It may be in the 60’s as I write this, a rare warm December morning, but hockey is in the air as the Detroit Red Wings are in town for their first visit of the season. Expect a raucous house tonight as Bridgestone Arena will be rockin’. Detroit hits Music City on a roll, one of the hottest teams in the league and riding a three game win streak. Nashville has won their last three as well and has seen their confidence grow since their stirring third period comeback in Columbus a week ago.
Irresistible force, meet immovable object… something’s gotta give.
Detroit is fairly healthy, they list Patrick Eaves and Jan Mursak on IR, the Predators Injured Reserve list is clear so both teams sport their full lineups. No excuses there… the bottom line for Nashville is that this game will be what it normally is, a measuring stick. A gage to figure out how much this team has improved, how resilient it can be, and how much work needs to be done.
The Predators have been wildly inconsistent this season, however these last few games have shown the team on an upward trajectory. I wrote when this home stand began that it was important for the team to re-establish their Bridgestone Arena advantage, and so far… they have done that, but the strongest tests happen tonight against the Wings and Saturday against the Blues. These are critical Central Division showdowns that can allow Nashville to continue their rise in the conference standings and solidify their hold on a top eight spot, or facilitate a drop out of the top eight.
The battle between the pipes should be an interesting one. Pekka Rinne has gotten his mojo back, playing very well after a small slump. Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard has established himself as the man in Detroit, posting a sparkling .932 save percentage and an equally stellar 1.82 GAA. Rinne has outstanding numbers against Detroit, owning a 8-3-3 record and three career shutouts over the Wings.
Saying that tonight will be a good one is an understatement… Game time is 7pm at Bridgestone Arena, limited tickets are available. Game coverage will be on 102.5 the Game and Fox Sports Tennessee.
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Last night’s 24/7 premier was very well done. From the opening dulcet tones of HBO voice Liev Schreiber, to the excellent music selections, to the battle of the “F”-Bombs from each coach, HBO’s 24/7 team has once again grabbed your attention for 60 wonderful minutes.
It will be fun to watch the characters develop over the next few weeks, Sean Avery and Ryan Callahan for the Rangers, Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds and Ilya Bryzgalov for the Flyers. Bryzgalov was the unquestioned star of the first episode from the Flyers side, his philosophical lectures about the universe Russian liquor and the penalty for killing tigers were hysterical, and almost completely incomprehensible.
The star from the Rangers side doesn’t come from the players, but a player’s grandmother. Grandma Callahan was so genuine, her raw emotion about her grandson’s performance, and her complaint about the penalty was simply precious.
The best look inside though was with the injuries, the concussion protocol on Giroux, the del Zotto injury and follow up when he said that he felt like a “61 year old man today” a stark comment and a peek behind the curtain of what a lot of hockey players worry about.
Some serious kudos are due to the producers. They did an incredible job on the Claude Giroux storyline, especially considering that the situation wasn’t completely diagnosed until the day before the show aired. HBO has appeared to have done it again… can’t wait for next Wednesday!
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Random Notes
- Thanks to everyone who came out to Blackstone last night. We had a great time, and the podcast is posted on SlapShotRadio.com
- Speaking of 24/7… I want to be Liev Schreiber when I grow up.
- Next up with a concussion… Guillaume Latendresse. He left last night’s Minnesota / Chicago showdown with what has been termed “post-concussion syndrome” and has been shut down indefinitely.
- Our friends over at “On the Forecheck” have a really solid “30 Game Report” on the Predators… typically great analysis from Dirk. Check it out < a href=" http://www.ontheforecheck.com/">here.
- Is anyone else completely over the back and forth between Dave Bolland and the Sedins?
- Still waiting on a Darryl Sutter hiring in Los Angeles. Kinda expected it to be done by now.
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