Some say they've never seen Sergei skate so fast...

Never witnessed a Hat Trick before? Well, we hope you didn’t miss this game because Sergei Kostitsyn got his first one of his career in front of a sold out crowd a Bridgestone Arena tonight! Oh yea, and it was also Patric Hornqvist’s 25th birthday, so a win was just in the cards tonight for the Predators as they out score the Calgary Flames 5-3. Here are the highlights from tonight’s win against Calgary:

KEY POINTS:

• Shea Weber was finally placed on the IR yesterday, due to his concussion. He did, however, skate on his own earlier today. By this, we hope that means he’s healing quickly. Concussions are nasty, nasty things…
• Good news for Klein fans, for Kevin was out on the ice tonight and played fairly well for just recovering from the flu. However, Colin Wilson missed yet another night tonight and Jonathon Blum was scratched.
• The Flames scored early in the game at 3:47 from Jarome Iginlas, his 499th goal of his career.
• The Predators didn’t take too long to respond, with Kevin Klein slipping the puck passed Miikka Kiprusoff at 12:39 in the first. He was assisted by both Nick Spaling and Jordin Tootoo.
• The Predators continued the momentum at 15:06 with a goal from Sergei Kostitsyn, with great assistance from Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist. Sergei tripped on the goal post and slammed into the boards, but didn’t seem to be affected by it.
• The entire second period belong to the Predators, with a goal at 2:27 from Matt Halischuk, his 9th goal of the season. He was assisted by Jordin Tootoo and Jack Hillen.
• Sergei got his second goal of the night at 5:59 in the 2nd with assistance from Jerred Smithson and Patric Hornqvist once again.
• With Jordin Tootoo’s two assists tonight, he tied his career-high points with 18 (we expect him to surpass that soon).
• The Flames came back in the third, bringing the game from 4-1 to 4-3, but at 19:30, Kevin Klein cleared the puck from the Predators net, sending it flying down the ice towards the Calgary empty net. Sergei Kostitsyn chased the puck down and tapped it in, landing his first career Hat Trick and sealing the game for the Predators, 5-3.
• Pekka had yet another outstanding game tonight, blocking 17 of 20 shots on goal. The Predators also out shot the Flames 27 to 20 and one less penalty than Calgary. Here were the two trouble makers:

1. Nick Spaling – 10:12 1st Period – Tripping
2. Birthday Boy Patric Hornqvist – 5:13 3rd Period – Hi-Sticking

The Predators started off 2012 on the right track tonight with the win over Calgary, Patric Hornqvist’s birthday, and Sergei Kostitsyn’s first career Hat Trick. As sad as we were SK74 did no speak after the game (the first Star of the Game always does), we completely understand why he did not. Patric Hornqvist did the honors, talking about his birthday win and his two assists during the game. We hear fans give Kostitsyn a hard time a lot and, although he does frustrate us on occasions, he is a great player with amazing skills (when he puts them to use). SK74 will find his groove, similar to Colin Wilson, then we won’t hear any more complainers (Oh what am I saying? There will always be pessimistic fans). Before we go off on a rant, the ladies here at Lady Preds want to wish you and yours a great New Year’s! We hope 2012 will bless you with the best things in life!

The Predators are off until Thursday, when they welcome the Dallas Stars into the Bridgestone at 7PM. Welcome, Ha! After losing Weber to them, the fans might not be so welcoming…
GO PREDS!