Today we will put it on the line with our choices. Based on our track record, I'm not sure you should head to Vegas with our picks. In the first round, I was 3-5 while Jackson was 4-4. We were each 1-3 in the second round as I had Chicago as my lone winner and Jackson had San Jose. In the Conference Finals, we each picked both winners.

Buddy's Pick...

In the preseason, I had the Philadelphia Flyers winning the Stanley Cup. I had Ray Emery with a good shot at the Masterton as they rolled over Anaheim in the finals. Most folks have forgotten Emery is even on the team but the core strength of the Flyers team that I held in high esteem is still present.

I thought that Chicago's goaltending would be their downfall as Christobal Huet was not up to the task. I was right about Huet but never saw the emergence of Antti Niemi on the horizon.

On paper, heading into the Finals, the teams appear similar. I do think that Chicago has the edge in speed, defense and depth. If Michael Leighton and Niemi continue to play as they have, they are probably a wash in goal. Philadelphia might have a slight edge in physicality but the Hawks will not be bothered by the Flyers grit.

I will not be totally shocked if Philadelphia wins the series, especially if a "hero" emerges and takes the team on a roll. I fully expect the Hawks to take the cup if they continue to play as they have. I see both teams splitting their first two home games and the Hawks winning game five and six. As for the Hawk's hero, Marian Hossa is going to put the past two years behind him and have a good series. Blackhawks in six

Jackson's Pick...

All the ingredients for a long, hard fought series are in place. Two gritty, 60 minute teams going at it at the big dance.

All year long, I said that the Stanley Cup Champion would be out of the Western Conference this year and I’m sticking to it.

At the start of the playoffs, Chicago’s main concerns were with Antti Niemi. As we sit here, a day away from game one of the finals, I think it’s safe to say that Niemi has been anything, but a concern.

Philadelphia? Same thing. Going with two back up goaltenders into the playoffs isn’t something you want to do. Not only did they adapt to the given circumstances, both goaltenders played lights out hockey for their club.

Offense obviously hasn’t been a problem for either of these teams throughout the playoffs. Chicago has a slight edge in Goals per Game with a 3.31 over Philly’s 3.18.

Both teams are in the top two in the GA/G column. Basically meaning we’ll be seeing a lot of low scoring, intense, to the buzzer games.

Without any ease, I’m going to take Chicago is seven.

Are your tired of History Will be Made? Try this...

In Pred Nation...

Seth Lake must read every foreign language hockey blog that there is on the Internet. On Monday, he found the story from Sweden about the Anders Lindback signing. Yesterday, he found the Swiss site that had the details of the Predators signing young defensive prospect Roman Josi. No official announcement from the Preds yet. Section 303 has a more English oriented story.

Tom Callahan has his thoughts on the upcoming Cup Finals.

Paul McCann has a few points about the Finals at HockeyBuzz.

David Boclair points out that the Predators lost to the eventual Western Conference Champs in their last two playoff appearances.

Mark Willoughby has his weekly My View at 111.

Jeremy Gover at Section 303 is very frustrated with the NHL for the alleged choice of Washington playing at Pittsburgh for next New Year's Day's Winter Classic.

The Milwaukee Admiral's Web site has the story of Kimmo Timonen playing for the Cup.

Around the NHL...

From @TSNBobMcKenzie: NHL will announce Friday what has previously been reported: Was vs Pit @ Heinz Field Jan. 1 and Mtl vs. Cgy at McMahon Stadium in mid-Feb.

Adrian Dater lauds the glory of the hardware that is the Stanley Cup.

TSN will have a live blog during the NHL combine today.

So why Chelsea Dagger?

Jon Jordan discusses potential coaches for Tampa Bay and tells what Rick Tocchet had to say about the Steve Yzerman hiring.

Is this year's Windsor Spitfires the best ever in Junior Hockey? Bob Duff looks at some of the best ever.

The city of Glendale actually coughed up $25 million into Coyotes escrow account. I can hear the Goldwater folks warming up for this one.

Michelle Kenneth analyzes the Ilya Kovalcuk situation in New Jersey.

Amanda Fortier analyzes the stages of elimination grief at VFMS.

Word has leaked that the teams of the International Hockey league will join the Central Hockey League to create the largest AA league in the US.

Freddy Charles explores the 1972 Summit Series.

Odds and Ends...

The Space Shuttle Atlantis completed a near perfect flight and may never fly again. Of all the billions of dollars wasted by the government, they get more "feel good" bang for the buck from the space program than anything else. Let's hope the program is extended until firm plans are in place to be able to service the ISS.

Industry week shares how Ford has prospered when other car makers are in deep trouble.

Being a Geography major, I love maps. Here are 10 interesting maps in one article.

The wizards at NOAA are scaring people with their hurricane forecasts to keep their funding level up.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Why The Hawks Could Win The Cup and Thursday Thoughts

Yesterday, we took a look at why the Philadelphia Flyers could win the Stanley Cup. Today, wee will look at at How the Chicago Blackhawks could win. Tomorrow, we will reveal our picks.

Chicago struggled in their first round series against the Nashville Predators but hit their stride in the second round against Vancouver. The conference final series against San Jose was near perfect.

Destiny: After the miracle finish in game five against the Predators when Patrick Kane scored short-handed with seconds left to tie the game and Marion Hossa scored coming out of the penalty box in OT, you knew that the hockey gods were smiling on the Hawks.

Western Conference Style of Play: Granted, the Flyers play tough and have speed of their own, but the Hawks are used to skating hard for 60 minutes along side other speedy teams from the West. I doubt that the Flyers will be able to completely slow them down.

Too Young to Crack: Patrick Kane said the team was too young to be nervous during the playoffs. With Kane being 21 and Captain Jonathan Toews at 22, all they know to do is win.

Pronger vs. Byfuglien: Big Buff has frustrated Roberto Luongo and Evgeni Nabokov so Chris Pronger will have to keep him away from the less experienced Michael Leighton or he will cause problems for the Flyers.

Road Warriors: The Hawks have won their last seven road games going back to game four in the opening series. If they win the first two at home, it will be a short series.

Goaltending: Before the playoffs, goaltending was the Hawks big question mark but Antti Niemi has responded going 12-4 with two shutouts and a 2.33 goals against average. He is playing like a seasoned veteran after three solid rounds.

Explosive Offense: The Hawks have many weapons with Jonathan Toews the odds on favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy, Dustin Byfuglien scoring dirty goals in front of the net, and Patrick Kane, who I feel is the most dangerous player in the West with the puck on his stick. Toews is on a 13 game point streak and leads all playoff scorers with 26 points. The danger doesn’t stop there as all four lines can put the puck on net.

Defense: The Hawks top two pairings can match up with anyone in the league lead by Olympians Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Campbell, Sopel, and Hjalmarsson have also logged big minutes as the Hawks play deeper than the Flyers. No one has shown more heart than Duncan Keith who played after losing seven teeth.

Special Teams: All season long, the Hawks have been excellent on the penalty kill and rarely have to use it as they are a very disciplined team averaging 10.2 pims in the playoffs. Their power play has improved in the playoffs as they are scoring at a 22.6% clip.

X-Factor: On the Stanley Cup Finals losing teams the last two years, Marion Hossa may find renewed life against the Flyers. In his career, he has 8 goals and 14 assists in 16 games against Philadelphia. Could it be that he has played the wrong team the last two seasons?

Tomorrow, we will be back with our final predictions in a series that should provide fans with plenty of excitement.

AHL Finals Set...

The final match-up for the Calder Cup was set last night as the Texas Stars scored four unanswered goals to beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2 at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton was ahead and seemed to be in control but Texas kept hanging close and finally went ahead and won the game.

The Bulldogs out played the Stars for most of the game and lead in the shot count 43-20. For the series, the Stars only lead for only 24:19 of the 446:11 total minutes.

The finals will pit the heavily favored Hershey Bears against the Stars and will not start for over a week. Here is the complete schedule:

2010 Calder Cup Finals (best-of-seven)

Game 1 – Thu., June 3 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00
Game 2 – Sat., June 5 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00
Game 3 – Mon., June 7 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30
Game 4 – Wed., June 9 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30
*Game 5 – Fri., June 11 – Hershey at Texas, 8:30
*Game 6 – Mon., June 14 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 16 – Texas at Hershey, 7:00
*if necessary... All times Eastern

In Preds Nation...

Before the Tweep-Up event at the Tin Roof on June 7, Slap Shot Radio is doing a live remote and Stanley Cup watch party at the Vandy/Midtown Pie in the Sky Pizza on Wednesday June 2nd from 5pm - 9:30pm to raise awareness and money for Youth Incorporated's Inline Hockey program. Their rink in Bellevue was destroyed by the flooding. We will be having a silent auction and donations that will go directly to the rebuild effort. Rebuilding a rink is an expensive proposition, especially for a non-profit like Youth Inc. Their inline hockey program really drives up participation in youth ice hockey in middle Tennessee and continues to make new fans for the NHL and most especially, the Predators. Pete Weber and Paul McCann will be on hand along with a lot of other Pred fans. make plans to attend. AJ at PMFF has another post on the event.

The Predators officially announced the signing of Swedish goalie Anders Lindback on Wednesday. David Boclair spoke with Paul Fenton, who indicated that the Preds will probably enter camp in the Fall with Mark Dekanich being given a chance at the back-up role behind Pekka Rinne. Jay Levin has much more on the goalie pipeline at Predators.com.

Jim Diamond has details about the Predator's Dancers tryouts at the Examiner. On a more serious note, he also gives his thoughts on the finals with a bold prediction.

Jeremy at Section303 has the story of why the Hawks-Flyers series is good for the NHL.

Chris Burton at OnTheForcheck has Five Reasons to Root for the Hawks. The survey shows that most Pred fans are indeed, pulling for Chicago.

Around the NHL...

The NHL combine continues. News has been sparse but can be found at the NHL blog.

More details are out about the NHL's shakedown of the Glendale city council in the pay $25 million or lose the team deadline last week.

From @SBJSBD: NHL and NHLPA renew deal w/ Bridgestone Tires for 5 years; keeps company as league's official tire and as title sponsor of Winter Classic.

Pierre LeBrun looks at 10 Conn Smythe candidates heading into the final.

Steve Lapore reports that Chicago's ratings were better than San Jose's during the four game sweep. He also checks out all 30 team's ranks on Google

Matt Reitz analyzes who the fans of the the 28 teams not in the finals are pulling for.

Michelle Kenneth shows another side of Zack Parise as he encourages kids to read.

A very slow news day yesterday as the NHL replacing 30,000 disposable bags at the NHL Store in NY and at the two SCF arena shops was big news.

Odds and Ends...

SBD asks the obvious question, Will Meadowlands Super Bowl Lead To More Cold-Weather Sites? The Nashville Sports Authority ran a survey this week about Music City hosting a Super Bowl. Folks love visiting Nashville so why not LP Field.

If you are trained to be charismatic is it really charisma? I would think it would lead to some really poor acting.

In Canada, $930 million doesn't go as far as it used to.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Officially Announce Anders Lindback Signing

The Lindback signing was announced in a Swedish newspaper on Monday. Here is the official release from the Predators...

PREDATORS SIGN 2008 SEVENTH-ROUND PICK ANDERS LINDBACK

Nashville, Tenn. (May 26, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed goaltender and 2008 draft pick Anders Lindback (AHN-dehrs LIND-bahck) to a two-year entry-level contract.

Lindback, 22 (5/3/88), spent his first full season as a starting netminder for Timra of the Swedish Elite League (Elitserian) in 2009-10. The 6-6, 205-pounder ranked fifth in the Elitserian in save percentage (.913) and sixth in goals-against average (2.46), while tying for fourth in the league in shutouts (4) last season. The tallest player ever drafted by the Predators, Lindback recently earned a bronze medal with Sweden at the 2010 World Championships, his first time representing his nation in international competition.

The Gavle native was Nashville's seventh choice, 207th overall (seventh round), in 2008 Entry Draft. He is expected to attend training camp in September and play his first North American season in 2010-11.

Here's a little more from Cap Geek about the signing.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Why The Flyers Could Win The Cup and Wednesday Wrap-Up

With three days before the Stanley Cup Finals begain on Saturday, we are going to take a look at how each team can win today and tomorrow then give our predictions on Friday.

First up, we will look at the Philadelphia Flyers who have soared through their last nine games, winning all but one. So what are some of the reasons why whey could win the Cup?

Destiny: The team has had a storybook tale ever since clinching a playoff berth in a shootout on the last day of the season. They handled the Devils with little trouble. They won four in a row to come back from an 0-3 deficit against the Bruins for the first time in 35 years. Then they beat a Habs team that had a couple of miracles to their own credit.

Chris Pronger: Whether you like the big guy or not, he comes alive when the playoffs start. His teams have made the playoffs every season since 1996. He has 116 points in 164 playoff games. He won a ring in 2007 with the Ducks and fell one game short with the Oilers the year before.

Goaltending: Since his return, when Brian Boucher went down in the second round, Michael Leighton is 6-1 with a .948 save percentage and a 1.45 goals against average. He had three shutouts in the four wins against the Habs.

Scoring Power: The Flyers have several folks that have been contributing in the playoffs. Mike Richards has 21 points. Danny Briere has four game winning goals. Claude Giroux has really come into his own in the post season. Simon Gagne and a host of others have taken turns scoring key goals and making the big play.

Defense: The Flyers will have one of two of the best D-men in hockey on the ice almost the whole game in Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen. In key situations they each have pushed 30 minutes in ice time. Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn have been good line mates for the top two.

Special Teams: In the playoffs, the Flyers have 17 power play goals to lead all teams. They also are second on the penalty kill with a 87% success rate which has been needed since they have been hit with 193 pims, the second most in the post season.

Toughness: This year’s version of the Flyers has put the bully back in Broad Street. They aren’t afraid to hit and play with grit through out the entire line up. During the regular season, the Flyers had four players with over 100 pims.

Hossa is on the Opponent ;) Although there is nothing to it I’m sure, Marion Hossa is appearing in his third finals in three years and is yet to win the cup.

X-Factor: Both the Flyers and the Hawks are loaded on the top two lines so the difference may come down to secondary scoring on the lower lines and whether an unexpected player comes out of no where to be the hero as we have seen so many times in years past.

Come back tomorrow for the low-down on the Blackhawks.

Thanks to Patrick Hoffman and Kukla's Korner...

We would like to thank Patrick Hoffman and Kukla's Korner for running an interview with me about how PredsOnTheGlass came about and a wide range of other topics. Kukla's is one of the best and most widely read hockey sites on the internet so it was a privilege to spread a little Predators hockey to their audience since they do not currently have a Preds representative in their stable of excellent writers. Thanks again guys!

In Pred Nation...

Predator "prospect" Alexander Radulov was named the MVP of the KHL yesterday.

Predators.com has the final stats amd medals for all in the organization that participated in the World Championships.

Paul McCann has a few comments on the finals and a preview of tonight's SlapShot Radio Show.

Chris Burton looks at next year's Predator defense at OnTheForecheck.

Jas Faulkner has a good piece about former Preds and other teams helping the Nashville Flood Relief at The Hockey Writers.

Rachel continues her year end wrap-up with part 2 in a series at What The Puck.

Cycward wraps up the Cincinnati Cyclones season in a very complete fashion.

Around the NHL...

Steve Yzerman was named the Tampa Bay Lightning's new GM at a Press conference yesterday. Puck Daddy has a good commentary on slowing down the circus in Bolt Country. Mirtle discusses how Yzerman was in the running for the Detroit job a while back. I heard Jon Jordan on XM last night and he was excited. Here's some points that he made.

The NHL Combine is underway with 100 players reporting to Toronto for interviews and tests. NHL.com has a blog featuring numerous stories every day.

The best Eulogy of the post-season is the Hab's at Puck Daddy.

Craig Custance has an interesting story of what led to Marion Hossa becoming the first player to go to the finals with three different teams in consecutive years.

Puck Report looks at the number of games it takes to win the Cup through four rounds. The record for the least is Edmonton in 18 games in 1988. So far, Chicago is 12-4 while Philadelphia is 12-5.

Chris Wassel is trying out his new gig at the Devil's Examiner with a preview of the finals.

The final segment of Kingcast's 5-part series is now up. This is a good time to watch them all as it is a very good discussion between the best of the best of Kings writers.

Steve Lapore confirms that Versus will air Hockey Central every night during the finals.

Ryan at the RLD takes a look at Five Conn Smythe Finalists.

The Arizona Republic indicates that he NHL has a buyer in hand for the club if no one solidifies a deal in Phoenix by 12/31. I assume the team will move back to the Peg if nothing is resolved.

Whay is one half of the Carolina Hurricanes worth? Not as much as you would expect, according to Forbes.

This story about the NHL embracing social media is a few weeks old but is still timely.

Adam Foote will return to the Avs for another season.

The celebration got out of hand for one Flyers fan who had to be Tasered at work yesterday morning. Intent to Blow has the details.

AHL Playoffs...

Game seven in the AHL Western Conference playoffs will take place tonight when Hamilton hosts Texas with a Calder Cup berth on the line. A bit of added flair was announced yesterday when it was revealed that P K Subban and Ben Maxwell will bolster the Bulldogs line up for the rubber match in the series. The game can be heard on XM Radio.

Odds and Ends...

Tony Hawk says it's a long way from Dogtown... The Protec Pool Party 2010. There is some amazing stuff here.

Creed Bratton from The Office recently visited MTV to offer interns advice and also sings a song. He actually has released a real album.

Great advice from Seth Godin for everyone.

Here is a great photo gallery of pictures from the gulf oil spill from Boston.com. Here's a representation to see the scale of the spill.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Flyers Finish off Habs and Are Ready for Hawks and Tuesday Tidbits

The Philadelphia Flyers finished off what has been an incredible race to the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens which was almost a carbon copy of Sunday's Blackhawks clincher.

Montreal started the game with what appeared to be the upper hand as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Late in the first period, the Habs were on a power play and one of the worst plays of the series was a preview of things to come.

Jaroslav Halak skated way out of the net to stop a cleared puck and collided with Mike Richards. The puck squired free and Richards came up off the ice and had an easy tap in to tie the game. The Habs never played with confidence again.

Aaron Asham and Jeff Carter scored goals 88 seconds apart early in the second and the game was basically over. Scott Gomez made it 3-2 early in the third, but an empty netter with 23 seconds left in the contest started the final celebration.

Mike Richards defied superstition and grabbed the conference cup after the game and took it to the locker room.

The Flyers were preseason favorites for a lot of folks, myself included. However, they did not clinch a playoff berth until winning a shoot-out over the Rangers in the final game of the season. They surprised New Jersey in the first round and were down 3-0 in the second round to Boston before making an historic four game run to move to the conference finals.

With a 4-1 romp over Montreal, the Flyers are no Cinderella headed to the finals. Clearly, along with the Hawks, the two hottest teams are headed to a showdown starting Saturday night in Chicago.

For a complete schedule of the finals with times and TV networks go here.

In Pred Nation...

From a Swedish newspaper comes early word that Goalie Anders Lindback has signed a three year entry level "dream" contract with the Nashville Predators. Lindback was the third stringer on Sweden's entry in the just completed World Championships.

Jim Diamond continues his Predator's movie casting with the goaltenders.

Ryan Porth takes a look at the Preds defense for next year. Personally, I think the Preds will trade the rights to Hamhuis and Grebeshkov before the entry draft. Check Ryan's site later today as his 30 in 30 feature will begin.

Here's Ryan's first post at From the Point. It is a discussion of Dale Tallon's part in the current Blackhawks run.

Dirk raises the question as to what fans should expect from the Predators next season.

Mark Willoughby is wasting no time with his review of round three and his pick for the finals. Way to be the first Mark.

You can follow Dan Ellis's summer league hockey exploits at the league site. Dan is on team 5 (red) while Jed Ortmeyer is on team 3 (gold). All they need is a Ustream feed for some real action.

Around the NHL...

The NFL's loss in the American Needle case could have huge ramifications throughout the world of pro sports. This was a big issue in last summer's case between Jim Ballsille and the NHL as to who controlled where teams were located. Had this come down a year earlier, we may have had the Hamilton Coyotes. Mark Willoughby has the analysis that I was waiting for in the matter.

Steve Lapore asks if the NHL is ready for Saturday night primetime on NBC. He also reports that Sunday's Hawks-Sharks game was the highest rated indoor game this year.

The Islanders aren't going to China for camp in September as had been discussed. Chris Botta thinks there is more to the story than the request by the NHLPA to make a trip before hand to check out the facilities.

PHT is reporting that up to half of the Carolina Hurricanes may be on the sales block.

Matt Reitz discusses how the NHL is a Land of Confusion. It is not what you may expect.

Russ Cohen caught up with Tyler Seguin prepping for his six hours of draft coverage for XM Home Ice and has an article about their visit at Sportsology.

As we follow Chris Hayes' year long journey at Freddy Charles, he is now learning to skate.

For off season reading, you may want to read Chris's Magic Ice which is the story of a father and son and their pond hockey exploits. It is written by wife and mother Brenda Schultz and part of the proceeds go to charity.

Odds and Ends...

Here's some tips on how better to use Twitter search.

For fans of The Office, do you want to create part of a fanisode?

The Big South Social Media Summit that was scheduled for the flood ravaged Schermerhorn Center on August 13th is relocating to... the Internet. Here is the story.

For Foursquare folks, here is a way to map your travels on Google Earth with a couple of clicks. (H/T to @dani3boyz for the find)

The small Google Pacman app that was up for two days allegedly cost the US 4.82 million man-hours of productivity.

More Later....

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass