Paul McCann Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
Thursday Notes
- What a night of hockey last night with only one home team winning.
- Pittsburgh is going to prove my prediction right (at least the “struggle” part of it,) losing game one at home is never a good thing.
- Mwahahahah… My evil plan appears to already be working… picking New Jersey over the Flyers. The strategy was validated by Philly’s win last night. :-)
- San Jose… really???? Giving up the GWG in the last minute? Wow... I know the pressure on the Sharks was huge going into the series but you can consider that being amped up by a factor of ten for game two, the fanbase is upset (to say the least) and a perfect storm is brewing for a potential upset.
- Full marks to the young Colorado Avalanche, they played with composure, discipline and patience in their game one upset of the Sharks. Now they need to do it again to really put the Sharks in a hole.
- The only home team to win last night were the Phoenix Coyotes, dare I use the “d” word after one game??? Destiny?
- Ottawa shouldn’t get too comfy, while they played a great playoff game last night, their goaltending wasn’t really up to snuff. I know it was Brian Elliott’s playoff debut, but he has to be better for the Sens to pull an upset here… that being said, he may not need to if Marc-Andre Fleury doesn’t show up for this series.
On the home front…
- The entire Predators roster went through a full 90 minute practice yesterday, including Patric Hornqvist and Denis Grebeshhkov. For the first time in franchise history, this team is going into the playoff with a full roster and no major injuries.
- Speaking of Grebeshkov, the word is that if he plays that Cody Franson may be the odd man out on the blueline… interesting that he was working point in the power play drills in Wednesday’s practice.
- Negotiations are ongoing to get Blake Geoffrion signed to an entry level contract so the Preds can get him to Milwaukee for some playoff experience.
- The team travels to the Windy City today.
-----------------------------------
Time to preview the series that begin tonight…
#1 Washington vs. #8 Montreal – Montreal speaks into the playoffs while the Capitals have been on cruise control for the last few weeks of the season. The high-octane offense that the boys from DC supply will simply be too much for a Hab team that has had its’ share of turmoil this season. There are some goaltending questions in Washington, Jose Theodore comes in as the Caps #1 for the second straight year, but Semyon Varlamov is waiting in the wings should he falter again. The only chance for the Habs in this series lies in Jaroslav Halak channeling the spirit of Ken Dryden in '71. My call - On paper, this one should be a blowout. In reality, it is a blowout… Capitals in a sweep.
#3 Buffalo vs. #6 Boston - This is going to be a good series, two teams that don’t like each other much. Buffalo comes in with the best goaltender in the league in Ryan Miller, Boston is coming back with Tuuka Rask, the goalie that got them to the playoffs. Boston has played Buffalo well this year, taking the season series and the B’s do have a history of knocking the Sabres out in the playoffs. I don’t see it happening this year, Miller is battle tested and has shown in the Olympics that he steps up his game on the bigger stage. My call - This has the makings of a classic goaltender duel… if Rask plays well, Boston stays close, but ultimately it’s the Sabres in six.
#3 Vancouver vs. #6 Los Angeles - This series could be a mini-version of the Sharks/Av’s. There is a boatload of pressure on the Vancouver Canucks, they (along with the fans and Vancouver media) believe they have a championship window open along with the right combination of players to bring a Cup to Vancouver. The Kings have been the breakthrough pick for the last few years, this year they finally broke through with their first playoff appearance in quite awhile. They are fast, young and loose, an interesting combination given the competition. Here is another series where the goaltending is in question… Jonathan Quick hasn’t exactly rolled into the post-season for the Kings, he hasn’t won a game for LA since March 22nd. Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo has had an inconsistent season at best. Yes, he was the gold medal winning goalie for Team Canada, but no one is saying he was the reason they won. The better goaltender in this series will be a bigger key than it normally is and at this point, it is a tossup. My call - What a tough series to call… This will be a learning experience for the Kings, Canucks in five.
I’ll have the Predators / Blackhawks take tomorrow.
Last Night’s Podcast is posted – Our playoff preview edition of the show with Hockey Night in Canada Radio’s Jeff Marek previewing the Eastern Conference, Peter McNab of the Colorado Avalanche and our own Terry Crisp will be joining Pete Weber and I to break down the West and focus on the Predators / Blackhawks.
The trivia questions on last night’s show were not very easy… congrats to Jim Alley, who knew that David Legwand scored the first playoff SHG for Nashville, and to Robert Petrochko for knowing that Adam Hall holds the franchise record for game winning goals. The second question drove a lot of you nuts as it took almost 30 calls to get a winner!
Wed 4/21 - We're smack dab in the middle of the first round and we'll have it covered from pillar to post. 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR.
---------------------------------
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 with starting lineups and scratches during Pred home games, also I’ll be supplying information and explanations from the PA box.
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • 
Join the Discussion:
»