Category: Game Highlights

More than just a Goalie Problem: Preds Shutout Twice in a Row

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

There’s no question that Nashville misses Pekka Rinne, but is it really just an absent five-star goalie that is slowly digging the Predators into a deeper hole? Sorry, but it isn’t. As easy as it is to blame Pekka Rinne’s hip infection for the reason Nashville has been imploding, it’s not the whole truth.

There is no reason for me to go over the highlights of the Winnipeg & New Jersey games, due in part there weren’t any highlights (for Nashville, anyway). For a team the Predators skated past twice this season, a trip to Winnipeg was supposed to be a no brainer on this 17-day road trip. And that, my friends, is the kind of thinking that gets you killed; or, in this case, completely and utterly dominated 5-0. You could almost say that’s exactly what the Jets were hoping for when the Predators came strutting into Winnipeg. One possible highlight from that game? Marek Mazanec got his NHL debut after Carter Hutton was pulled after 8:23 of pure torture.

And, after the embarrassing outcome in Winnipeg, Nashville took a second beating in Newark, losing yet another 5-0 matchup. Carter Hutton was again given the go in goal, but just couldn’t keep the Devils from racking up the goals. And don’t think I’m targeting Hutton; oh no. This is not only goalie error, but defensive error, too. The reason Pekka Rinne is known affectionately as “The Eraser” is because he is constantly erasing Nashville’s defensive errors. Pekka just has a knack for picking up where the defense leaves off and poor Hutton just hasn’t mastered that strange ability yet. It’s not that Carter can’t stop goals, he just needs more help from his teammates, who have always slacked just a bit.

So what’s next? The Islanders, who haven’t beaten Nashville in regulation since 2002, are up next on the schedule then one last stop in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. Oh, and let me note that the last stop in Pittsburgh is back-to-back with a visit from the Chicago Blackhawks. No pressure, Preds.

One last thing: Check out this video of Rich Clune’s tussle with Winnipeg’s Adam Pardy. Blood.

Preds hand Avs Second Loss; Win 6-4

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Courtesy: Getty Images

After a tough victory in Hollywood, it was off to the Mile High City to take on the 12-1-0 Colorado Avalanche last night. If you were to go by records alone (and were a betting man), you would’ve undoubtedly placed your money on the Avalanche, for Nashville stood at just 7-5-2 coming into last night’s game. But, hockey tends to fly a little differently than other sports and, even with the best record in the league, you could still meet them on a off-night. Is that what the Predators did or are they finally getting a feel for the ice? Was it the altitude? I’d say, it was mixture of the Predators easing together and the Avs having a bad night, simply because Nashville made some horrendous, rookie-esk moves that should have cost them the game. Likewise, they also made some outstanding plays that helped propel them to the 6-4 win over the Avalanche. Very Predator-like, I’d say. Here are the highlights from last night’s game:

First Period:

  • Viktor Stalberg collected his first goal in gold white at 13:12 with a wrister past Semyon Varlamov. Colin Wilson notched his fifth assist and Mattias Ekholm collected his fourth of the season. Now that he’s finally had his first goal taste, we guesstimate Stalberg will have many more to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgRyfSJ8Uno

  • P.A. Parenteau wouldn’t wait long to tie the game, sending a wrister of his own past Carter Hutton at 15:23.
  • Nashville would end the first period on a high as Craig Smith jumped the lead to 2-1 at 19:04, his fourth goal of the season. Colin Wilson picked up his second assist of the night (6th overall) and Ryan Ellis picked up his 2nd assist overall. A few minutes after Parenteau’s goal, Jamie McGinn sent Seth Jones roughly into the boards, causing Gabriel Bourque to wail on him (understandably). Though not deemed a major, McGinn was given a double minor of Charging and Roughing. Craig Smith would capitalize on the powerplay opportunity.
  • Nashville would out-shoot Colorado 10 to 2 in the first period.

Second Period:

  • Ryan O’Reilly (y’all remember Cal, right?) would start the second period in favor of Colorado, tying the game at 2.
  • Paul Gaustad would essentially “Dikembe Mutombo” with a tip-in (3rd goal) assisted by Filip Forsberg (4th assist). It was, essentially, Forsberg’s goal as he shot it directly at the net and probably would’ve gone in (we won’t say 100%) without the slight tough of Gaustad’s stick. No matter to us, a Predators goal is a good goal.

Google images

  • Colin Wilson would collect his first goal of the night – third point of the night – at 6:47 for his second goal of the season. Ryan Ellis (3rd assist) and Roman Josi (first assist) would assist on the play.
  • Colorado would again pull within one with a wrister from Paul Stastny at 13:37 for his fifth goal of the season.
  • The second period would end with Nashville clinging to a 4-3 lead.
  • After the clock had winded down to end the second period, Erik Johnson was thrown a 10-minute misconduct for tossing his broken stick into the stands. Although it was deemed unintentional, as he was actually just tossing it behind him to get rid of it, shards did fly into the crowd. And, as the rulebook states, it’s 10 minutes of bench time.

There’s more to the rule, but you can see the jist of it above. Either way, Johnson’s accident gave Nashville the much needed upper-hand going into the third period.

Third Period:

  • Matt Duchene would tie the game early in third at 4:23 for his tenth goal of the season.
  • Colin Wilson would tally his second goal of the night shortly after at 7:34 with a backhander (3rd goal of the season). Viktor Stalberg would pick up his first assist and David Legwand would notch his 9th overall.

  • Gabriel Bourque would collect his first goal of the season with an empty-netter at 19:42 to seal the game in favor of the Predators. David Legwand collected his 10th assist on that one, too.

Defeating a team that has only lost once this season? Yea, I’d say that’s a huge momentum builder if I’ve ever seen one. At least, I hope so. Also, how about Nashville when it comes to powerplay goals? The Predators started out 0-7 but are now 11-45… that’s third in the entire NHL. Muy bueno, y’all. Also, Carter Hutton, though a little shaky here and there, improves to 4-1-1.

So, who’s next? Nashville flies North to Winnipeg – yes, they are playing Winnipeg again – to carry the momentum through that game on Friday.

Blues Crush Predators 6-1

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Well, what can I say about last night’s game? Glad I was celebrating my college’s Homecoming, perhaps? Nah, I would’ve gone down with this ship if I had been there, but ouch; what a terrible way to start a long, seven-game road trip. The St. Louis Blues have always picked on little brother Nashville, but last night’s performance made even the strongest stomachs do a few flips, even all the way in Cookeville.

So, were there any highlights from last night’s game? Eh, one or two, but if I was a Blues blogger, I’d be up all night with this one. But there are still somethings we can discuss:

First Period:

  • Alexander Steen collected his ninth goal of the season on a powerplay brought about from a tripping call from Colin Wilson at 5:27. It only took Steen seven seconds to score, with the penalty beginning at 5:20.
  • St. Louis would pound Carter Hutton in the net with shots-on-goal at 17. Nashville was only able to send eight towards Jaroslav Halak.

Second Period:

  • T.J. Oshie would nab his second goal of the season with a tip-in at 7:35.
  • Jaden Schwartz would collect his second goal as well at 11:36.
  • Nashville took more shots in the second period, eight to St. Louis’ four.

Third Period:

  • Fifty-two seconds into the third, Nick Spaling would attempt to turn the tables, capitalizing with a short-handed goal, his first goal of the season. Mattias Ekholm would grab his first assist of the season.
  • Alexander Steen was well on his way to a Hat Trick with his second goal of the night at 4:37, his tenth goal of the season.
  • Predators would fall 5-1 with a goal from Derek Roy at 7:48.
  • Carter Hutton would be pulled after Roy’s goal, with Magnus Hellberg getting his first shot on NHL ice.
  • Alex Pietrangelo would score his first goal of the season on the powerplay to end the game in St. Louis’ favor, 6-1.

Welp, not too much to say after that game except Pekka’s injury has a lot of people freaking out. However, you cannot blame Carter Hutton for the awful game, though he isn’t out of the hot water just yet.

Also, the fact that Viktor Stalberg continues to be healthy scratched is not a good sign between he and Barry Trotz. He has expressed his distain and, you sort of side with the guy. Fourth line with Hendricks and Gaustad? Yea, not exactly an area to produce much from. It’s easy to understand his frustration but… that is the way of the Trotz. Someone has to take up residency in his dog house, and it looks like Mr. Stalberg has found his way.

Nashville has a few days off before heading out to Arizona to take on Phoenix on Halloween at 8PM.

Smith with Wild GWG in OT; Preds edge Jet 3-2

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Didn’t the Predators just play the Jets?
Oh yes, they did; and they won in Winnipeg 3-1. So, would the boys be able to capitalize over the former Atlanta Thrashers once again? Especially after the punishing loss in Minnesota on Tuesday? The home crowd always builds some much needed confidence, so here are the highlights from last night’s overtime game:

BEFORE THE GAME:

  • Late Wednesday afternoon, word started floating around that Magnus Hellberg, the 38th overall draftee (first goalie) in the 2011 NHL Draft and the current goalie for the Milwaukee Admirals, would be called up for the Thursday night game.
  • Carter Hutton took to practice on Tuesday, but Pekka Rinne was nowhere in sight, which got the ball rolling on speculations as to what was wrong with the Finnish Phenom.
  • Word was made official yesterday during a press conference with the media regarding Pekka’s condition. Feeling weak and with a high temperature, Rinne bowed out of practice and it was revealed that he has a spontaneous bacterial infection in his surgically repaired hip.

Yikes. For any of us that have experience with hip surgeries (no, not me personally), you know that those kind of infections can be serious. Luckily for Peks, it was caught quickly and the medically staff he has access to will not allow the infection to spread by any means. So, in a nutshell, Pekka is out for a minimum of four weeks and it is up to the level-headed Carter Hutton to step up to the starting goalie plate.

  • Mike Fisher skated in practice yesterday, along with concussed Roman Josi. Though Roman is still not 100%, Fisher didn’t hesitate to jump back into the game last night. After his wife, Carrie Underwood accidentally revealed that his lower-body injury was indeed a foot fracture, we assume Mike decided it was time to shake it off and hit the ice. You can’t hate on Carrie for the accidentally slip; it happens sometimes in passing and, unfortunately, this one happened on Twitter were scoop-hungry media ate it right up.

First Period:

  • Shea Weber would get the ball rolling in favor of Nashville at 15:53 with a powerplay slapshot that Ondrej Pavelec just couldn’t wrap his mitts around. David Legwand (5th assist) and Filip Forsberg (3rd assist) picked up the assists in Weber’s third goal of the season.
  • Nashville would end the first period outshooting the Jets just 10 to 9, but Carter Hutton was well-prepared to prove he could backup Pekka Rinne.

Second Period:

  • Winnipeg would finally slip one around Hutton with a wrap-around from Anthony Peluso for his first goal of the season. The second period would end with both teams tied at 1.
  • Winnipeg attacked the puck during this period, outshooting Nashville 14 to 9. It was not surprising that at least one shot would inch past Hutton, but it was actually a sneaky one that did it.

Third Period:

  • Patric Horqnvist would hit a snap shot to put Nashville up again, this time 2-1 at 6:04 for his fourth goal of the season. Mike Fisher (4th assist) and Seth Jones (3rd assist) would nab the assists.
  • Blake Wheeler wouldn’t give up so easily, sending a wrister past Hutton at 16:59 to tie the game again.

Despite extreme effort, both teams were unable to end the regulation period with a game-winner, sending the game into OT.

Overtime:

  • Only two shots between each team was taken during overtime, and it was Craig Smith would was able to capitalize on his shot.
  • With only 17 seconds left in overtime, Craig Smith, who has been stellar thus far this season, sent a slapshot past Pavelec with the help of David Legwand (6th assist) to win the game. Here’s the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG7UU5yfdUk

As we mentioned, Craig Smith has been a quiet stud thus far this season, the kind of stud we have expected from him for a while. After his performance for Team USA during the IIHF series, we were starting to wonder when that grace would hit the NHL ice. So far, with 11 GPs, Smith is currently sitting in 14th amongst the league. We have this feeling his league rank will be getting closer to the Top 10 very soon.

The Predators have one last home game before going on a seven-game road trip. The Preds will not return to Nashville until Saturday, November 16th when they welcome in the 2013 Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Added Bonus:
Rich+Clune+Los+Angeles+Kings+v+Colorado+Avalanche+OfXJmj8sOf9lRich Clune vs. Matt Hendricks – September 23, 2009
Think they remember this now that they’re teammates?

Hutton leads Predators over Jets 3-1

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Image Courtesy: Getty Images

The Predators have had some great outcomes thus far this season, but tonight it was finally time to let the Finnish phenom take a break and let the backup try his hand at a full NHL game. Insert: Carter Hutton, the confident backup for Pekka Rinne who has only had one shot at protecting an NHL basket. When was that? First game of the season when Peks was pulled in the first period against the St. Louis Blues. But hey, Pekka’s looking much better now (scared me there for a moment).

So, how did Hutton fair against Matt Halischuk and the Winnipeg Jets? Here are the highlights:

First Period:

  • No goals were tallied during the first, but Matt Cullen did collect the only penalty between both teams in the first at 15:58 with a hooking call on Matt Halischuk. Nashville was able to keep Winnipeg at bay, despite the Jets outshooting the Predators 15 to 12.

Second Period:

  • Ten seconds in, Matt Hendricks would head to the box for a tripping call, giving the Jets an early advantage in the opening of the second period.
  • Eric Nystrom didn’t mind being down a man, sending a wrister past Ondrej Pavelec for a shorthanded goal just twenty seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xNpScDRw-I

  • Patric Hornqvist would collect this third goal of the season at 12:07 with an unassisted snapshot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNbICr48KnU

  • Matt Cullen would pick up his second goal of the season at 14:17 with assists from Colin Wilson 4th assist) and Craig Smith (5th assist).
  • Winnipeg would lead Nashville in shots on goal with eleven to seven at the end of the second.

Third Period:

  • Evander Kane would collect his fifth goal of the season with a tip-in past Hutton, though it was simply a case of “lost puck”.
  • Carter Hutton and the Preds would hold off the Jets 3-1, despite being outshot in total 26 to 39.
  • Hutton would inevitably block 38 of those 39 shots; pretty good for his first full NHL game, right?

The NHL take notice of Hutton’s success as proven with this tweet:

Well, we had our stats wrong shots wise, but oh well.

Nashville has just one more game on the road before they head back home Thursday and, who’s that team? The Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Preds Rookie Poise 2; Canadiens 1

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The Predators started their mini road trip with the first stop in Montreal against the 5-2-0 Canadiens. Nashville didn’t fair so well against fellow Original Six Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, so how would they fair against the Habs?

Well, you’re about to find out:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Shea Weber found the net first at 12:31 with a powerplay goal due to a deflection off of Josh Gorges. David Legwand (3rd assist) and Filip Forsberg (2nd assist) picked up the assists on Weber’s wrister.
  • Eight penalties (three on Nashville, five on Montreal) would be tallied during the first period, with Weber the only one capitalizing on said chances.
  • Controversy came at 14:15 when Victor Bartley was given a goaltender interference penalty after being blatantly tripped into Carey Price. Luckily, Nashville used its penalty kill well and avoided a goal from the Habs.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • Brendan Gallagher would tie the game at 7:02 with a wrister past Pekka Rinne, his fourth goal of the season.

The game would remain tied at 1 at the end of the second period.

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Nashville would notch three penalties in the third, giving Montreal almost every possible chance to take the lead as possible, but Nashville’s penalty kill has been on point as of late.
  • At 18:33, the rookie that was picked 4th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft collected his second goal of the season (and second NHL goal overall) with a clean wrist shot past Carey Price. David Legwand (4th assist) and Colin Wilson (3rd assist) helped setup the puck for Jones’ incredible goal. See video below:

Wowza. Yep. Wowza.

The Predators would keep Montreal at bay until the final buzzer, collecting their first away game win of the season.
The Predators have no time to celebrate, though; it’s off to Winnipeg to take on Matt Halischuk and the Jets, the first meeting of the two new conference rivals this season.

Preds Fall to Kings in SO, 2-1

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pekkarinne

The Predators had arguably the best game performance of the season Thursday night, despite falling short in the shootout against the L.A. Kings. To keep this short and sweet since WordPress finally wants to work & because this game was three days ago, we’ll jump straight to the highlights:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Matt Cullen would notch his first goal as a Predator at 10:33 with wrister past Jonathan Quick. Craig Smith (4th assist) and Gabriel Bourque (2nd assist) would gain the assists on Cullen’s first goal.
  • Just before the end of the period, L.A. would tie the game with a wrister from Slava Voynov at 19:18, his second goal of the season.

SECOND, THIRD & OVERTIME PERIODS:

  • Neither teams would be able to capitalize on the many penalties tallied in the second, third & overtime periods. Jonathan Quick would lose his helmet a few times, causing some understandable frustration in both the Preds and fans.

SHOOTOUT:
Craig Smith – MISS
Mike Richards – MISS
Filip Forsberg – MISS
Jeff Carter – MISS
Matt Cullen – MISS
Anze Kopitar – GOAL

Nashville came away victorious in the shots-on-goal area, notching 35 over L.A.’s 30. Nashville’s penalty kill has been on the up-and-up, which has always been a weak spot for them. The Predators end their home stance 3-3-1.

Predators best Panthers 4-3

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Image courtesy: Frederick Breedon

After being crushed 3-0 by the L.A. Kings, the Florida Panthers were hoping to regain some ground in Nashville, but the Predators, high off their win over the Islanders on Saturday, had other ideas. Nashville didn’t have such good luck against the Panthers in the preseason, but tonight was another ballgame. Here are the highlights from tonight’s game:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Nashville sent out their claws first, with Shea Weber scoring his first goal of the season with a clean slapshot at 9:23. Mike Fisher (3rd assist) and Colin Wilson (2nd assist) picked up the assists on the captain’s goal.
  • Florida would out-shoot Nashville nine to six, but Pekka Rinne and the defense would keep the Panthers at bay during the first period.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • The Panthers would come out swinging in the second, with Jonathan Huberdeau would send a wrister past Pekka at 1:16 for his third goal of the season.
  • Mike Fisher would give the Predators the lead once again at 12:48 with his second goal of the season. Craig Smith (3rd assist) and Seth Jones (2nd assist) would help on the assist for Fisher’s goal.
  • Florida would tie it once more at 13:30 with a slapshot from former Predator, Marcel Goc for his third goal of the season.
  • Nashville would take the lead on shots-on-goal, with nine over Florida’s eight.

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Craig Smith would give Nashville another lead early in the third at 1:22 with a backhander for his first goal of the season. Gabriel Bourque would pick up his first assist and Shea Weber would nab his second on Smith’s goal.
  • Patric Hornqvist would help the Preds up 4-2 over the Panthers with a powerplay goal at 5:13 for his second goal of the season. David Legwand (2nd assist) and Filip Forsberg (1st assist) would collect the assists on Hornqvist’s goal.
  • Matt Gilroy would put the Panthers within one at 11:37 with a wrister, but it just wasn’t enough in the end to edge past the Predators for the win.
  • Nashville would again overpower Florida when it came to shots, out-shooting the Panthers fifteen to eight in the third alone.

Overall, Nashville would out-shoot Florida 30 to 25 and come out with the victory of 4-3.
Also to note, tonight was David Legwand’s 900th NHL game.

The Predators welcome the 4-3-0 L.A. Kings Thursday night, who actually lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Will that take down the Kings a peg or will that form a chip on their shoulder? Guess we’ll find out Thursday!

Preds top Islanders; Jones nabs first NHL Goal

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sethjonesSaturday was wedding day for us, but for all the other Preds fans out there, it was a day to celebrate. After a crushing 0-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, the Predators knew something had to change in order to not make that mistake again. And Nashville did not disappoint against the 2-1-1 New York Islanders. Here are the highlights from Saturdays game:

FIRST PERIOD:

  • Though no goals were collected for either side, Nashville took the reins and notched nine shots on goal to the Islanders’ four. However, similar to Nashville’s attempt on Toronto’s Bernier, Evgeni Nabokov just wasn’t letting the puck in the net.

SECOND PERIOD:

  • Thanks to a boarding penalty given to Casey Cizikas against Eric Nystrom 51 seconds into the period, rookie Seth Jones was able to collect his first career NHL goal at 1:03 with a slapshot assisted by veterans David Legwand (1st assist) and Shea Weber (1st assist). You can watch the goal here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xaik3y_qA
  • The Islanders would respond at 12:39 with a snap shot past Pekka Rinne from Frederik Nielsen for his second goal of the season.
  • New York would jump ahead of the Predators at 15:28 with a wrist shot from John Tavares, his third goal of the season. For those interested, Tavares is also an amateur dentist. On Friday night, he didn’t even hesitate to yank out his own tooth after taking a puck to the face. Here’s a lovely .gif, if you don’t believe me (you may have to click on it to get it to go, but fair warning):

toothYea, we couldn’t help but put that in here.

  • Late in the second period, at 19:07, Patric Hornqvist tied up the game with a wrister for his first goal of the season. Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis picked up the assist.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMZN-Bi0shs

THIRD PERIOD:

  • Ryan Ellis would seal the deal for Nashville at 3:23 with his first goal of the season. Matt Cullen (2nd assist) and Craig Smith (2nd assist) would pick up the assists on the game winning goal.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1P5kqws1qA

Was it because Viktor Stalberg jumped off the IR so quickly or maybe Gabriel Bourque’s return that boosted some Preds pride? We aren’t sure, but Stalberg’s offensive presence may have played a deciding factor in Saturday’s game. Both teams were given two powerplay chances, but surprisingly, Seth Jones was the only one able to capitalize on the opportunity (which is good for Nashville anytime).

The Predators welcome in the 2-4-0 Florida Panthers tomorrow, who are a little down in the dumps after getting shutout by the L.A. Kings 3-0 yesterday. But remember, the Predators lost to the Panthers during two of their preseason games (6 to 3, then 3 to 2 in OT).

But, let’s leave this post on an interesting side (wait, the Tavares tooth pull wasn’t good enough?); how about Ryan Ellis taking on new Predator, Eric Nystrom? Yes, little Ryan Ellis put up his dukes against Eric Nystrom, who was then with the Dallas Stars. Here’s the video:

We are sure there isn’t any bad blood left.

Leafs blank Preds 4-0

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image

Ouch. Not much stings worse than a goose egg at home.
However, out of all the goalies Nashville is faced over its 15-year span, Jonathan Bernier has to be the most despised, yet respected.
Come on! What about Luongo? Howard? Kiprusoff? Yes, those goalies have engrained themselves into a special place in every Preds fans’ mind, but none have a record against Nashville like Bernier. After the win last night, he now stands at 8-1-0 against Nashville… even when he was a backup for the Kings.
And if you watched any of the game last night, whether you were there in the arena or sitting on your couch on TV, you couldn’t miss how in control Bernier was last night. He allowed maybe one or two to ricochet, but the majority of his stops were controlled. One would have thought he put a magnet in the puck and his glove. He just couldn’t be stopped.

And this is no dog on Nashville; oh no. Yes, there were a few hiccups, but all-in-all, the Predators played hard and came out of the game on top with shots on goal, 36-26. But Bernier was on his A-Game last night and, although they tried valiantly, it just wasn’t enough to sneak one past the seasoned goalie.

Due to an unfortunate collision with former Predator Cody Franson, who went face-first into the rounded glass and cut his nose on his visor, Mike Fisher was given a major, which left the Predators with the remainder of the game in the favor of Toronto. The Maple Leafs would capitalize twice before the final buzzer, with an unfortunate knock-in goal by rookie Seth Jones.

Back to the Franson/Fisher hit, it was clear – as most people didn’t even see the accident – that is was, as Mike Fisher quoted it, “just a hockey play” and was “surprised” to have received a penalty. Fisher did make the effort to reach out to Franson after the game to make sure the former Pred was alright. As we all know, Fisher is not a malicious player and does not go out to intentionally injure opposing players. Freak accidents happen and, from the outside looking in, that’s what it appears to be. The NHL has not ruled out a supplemental discipline for Fisher’s hit, but as of 9:30AM Friday morning, no word has been announced.

Goose eggs – no, not Gaustad eggs – are an instant morale drainer. Just as Nashville was gaining confidence from Tuesday’s winner over the Wild, it was taken down a peg by a 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs. After last night’s loss, the Predators are now sitting pretty at the bottom of the newly reformed Central Division. However, don’t let that disheartening fact get you down; it’s only the fourth game of the very long season. Hey, you have to hit rock bottom to hit the top, right?

The Predators welcome in the New York Islanders Saturday night at 7PM. Tickets are still available, so get them now!