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Friday Notes
- Big win for the Predators last night, those two points were critical. They now are a Calgary loss tonight, or win tomorrow from the playoffs.
- The schedule turns decidedly in the Preds favor right now, not necessarily by competition, but by the spacing of the games. After tomorrow afternoon’s tilt in Detroit, the Preds get an off day on Sunday, then have actual practices on Monday and Tuesday. They fly to Phoenix Tuesday afternoon, play Wednesday, then return to Nashville for their last home game of the regular season on Saturday April 10th. It is my belief that a lack of practice time has really been hurting this team’s
- Controversial goal last night. David Backes was clearly interfering with Pekka Rinne and according to this morning’s Tennessean, differing explanations were given as to why the goal was allowed. Rinne is quoted in the paper that the ref told him on the ice that he was “outside of his crease” as the reason the goal was allowed… however head coach Barry Trotz was told that the goal went in before there was contact. Let’s get our stories straight here guys… To be fair to all involved, it was a bang-bang play and a difficult call.
- Nice to see some sandpaper in the Pred’s game last night, a game that got very chippy with lots of “behind the play” activity. Colin Wilson had his first NHL fight and there was a pretty good bout between Wade Belak and DJ King.
- Some pretty good April Fool’s jokes yesterday… I kinda like the one from LSU about installing purple turf at their stadium… but one of the best was from Nashville’s own Forechecker… he got a lot of us with his Shea Weber slapshot injuring Steve Sullivan gag…
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From the Predators PR Department…
PREDATORS PLAYOFF TICKETS - ON SALE THIS SATURDAY Nashville gearing up for fifth trip to NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in last six years
Nashville, Tenn. (April 1, 2010) – Individual tickets for the first three Nashville Predators home games of their 2010 Western Conference Quarterfinal Playoff series (Games Three, Four and Six) will go on sale to the general public this Saturday, April 3, at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at Bridgestone Arena’s box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, nashvillepredators.com or by calling 615-770-PUCK. Ticket prices start as low as $29 per game.
All Stanley Cup Playoff series are best of seven and played on a 2-2-1-1-1 format, and the first round of the 2010 NHL post-season will open on Wednesday, April 14. The three division winners in each conference will be seeded first through third in order of points, and the next five-best teams, in order of points, will be seeded fourth through eighth. The team seeded No. 1 will play No. 8, No. 2 takes on No. 7, No. 3 meets No. 6 and No. 4 battles No. 5 in the Conference Quarterfinals.
Individual tickets for any future rounds of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs will go on sale upon the completion of each round.
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Where We Stand… A daily look at where the Predator’s stand in the playoff race…
The Predators stand 2nd in the Central division and 5th in the Western Conference with 96 points and three games to play. Nashville is…
- 4 points behind 4th place Phoenix, the Coyotes have one game in hand.
- 5 points behind 2nd place (Central leading) Chicago, the Blackhawks have three games in hand.
Nashville’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now at 1. Any combination of Calgary not gaining a point or the Preds gaining a point clinches a playoff spot for Nashville.
In the chase group… Nashville leads…
- 6th place Detroit by 1 point, the Red Wings have two games in hand.
- 7th place Los Angeles by 2 points, the Kings have two games in hand.
- 8th place Colorado by 7 points, the Av’s have three games in hand.
The Preds have…
1 game left against – Phoenix (Wed - road), Detroit (Saturday - road), St. Louis (4/10 – Home)
Tonight’s Impact Games
According to SportsClubStats.com, the Predators have a 99.976454% chance of making the playoffs.
Colorado / Calgary – Any Flames loss and the Preds clinch a playoff spot.
Chase Group Odds of Making the Playoffs (according to SportsClubStats.com)
Detroit – 99.921824%
Los Angeles – 99.933308%
Colorado – 89.1%
Calgary – 10.3%
With the odds above, it looks like a certainty that if the Calgary Flames are to sneak into the playoffs, it will be at the expense of Colorado.
The Western Conference Playoff match-ups if the playoffs began today…
San Jose vs. Colorado
Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Vancouver vs. Detroit
Phoenix vs. Nashville
Wednesday 4/6 – We’re back in the studio previewing the Phoenix game and talking to NHL newsmakers from across the league.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating during Pred home games in season with information and explanations from the PA box.
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