Tag: Roman Josi

Sweet Revenge: Predators Pummel Blues 6-1

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Marty Erat does like to be injured.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure exactly where to begin. The team that hit the ice wearing Nashville sweaters was NOT the same club that has worn the jerseys previously. The Predators stayed consistent in both defense and offense, and Pekka Rinne was back in his Finnish phenom pants. Though the Predators only lead in shots over the Blues in the first period (9 to 4), the fact Nashville took a chance on shots for once proved successful, thus putting the breaks on the Blues 6-1. Again, I’m not sure even where to begin. So many plays, passes, shots, etc. were in Nashville’s favor, I just hope they can hang on to this voodoo that they’ve come across. For a team that has only two regulation wins, ten points are mind-blowing. Here are the highlights from tonight’s blowout over the Blues:

KEY POINTS:

  • Martin Erat powered back from his lower-body injury, hitting the ice against the Blues. Jonathon Blum, who proved his worth on NHL ice last Saturday against San Jose, got the nod to suit up once again. Brian McGrattan and Matt Halischuk settled with scratches.
  • Blues’ Center Andy McDonald took an early tripping penalty in the first, giving Nashville a chance at a powerplay goal. Ryan “The Rocket Ship” Ellis took a wrister from the corner, sneaking it past Brian Elliot for his second goal of the season (2:10). Martin Erat picked up his third assist and Colin Wilson picked up his second.
  • Nashville camp out in the Blues’ zone, with newcomer Rich Clune slipping a tip-in to sink his first NHL goal at 15:53. Colin Wilson would pick up his second assist of the night (third altogether) and Paul Gaustad would pick up his first assist.
  • Nick Spaling would sink his teeth into a wrist shot, earning his second goal of the season at 19:13, putting the Predators up 3-0 at the end of the first. Brandon Yip would pick up his second assist and Roman Josi would gain his first assist of the season.
  • Nashville would extend the momentum into the second period, with Kevin Klein pulling a Shea Weber and sending a killer slapshot past Elliot, thus pulling him from the game completely. Klein gained his first goal of the season at 9:09, with assists from Jonathon Blum (1) and Martin Erat (4).
  • Gabriel Bourque decided it was his time for a goal, tipping it in past rookie goalie Jake Allen. Not a good start to his NHL debut, no? Bourque’s goal was assisted by Colin Wilson, his third of the night and fourth overall.
  • A holding call on Roman Josi would prove why the Blues are second in the league in powerplay goals. Alex Pietrangelo would nab his second goal of the second with a backhander past Pekka Rinne. Pietrangelo’s goal would shift the momentum in favor of the Blues, pushing the Predators to either buck up or fall back.

Though the Blues took the reins in the third period, Nashville remained consistent, despite being out-shot 14 to 7. Pekka Rinne can be praised for his continuous saves, keeping the Blues at bay. A wrist shot at 16:34 from Martin Erat was the nail in the coffin for the Blues, sending Nashville up 6-1. Erat’s third goal of the season was assisted by Ryan Ellis (2) and Jonathon Blum (2).

Thirty-two shots on goal and only one snuck by. That’s the Pekka we know. Looks like the Finnish phenom is getting back into a rhythm, one I hope I didn’t just jinx. Even rookie sensation Vladimir Tarasenko couldn’t work his magic around Peks.

Penalties are still an issue with the Predators, with Nashville seeing six and the Blues only taking three. For a team that is second in the league for powerplay goals, the Blues weren’t exactly the team to give powerplay chances to. However, Pekka and the Predators held strong, only allowing one PP goal. Here are the six box sitters:

  1. David Legwand – 12:41, 1st Period – Diving or “embellishing”
  2. Roman Josi – 11:53, 2nd Period – Holding
  3. Sergei Kostitsyn – 16:07, 2nd Period – Hooking
  4. Shea Weber – 19:38, 2nd Period – Tripping
  5. Roman Josi – 1:15, 3rd Period – Cross-Checking
  6. Nick Spaling – 17:07, 3rd Period – Slashing

 

What a step in the right direction for Nashville. As I mentioned in previous posts, though shootout points are helpful, points in regulation are the key to the Stanley Cup. Okay, not the key, but one of many that the Predators have to nail down to compete throughout the season.

But there is certainly no way I can criticize tonight’s game. Absolutely outstanding defense, offense, and overall teamwork shown by the Predators tonight. It’s hard to believe that, just five games ago, Nashville fell 3-0 to this exact same team. This is the Predators team we expect to see. This is the Predators that will make it far in the playoffs.

Don’t forget! Tomorrow night at Dave and Buster’s at Opry Mills: The debut of The Kevin Klein Show at 6pm! Get there early for prime seating, as you don’t want to miss Kleiner or his special guest, Pekka Rinne!

Until then,
GO PREDS

Third Time’s the Charm; Preds grasp 3-1 Win over Wild

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Nick Spaling capitalizes in Minnesota

FINALLY! A POST WITHOUT EXPLAINABLE EXCUSES! Ahh, just kidding; the Preds didn’t do that bad during the last two games, but how refreshing it is to write the first winning post of the season! And against the power couple that is Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, no doubt!

The Predators started out a bit iffy tonight, similar to last night’s start with the Wild showing the upper-hand. Showing no fatigue from last night’s shootout loss to the Blues and the late night plane ride, the Preds kept par with Minnesota, inevitably holding strong for the win. Here are the highlights from tonight’s first win of the season:

KEY POINTS:

  • Paul Gaustad traveled to Minnesota with the team and even took to the ice during practice this morning. However, his upper-body injury is still on the mend, so he, Jonathon Blum, and Brian McGrattan were your three scratches for the night.
  • Gabriel Bourque, who played a substantial role during last year’s playoffs, boarded a plane from Milwaukee at 7AM this morning to join the team in St. Paul. Bourque did not originally join the team at the end of the lockout due to an injury, healing while with the Admirals.
  • Chris Mason was given his chance to hit the ice for the Predators once again since 2008, getting the nod as starting goalie against Niklas Backstrom. Pekka Rinne, after a rough two games at home, took a needed break, although many were weary of Mason’s preparation against a 2-0 opponent.
  • Minnesota started out on the feisty side, keeping the action centered around Mason and the Predators’ zone. At 6:02, Dany Heatley knocked one past Mason, his third goal of the season.
  • The Wild’s early strike stirred the pot for the Predators, waking them up near the end of the first period with a wrist shot at 16:31 from Nick Spaling, his first goal of the season, to tie the game. Kevin Klein and Brandon Yip both picked up their first assists of the season.
  • The second period remained quiet on the goal front, but not on the defensive and offensive front. The Predators put up more shots on goal during the second (10 to Minnesota’s 7), and Chris Mason made some key and valuable saves to avoid sending the Wild into the lead.
  • The majority of the third period had most Predators fans wondering if they were going to see yet another shootout (three in a row?!), with both sides taking an even amount of eleven shots on goal during the period. However, Martin Erat nailed the magic backhand past a misplaced Backstrom to put the Predators up 2-1 for his second goal of the season at 11:45. Unassisted, we might add.
  • The Wild would pull Backstrom to give them an extra hand, but a last minute slashing penalty on Pierre-Marc Bouchard ended up backfiring on the Wild, giving the Predators the upper-hand and David Legwand’s first goal of the season at 19:43 on the powerplay. His snapshot was assisted by Nick Spaling.

The game was full of penalty action, both on the Predators and the Wild. Thankfully for the Predators, none of their penalties had a reprocution of a goal in favor of the Wild, but the latter can be said for Minnesota. Here are your Predators that wanted some alone time in tonight’s game:

  1. Rich Clune – 1st Period, 2:18 – Fighting
  2. Nick Spaling – 1st Period, 12:16 – Tripping
  3. Patric Hornqvist – 1st Period, 19:55 – Roughing
  4. Shea Weber – 2nd Period, 4:03 – Interference
  5. Brandon Yip – 2nd Period, 19:17 – Roughing
  6. Patric Hornqvist – 3rd Period, 9:47 – Goaltender Interference

The Zach Parise/Ryan Suter pairing have proven to be a power couple in just two games, but it was proven tonight that they are flawed and are not invincible. Though Roman Josi and Shea Weber have not meshed as well as Suter/Weber once did, the season is still young and, though it is a shortened season, the Josi/Weber pairing has time (not too long) to mesh and maybe, just maybe, we’ll forget all about that “Ryan Suter” character.

Let us not forget backup goaltender, Chris Mason. The Wild were brutal on net when they were in the crease, giving both the Preds defense and Mason a run for his money for not being a lanky, 6’7″ Finnish phenom. Mason blocked 28 of 29 shots on goal; though you can argue Peks has stopped many more than that while balancing on his right pinkie, Mason revived a few reluctant fans (and analysts) who just weren’t sure about how he could stack up to both Pekka and former backup goalie, Anders Lindback. After tonight’s performance, it looks like Chris Mason has measured up and surpassed even our critiques.

The Predators are off tomorrow night, but face the Blues in St. Louis on Thursday night. After tonight’s reviving win, will the Predators take that momentum across the West?

Until then,
GO PREDS!

Showing some Rust, Preds fall to Blue Jackets 3-2 in SO

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Don’t let the score dishearten you, folks.

Well, let’s first start off with WELCOME BACK TO SMASHVILLE!

For fans all over the NHL world, today – January 19th – might as well had been renamed Christmas Day. NHL hockey official returned and every hockey fan rejoiced, eager to don their favorite jerseys and return to their game day rituals.

In Smashville, tonight was electric. Hungry fans clawing to see their beloved team back on the ice; the past week open practice teasing them to push onward to Saturday. A Plaza Party to kick the festivities off, along with a “Gold Carpet” event with the players revving the fans into utter hockey ecstasy.

On the schedule for the shortened season opener? The Columbus Blue Jackets. Not exactly a formidable opponent in the past, but with the extended offseason, this season could bring forth a team not even on the radar to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. Tonight, Columbus wasn’t going to let a little offseason rust slow them down.

***

It’s been a while since the last post game write-up (too long, NHL & NHLPA), so we’ll give you a quick rundown of how our post game synopsis work. We basically cover the highlights (who scored, who got the assists, who was scratched, who got penalties, etc.). In a sense, we keep it short and simple. New this season, we are adding scores from around the league. You know, just in case you need to keep up with your fantasy team.
Okay, enough chitchat – You’ll see below how we cover the games, so there you go:

KEY POINTS:

  • Though not announced, the scratches for the Predators tonight included Jonathon Blum, Victor Bartley, and Rich Clune.
  • Also not announced was tonight’s starting lineup that included Shea Weber, Sergei Kostitsyn, Mike Fisher, Martin Erat, Roman Josi, and Pekka Rinne.
  • Martin Erat started the game out on fire, sending a wrister past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky within 39 seconds of puck being dropped. Sergei Kostitsyn and Pekka Rinne picked up the assists on the new Alternate’s first goal of the season. Here’s the video of Erat’s goal:

  • The Predators would continue to hold the Blue Jackets at bay until Columbus snuck in a tying goal on a powerplay from Nick Foligno at 16:08 in the first.
  • Ryan Ellis would put the Predators back on top at 17:55 on a powerplay of his own, with Sergei Kostitsyn picking up his second assist and Patric Hörnqvist picking up his first.
  • Columbus wouldn’t stay behind for long, answering to the Preds at 12:05 in the second period, the tying goal scored by center Artem Anisimov.
  • The third period would produce no goals, sending the game into overtime, giving both teams a point overall. Like the third period, overtime saw no goals, leading the season opener into a shootout.

SHOOTOUT SUMMARY:

– COLUMBUS – Cam Atkinson – SAVE
– NASHVILLE – Martin Erat – SAVE
– COLUMBUS – Artem Anisimov – SAVE
– NASHVILLE – Mike Fisher – SAVE
– COLUMBUS – Jack Johnson – GOAL
– NASHVILLE – David Legwand – GOAL
– COLUMBUS – James Wisniewski – SAVE
– NASHVILLE – Ryan Ellis – SAVE
– COLUMBUS – Ryan Johansen – SAVE
– NASHVILLE – Colin Wilson – SAVE
– COLUMBUS – Derick Brassard – GOAL
– NASHVILLE – Craig Smith – SAVE

PENALTY SUMMARY:

Brandon Yip – 6:49, 1st Period – Roughing
Scott Hannan – 13:31, 1st Period – Fighting
Martin Erat – 15:14, 1st Period – Slashing
Shea Weber – 9:53, 2nd Period – Fighting
Shea Weber – 9:53, 2nd Period – Roughing
David Legwand – 5:00, OT – Holding

Rusty is a good word to describe both teams (and from what we hear, all the teams in the league, as well) tonight, but Columbus was able to shake those rusted bolts loose just enough to squeak past the Predators to nab the win. Though the Predators don’t leave tonight completely empty handed, we’re sure they aren’t leaving without a nice talking to by Mr. Trotzy, either.

Without a preseason to ease the players back into their routines (and the fact some players are adjusting to new lineups and positions), it was truly anyone’s game tonight, with both teams trying to feel out their new adjustments. Sadly, this is the real deal, not just an exhibition. The Predators will have to recuperate swiftly and adjust accordingly by Monday, as their next opponent swept the Red Wings 6-0 tonight. The Blues are wound up from hibernation and, after tonight’s performance, may want to lay a wallop on the repairing Preds, too.

Attendance: 17,113 (sellout)

Until Monday,
GO PREDS

Check the chalkboard, folks.

Check the chalkboard, folks.

 

Craig Smith joins SM-Liiga

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With no end in sight for the lockout, more and more players are making the jump to Europe, and now you can add Craig Smith to the list.

The Predators’ rookie phenom announced that he will be joining Finland’s SM-Liiga while the NHL and NHLPA continue to duke it out.

Smith is the fourth Predator to head overseas, including Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne, and Patric Hörnqvist.

ESPN3 Picks up KHL, Hörnqvist Signs with HC Red Ice, & SK74 starts Rumors

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Although ESPN is notorious for ignoring all things hockey related (including acknowledging this current lockout), they turned some heads today by coming to an agreement with the Russian-based hockey league to air games on the sports giant’s online channel, ESPN3.

While it isn’t much, at least ESPN is taking the the initiative to draw NHL fans to their site, giving fans at least some chance of seeing their beloved players take to the ice – even if it’s half way around the world. And, believe it or not, this isn’t the first time KHL games have been aired on ESPN3. For the past two seasons, ESPN3 has aired a few games on their station, though thanks to the lockout, it has gained more attention now.

The first game to be shown on ESPN3 will be between Dynamo Moscow and AK Bars on Wednesday, with four more games to follow up until the 9th of this month. More games are set to be scheduled as the lockout continues.

Though almost the entire team is eligible to play in Europe, only a few have fully committed to a team during the lockout including:

– Pekka Rinne – Dinamo Minsk
– Roman Josi – SC Bern
– Patric Hörnqvist was set to return to his former team Djurgarden, but due to high taxes and insurance, Hörnqvist is seeking another route. Where to now? HC Red Ice, yet another Swiss league team.

Rumors are still swarming around as to what Martin Erat is up to, along with rumors that Sergei Kostitsyn wants to stay with the KHL, even after the lockout is settled. However, we have yet to come across anything that has stated he has even signed with a team. Maybe we missed it in the Russian-to-English translation.

Also, be prepared for the NHL to start announcing the cancelation of regular season games some time this week. Good news, however, if the NHL and NHLPA can come to an agreement before November, all 82 games will still be scheduled. Let’s hope for that.

It’s Off to Europe for Rinne, Hornqvist, & Josi: Who’s Next?

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Pekka Rinne, Patric Hornqvist, & Roman Josi have hit the trail to Europe.

With all of September’s preseason games cancelled and three already missed, the Predators (along with players across the league) are struggling with the decision of wether to wait out the NHL Lockout or head over seas to continue what they do best.

Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Alexander Semin have been vocal about their departure for the ‘Mother Land’, prompting fellow NHLers to consider the same decisions, wether they nestle in the KHL or not.

Rumors have been swirling around particular Preds, with Martin Erat supposedly returning to the Czech Republic and Sergei Kostitsyn possibly signing with a KHL team, but the only truth for Predators fans is this: Pekka Rinne has signed with a KHL team, Patric Hornqvist signs with Sweden, and Roman Josi (who actually made his announcement earlier in the week) returns to Switzerland.

Amidst rumors of him signing with the Finnish Elite League, Pekka was adamant about settling with a KHL team instead of one in his native Finland. Rinne will be goaltending for Dinamo Minsk out of Belarus during the duration of the lockout.

Patric Hornqvist naturally returned to Sweden, signing with Djurgården, a key team of Sweden’s Allsvenskan league. Preds’ first rounder Pontus Aberg is active on Djurgården’s roster, giving Hornqvist the opportunity to help the youngster prepare for (maybe one day) a shot in the National Hockey League.

Roman Josi was the first to announce his departure to Europe under the Predators roof, shipping back to S.C. Bern of Switzerland. Former Pred J.P. Dumont played for S.C. Bern last season, gaining eight goals in just 31 games. Josi is expected to hit the ice for S.C. Bern on September 29th.

With Pekka, Patric, and Roman packing up and heading overseas, it’s only a matter of time before the other members of the Nashville Predators inevitably agree to the same decision. As mentioned, SK74 and Martin Erat are already in negations with European teams, so only time will tell when they sign.

The NHL and NHLPA have scheduled a formal meeting on Friday to discuss options on the current lockout, hopefully coming to some sort of an agreement.

Preds sign Veteran D-Man Scott Hannan

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Is Hannan the veteran d-man the Predators have been searching for?

A little before noon this morning, the Predators reached an agreement that hit the cap floor and gained the franchise yet another defenseman.

Nashville signed former Calgary Flame free agent, Scott Hannan to a one-year, $1 million contract, giving the team the veteran strength and experience it was looking for. Here’s the official statement from the Nashville Predators:

Hannan, 33 (1/23/79), has amassed 197 points (33g-164a) and 522 penalty minutes in 908 regular-season games and 15 points (1g-14a) and 89 penalty minutes in 82 playoff games with San Jose, Colorado, Washington and Calgary since the 1998-99 season. The 6-1, 225-pound blueliner enters the 2012-13 season having played more games than any NHL defenseman in the last 10 seasons (798). Hannan dressed for 75-or-more games for the 11th consecutive season (78), and averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons (20:21) with the Calgary Flames a season ago.

Hannan has bounced around to a few teams, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth keeping for the long run. Hannan has proved to be a reliable, well-versed d-man who will work well with both vets like Hal Gill and young guns like Roman Josi.

Will the Predators keep Hannan around for longer than a season? Time will tell, but we have a feeling, from the videos we have seen of the 33-year-old, the fans will latch on quickly. Although, he will have to find another number; we don’t think Brian McGrattan will give up 23 easily.

Gaustad and Gill are Fond of Nashville

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Paul Gaustad mentally prepares himself before a game.

Paul Gaustad and Hal Gill may have only been with the Predators since the Trade Deadline (February), but both newcomers have become quite fond of the Music City; and the fans have become quite fond of them as well.

Hal Gill was acquired on February 17th from the Montreal Canadiens for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney, and a 2nd round draft pick. With Gill’s extraordinary penalty kill abilities and his experience holding up the Stanley Cup, Nashville knew Gill would be a key player to have during the playoffs. Gill immediately fell into line with team, finding a connection with fellow defenseman, Roman Josi. It’s honestly hard to remember that Hal has only been with the Predators since February.

Paul Gaustad was the last acquired player at the TD, being picked up from the Buffalo Sabres for a first round pick in the draft. A blind-sided trade, most fans (on both Buffalo and Nashville) did not see this trade coming, but due to his inquisitive skill at face-offs, Paul Gaustad was another key component to Nashville’s playoff run. Like Gill, Gaustad slipped in with the team and had no trouble making a name for himself in the southern franchise.

Both experts in their given skills, Paul Gaustad and Hal Gill helped propel the Nashville Predators throughout the end of the regular season and the playoffs, gaining fans along the way. However, now that the off-season is in full swing for Nashville, what will happen to the two newcomers?

Keeping these two assets (who would definitely help in the regular season) comes down to one thing: Money. Of course it comes down to money. The Predators are facing one of the toughest off-seasons ever in their franchise, with many of their key players facing both restricted and unrestricted free agency, including Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, Jordin Tootoo, and Sergei Kostitsyn. As such, a lack of a “proper” paycheck may send many players packing, including Hal Gill and Paul Gaustad… or would it?

Per a few sources, Paul Gaustad has made mention that, if in case the Predators were willing to sign him, he’d be willing to take a pay cut. Sources have also claimed the same has been said of 37-year-old defenseman, Hal Gill. The Predators organization has been considered on of the greatest in the NHL, but would players seriously be willing to take pay cuts to stay?

Although Sergei Kostitsyn is wanting to be signed to a longer contract in Nashville, it’s probable that if David Poile offers him yet another one-year contract, SK74 will take it, especially if his brother, Andrei Kostitsyn, is signed as well.

With players who haven’t been in Nashville as long as other veterans, it’s astonishing that they’d be willing to forego a larger paycheck just to stay with a particular organization. Either those players have a strong faith in Nashville and wish to see a Stanley Cup come to this city, or they just really, really love their sport… we’re going to say both.

Makes you wonder why Suter and Weber don’t want to just go ahead and sign… That’s a subject for another post.

So, for all you Paul Gaustad and Hal Gill fans, good news! These two have made it quite apparent that they have found a soft spot for Nashville and its fans in such a short amount of time, wether they’re willing to take a pay cut or not.

No matter what, you have to admit, this looks very, very good for Nashville and its franchise. Players are willing to make the roster no matter what it takes. Obviously, Poile, Trotz, and the rest of the organization is doing something right in the NHL.

 

Hockey Season Officially Ends for the Predators

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Surely SK74 and Patric Hornqvist aren’t going at it? Picture from the 2010 Olympics.

With Slovakia ending the Czech Republic’s run at the championship 3-1 in the semifinals, all of Nashville’s players have been eliminated from the IIHF World Championship. The Predators had a good amount of players who jumped on board after the post season, despite going into Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Here’s a final rundown of who played for who:

Team Belarus – Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn
Team Switzerland – Roman Josi
Team Sweden – Patric Hornqvist
Team USA – Craig Smith
Team Czech – Martin Erat

Andrei, Sergei, Roman, Craig, Martin, and Patric

Team Belarus and the Kostitsyn brothers were first to be knocked out of the tournament, falling to Team Canada 5-1 on Tuesday, May 15th. Sergei Kostitsyn did manage to collect a goal during his short run in the tournament. Also on Tuesday, Craig Smith and Team USA eliminated Roman Josi and Team Switzerland 5-2. On Thursday, Team Finland overthrew Team USA to advance 3-2, knocking out rookie Craig Smith.  Martin Erat, who notched a goal against Team Sweden, eliminated Patric Hornqvist and Tre Kronor 4-3.

As of yesterday’s game between Team Slovakia and Team Czech, Marty “Party” Erat was the only Predator left in the running for the gold. Unfortunately, Erat was sidelined early in the semifinal game, leaving the ice during the 1st Period after a shoulder check by Slovakia’s Libor Hudáček. Here’s the video from the game:

It was announced by Czech GM Slava Lener that Martin Erat does have a concussion, which could potentially affect the Predators in the upcoming season. Although the 2012-13 season is a little over five months away, concussions are a bit of mystery when it comes to treating them properly. That, and Martin Erat’s history of concussions is virtually unknown, so the way his body handles the healing process of a concussion will be on a day-to-day basis.

Martin Erat, though his a bit more serious, was not the only player injured during the World Championship. Sergei Kostitsyn dislocated his shoulder during the match between Team Canada after being hit by Kris Russell, a currently St. Louis Blues defenseman. As stated, although not as serious as Erat’s concussion, Kostitsyn will have to sit back a while to let it properly heal.

UPDATE ON ERAT CONDITION:
Martin Erat’s agent, Mike Deutsch has just announced that, despite what Czech GM Slava Lener stated earlier, Erat did not suffer a concussion and is simply suffering from a ‘stiff neck’. Good news for both Martin Erat and the Nashville Predators, but we will keep you updated in case the story changes once again. 

Hockey has officially ended for Smashville, but hockey altogether is still chugging along, wether our favorite players are on the ice or not. Now that all is done, it’s now time for the part of the off-season everyone dreads: Who stays and who goes…

Martin Erat being helped off the ice.

Predators seek Ice Time in IIHF World Championship

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Roman Josi will hit the ice with Team Switzerland.

The playoffs and hopes of a Stanley Cup in Nashville are over for the Predators, but for some of the players, a chance at a championship isn’t quite over. As teams have slowly but surely been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, NHL players have been packing up and heading to Europe to compete with their country’s national team for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.

Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Yevgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) quickly joined up with Team Russia once eliminated, along with notable Boston Bruin Zdeno Chara joining Team Slovakia. Corey Perry (Anaheim), Duncan Keith (Chicago), Patrick Sharp (Chicago) and Alexandre Burrows (Vancouver) hopped aboard Team Canada, along with Jimmy Howard (Detroit) and Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) joining Team USA.

With sixteen countries represented, almost all have some support from an NHL player, minus France, Latvia, Italy, and Kazakhstan. If you’d like to check out who’s representing who, check out the IIHF website. However, since being eliminated on Monday night by the Phoenix Coyotes, members of the Nashville Predators have been stepping up for their respected national teams and continuing their time on the ice.

The rookies have proven they aren’t ready for off-season, with defenseman Roman Josi jumping on board with Team Switzerland and forward Craig Smith joining Team USA. Martin Erat is in the works with joining Team Czech Republic, along with Andrei and Sergei negotiating with Team Belarus. More Predators players are suspected to join their respected countries as the week goes on.

The IIHF World Championship tournament is going on now until May 20th, in both Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Update: Just as we expected, another Predator has joined the IIHF for the World Championship. Patric Hornqvist has hopped on board with Team Sweden. We will keep you updated as new players join their country’s team.