Blake Geoffrion Assigned to Milwaukee

In an effort to get more playing time for their players of the future, Blake Geoffrion will join Jon Blum in Milwaukee, playing top line minutes for the Admirals.

Geoffrion has been out the last six games with an upper body injury so he will now be in a position to play his way back into shape. Based on quotes that Josh Cooper obtained this morning from Barry Trotz, the move is not unexpected.

Make the jump for the full release from the Predators...

POTG Predators Seven Stories: No More Loud Commercials Edition

1. Ryan Porth talks with Frankie Bouillon to preview tonight's Predators contest with Calgary.
2. The Canadian Press gives glowing reviews to Jerome Iginla and the Calgary Flames' recent play. Tonight's game with the Preds should be a good test for both teams if they are in top form.
3. David Boclair thinks he is seeing the Sergei Kostitsyn of  late 2010 all over again.
4. Mike Organ looks at the Predators' increased success on the man advantage and the changes that brought on the improvement.
5. Dirk Hoag has a more in depth look at the driving forces behind the improvement with all the facts and figures to explain the difference.
6. Paul McCann answers a few interesting questions from England in his mailbag. How do they hear the Nashville being a "franchise in trouble" all the way over there?
7. Today's version of 15 years in 15 days of Bridgestone Arena moves up to 2009 and features a video interview with Chaz Corzine, a music professional who lives in Middle Tennessee.

The FCC is expected to pass legislation today that will go into effect next year that will limit the average volume of commercials to the same level as the programs that they accompany.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG NHL Seven Stories: Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight Edition

1. The Kings fired Terry Murray and there is speculation that Darryl Sutter will be the successor. Mike Keenan's name was also being bandied about as a possibility on Versus last night. Matt Reitz adds a Southern California perspective.
2. The world is back on Sidney Crosby watch once again. After listening to his interview yesterday, you could find almost any interpretation that you wanted to hear in the media.
3. Last night, Chris Chelios, Gary Suter, Keith Tkachuk, Mike "Doc" Emrick, and Ed Snider were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Chicago.
4. There was only one game last night in the NHL and it came down to the goalie pull at the end of the game before the Devils held on to beat the Lightning 5-4. Were we not headed to the Predators and Calgary, we would have a tough choice between watching Detroit at Pittsburgh (Local channels, NHL Center Ice) or new head coach John Stevens leading Los Angeles against the Stanley Cup Champ, Boston Bruins (Local channels, NHL Center Ice).
5. RLD Hockey is already looking forward to the new 24/7 as a portrait of life in the NHL again this year.
6. James Mirtle ponders the slippery slope that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been on in the last five weeks. Have the parade plans gone lost their usefulness? 
7. Russ Cohen has his December Power Rankings for the Calder Trophy and Craig Smith has fallen out of the top ten.

If you have clear skies, tonight will be the peak of the Geminid meteor shower despite a waning full moon that could pose as a distraction.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Hope to Douse Flames Tonight in Smashville

After a tumultuous run where the Predators went 2-6-0, they appear to have regained a bit of their swagger with wins over Columbus and Anaheim and they hope to continue their modest two game win streak tonight against Calgary at the Bridgestone Arena (7 p.m. FS-TN).

This will be the Flames first trip to Nashville this season after the teams split two games in Calgary earlier this year. On October 22, Pekka Rinne won his first game ever over Calgary with a 2-0 shutout. Miikka Kiprusoff returned the favor with a 1-0 blanking of the Preds on November 29.

The Flames are in the midst of playing the best hockey they have played this season and are on a 6-1-1 run including wins in their last three contests over Carolina, Colorado, and Edmonton.

Jon Blum Assigned to Milwaukee

After being a healthy scratch the past two games, Predators rookie defenseman Jon Blum was assigned to Milwaukee.

Blum was called up last February and finished the season and playoffs with the Predators and played 27 games this year before being scratched on Thursday and Saturday. With Frankie Bouillon's return to the line-up and Roman Josi getting his shot in Nashville, Blum will report to Milwaukee for additional playing time.

Make the jump for the full release from the Predators.

POTG Predators Seven Stories: Swim Like a Dolphin Edition

1. There was a complete anomaly on Saturday night when Kevin Klein and Frankie Bouillon were stuck on the ice for one of the longest shifts in team history. Jim Diamond has the details.
2. Ryan Porth has the story of Colin Wilson's improvement in his consistency on the ice. He also has a nice piece from a conversation with Bobby Ryan.
3. Josh Cooper ponders whether the Predators are on the verge of putting together a streak.
4. Fifteen years in fifteen days at the Bridgestone Arena is coming down the home stretch with 2008 being in focus today. Vince Gill is the video guest. This has been a really enjoyable series.
5. Section 303 highlights the behind the scene look at the making of Predators new calendar.
6. Admirals Roundtable wraps up the weekend for the Ads with the story and audio from Sunday's 5-4 shootout win over Rockford.
7. Hockey's Future looks at the Predators prospects at the CHL level.

If you have ever wanted to swim like a dolphin, here is a video of the dolphin jetpack that allows you to do just that.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Frankie Bouillon Has Been Key on Young Predators Team

The Nashville Predators have had a roller-coaster type season with several streaks and plenty of ups and downs as the season is hits the thirty game mark tomorrow night.

A key ingredient to the periods where the team has played better has been the presence of veteran defenseman Frankie Bouillon in the line-up. If you look at his offensive statistics, they are not particularly impressive with only three assists through 17 games, but that is not an indication of his value to the Predators.

Bouillon missed the last half of last season with a concussion and it was never clear over the summer, when or if he would be able to return. He surprised many people when he was able in increase his workouts late in the preseason and return on October 25, after missing the team's first seven games of the season.

The Morning After Round-Up: Predators 3, Ducks 2

After seeing the Nashville Predators struggle at home for the past few weeks it was good to see the familiar team that fans have grown to love make a pit stop at Bridgestone Arena in a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

The team has been inconsistent this season but generally has played better on the road than at home which is highly unusual for a team that has averaged 26 wins at home since the lockout.

The issue appears to have started during the second round of last year's playoffs when they lost three straight home games to Vancouver on home ice. Last night's win brought the team's record at home back to the .500 mark at 5-5-3.

The Predators really need to have the victory launch them to more success on home ice as they play three  games against key opponents this week with Calgary, Detroit, and St. Louis visiting this week.

Longer term, the Predators play 11 of the next 15 in Nashville and need to put together a series of wins to stockpile points before they face a heavy road schedule in March.

Here is our game story from last night and Barry Trotz's postgame presser.  Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...

Predators Send Sellout Crowd Home Happy

The Nashville Predators evened their home record on Saturday night at 5-5-3 for the season with a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. The victory snapped a four game losing streak on home ice.

This season has been anything but typical for a Predators team that has had an average record of 26-11-4 at the Bridgestone Arena since the NHL lockout. The team has one of the better records on the road (9-6-1) but has played inconsistently at home.

After righting his ship with a win in Columbus on Thursday, that snapped a personal six game losing streak, Pekka Rinne was pleased to win at home, while stopping 15 of 17 Ducks' shots. "It was big. It's always fun to play in this building and for our fans it was a big win."

"For us too, we are right there battling for the playoff spot and it's going to be like this until the end of the season. Every game is so big, especially at home. We've been playing pretty well on the road and now it's time to kick it up a notch at home."

Barry Trotz Speaks after Nashville's 3-2 Win over Anaheim

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Predators Seven Stories: Ducks Visit Music City Game Day Edition

1. As we Prepare to head down to the Bridgestone Arena, Jeremy Gover has a primer of reasons why Predator fans hate the Ducks. He also has a double episode of the 303:30 this week with a discussion on the Jordin Tootoo suspension as well as a discussion on realignment.
2. One player that will be ready to give 100% tonight is Jordin Tootoo who is coming off his two-game suspension. He also has a score to settle with Ryan Getzlaf who accused him of diving earlier this year.
3. Amanda DiPaolo has a feature on Cory Perry who is the bane of many Predator fans.
4. Patten Fuqua caught up with new Ducks Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. I don't know why he didn't ask about his access to In-N-Out Burgers since his move to the Southland. Bruce looks like he could eat his share and more.
5. Josh Cooper has the final words from today's morning skates and we also heard from @AnaheimDucks: Dan Ellis will be in net tonight for the #NHLDucks to face his former team in Nashville.
6. Today's episode of 15 years at Bridgestone Arena takes a look at the post-lock out year of 2006.
7. Chris Mueller got right to it in Milwaukee after he was sent down yesterday and had the shootout winner in the Ads 4-3 win over Grand Rapids. Admirals Roundtable has postgame audio.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Today's Episode of Smashville On The Glass Radio Features Mitch Korn and Amanda DiPaolo

Today's episode of Smashville On The Glass Radio features Predators' goalie coach Mitch Korn and Amanda DiPaolo from Inside Smashville.

Make the jump to get to the BTR player or go to Blog Talk Radio or iTunes to download...

Predators Return Home to Face the Ducks

After a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in Columbus on Thursday night, the Predators return to Smashville to play the Anaheim Ducks tonight (7 p.m. FS-TN) and hope to have a little quicker start than they have had in recent games.

Against the Jackets, the Predators had zero offense in the beginning and did not get their second shot until there was 2:29 seconds left in the opening period. The Preds are near the bottom of the league in shots, averaging 26.3 shots per game which barely eclipses last place Minnesota who has 26.0.

The Predators have only out shot their opponents five times this season and were ten games into the season before they out shot the Ducks 29-20 on October 29th which was a 3-0 shutout.

Chris Mueller Returned to Milwaukee

With Jordin Tootoo returning from his two-game suspension and Francis Bouillon's return to the line-up against Columbus, the log jam of healthy players was relieved with Chris Mueller being returned to Milwaukee.

Here is the full release from the Predators...

POTG NHL Seven Stories: Female Rats are Compassionate Creatures Edition

1. Blockbuster news this morning that Rogers Media and Bell Canada teamed up to split 75% ownership in the Maple Leafs's conglomerate that includes the Maple Leafs (hockey), the Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto FC (MLS), the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and the Air Canada Centre. The team has been rumored to be for sale for years but it finally happened.
2. Shanny TV was busy this week as he followed up the Jordin Tootoo suspension with three more including ones to Andy Sutton (indefinite), Kevin Porter (4 games), and Ville Leino (1 game).
3. One of Lyle Richardson's top six targets of trade discussions was on the move today when Tomas Kaberle went to Montreal in exchange for Jaroslav Spacek. After the trade, Canes GM Jim Rutherford said, "I should have known better."
4. You need a scorecard to keep up with all of Chris Pronger's injuries which now includes "concussion like symptoms." He is valuable when he plays but that is a rarity these days.
5. The NHL has now had 1000 shoot-outs since it was implemented in 2005. John Kreiser takes a look at all the facts and figures behind what has transpired to date.
6. Backhand Shelf takes a look at the "best" deals of the offseason.
7. In last night's game between the Rangers and Lightning, Artem Anismov got a little carried away after scoring a goal and brought a ton of wrath from the Tampa players that will probably result in a suspension for Steve Downey.

A recent study showed that rats are compassionate creatures, a trait that was thought to be only in humans. Female rats are more compassionate than males which is not surprising.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

POTG Predators Seven Stories: Carrie Underwood First Kiss Edition

1. This weeks version of the Hippodrome has a wide variety of topics including a few Preds' nuggets. Always good stuff from J.R. Lind.
2. Jon Blum says that he is trying to stay focused in his weekly blog that was written before his first healthy scratch of his Predator career last night in Columbus.
3. Dirk Hoag cautions the Predators not to play with fire by letting the Ryan Suter negotiations linger.
4. Ex-Pred (Admiral) Aaron Johnson has positive things to relate about his experience int he Predators' organization last season.
5. The Globe and Mail has a nice feature on ex-Admiral Head Coach Kirk Muller as he starts his NHL coaching career in Carolina.
6. "Local" Division I program, UAH has come back from the grave and has been given the go ahead to start scheduling games for next season since an about face was done earlier this week to keep the program going.
7. What would the weekend be without Mark Willoughby's "My View"?

In an interview after the American Country Awards on Monday, Carrie-Underwood-Fisher reveals the details of her holiday traditions with Predator Mike Fisher, including celebrating the anniversary of their first kiss.



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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

The Morning After Round-Up: Predators 4, Jackets 3 (OT)

Words simply cannot describe the difference in where the Predators' fortunes were headed before and after their shocking three goal outburst at the end of their game with the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday night.

The team appeared to be continuing on the down hill slide that they had been riding for the last couple of weeks where they were getting no breaks in spite of playing decent hockey at times.

Then in a span of 3:21, all that changed and the Predators came away with a win that they can build upon as they play 12 of their next 16 games at home.

The team has the fewest wins of any NHL team on home ice which makes little sense because they have dominated there over the years.

Their next opportunity to be point collectors at home comes quickly with the Anaheim Ducks coming to town for a continuation of the teams' bitter rivalry on Saturday night. The team should be playing with a little confidence after last night's miracle finish.

Here is our game story from last night with comments from the couch. Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...

Predators Shock the Hockey World with 4-3 Overtime Win in Columbus

The Nashville Predators may have reached their peak in frustrating the fans of Smashville in the first 58 minutes of their game in Columbus at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night and then shocked everyone, showing life at the end of the contest.

After a lackadaisical effort for most of the game, the Predators came alive to score two goals with the goalie pulled (Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Kostitsyn) in the final 1:36 of the game to force overtime where Colin Wilson scored the game-winning goal 1:45 into the extra period to give the Predators their most improbable win in several years with a final score of 4-3.

Columbus had dominated the Predators with goals from Jeff Carter and Antoine Vermette in the first two periods. At the beginning of the third period, Derek Dorsett embarrassed the Predator defense when he skated untouched from the red-line to the net to give the Jackets a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead.

Then the Predators woke up and scored three goals in 3:21 to bring home a desperately needed win on the road. Mike Fisher had the early goal for the Preds. Marty Erat and Ryan Suter each had a pair of helpers in the final three goals.

Pekka Rinne picked up the win, stopping 21 of 24 Columbus shots while Curtis Sanford yielded four goals on 22 Nashville shots to be the hard-luck loser.

The Predators returned home after the game and will play the Anaheim Ducks at the Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night.

Predators Offer Once in a Lifetime Opportunity at the Social Media Suite Night

Have you every wanted to sit in a suite at a Nashville Predators game and get all the inside information during the game by hanging out with Predators' management and scratched players? Are you a guru on Twitter, Facebook, or Google + ? If the answer to either of this questions is yes, then the Preds may have a unique opportunity set up just for you.

Next Tuesday, when the Predators play the Calgary Flames they will hold the first ever Social Media Suite Night. There are only twenty spots available for this unique opportunity.

The package for the event are $350 and include:

• 2 Suite tickets
• 1 parking pass (upgraded parking when you purchase 4 or more Suite tickets)
• All inclusive food and beverage (including beer)
• Pre-game tour of Bridgestone Arena
• Chalk talk pre-game
• Exclusive access with Director of Hockey Operations, Brian Poile during the first period where he’ll explain the X’s and O’s during TV timeouts and answer questions throughout the period.
• Gnash and the dancers to appear for photo opportunities
• Bryan Mullen, Nashville Predators Digital Media and Marketing Coordinator will tweet live from the suite in the 2nd period
• In-game visit by a Preds player not participating in that night's game
• Autographed item for all in attendance

If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, go here for complete details and to sign up for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Predators Seven Stories: Pekka the Puppy Pictures Revealed Edition

1. J.R. Lind has a good piece at The Scene that sets the stage for the Preds' meeting with the Ducks on Saturday. It's too bad that the OCR's Jeff Miller wouldn't talk to JR to defend himself.
2. Josh Cooper has a nice feature on Jack Hillen who joins the legions of David Poile's finds over the years. He also talked to Jordin Tootoo who remains committed to defending his hit on Ryan Miller.
3. David Boclair points out that the Predators' recent losses are coming against teams that they really need to beat.
4. John Manasso talked to David Poile about his thoughts on the final realignment product.
5. Jeremy Sargent reveals the fact that the Predators have really struggled against back-up goalies this year.
6. Today's edition of 15 years of Bridgestone Arena lands in 2004 and features a video with Amy Grant.
7. Jim Diamond has the story behind the story of the Predators and their puppies calendar that was given out last week. It's very disappointing that Preds' goalie, Pekka Rinne posed with a rental dog when our dog Pekka was available to pose with his namesake. 

Here is a very sad Pekka the Puppy when he was shown the picture of Rinne with another dog...

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Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass