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Ugh! aka Keep Calm

March 29, 2013, 10:16 AM ET [26 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Between the second and third periods of last night’s disaster area of a hockey game I ran into a member of the Preds Hockey Ops department, he looked at me and said “You know what the best thing about these type of games? You get to play again on Saturday.” The Predators packed a lot of mistakes into their 7-4 loss to the Coyotes in front of the 29th consecutive sellout at Bridgestone Arena, bad defense, bad goaltending, sloppy puck control, lack of focus were all on display. But for those that are looking to pull the ripcord on this season I say this…

Keep calm and carry on.

Last night’s loss hurt, no question about it, but it did not kill the season. It did not eliminate the Predators from playoff contention. It did not make the Predators “sellers” at the deadline. It was a loss, that’s all. Two points that didn’t happen… that’s it. The good news is… “you get to play again on Saturday.” I didn’t expect the team to reel off 18 straight blowout wins to finish the season and anyone that did was kidding themselves. It was a single loss in a stretch run so…

Keep calm and carry on.

I’m not trying to soft pedal what was an awful loss to a team that was injured and coming off a soul killing loss the night before, but I am trying to remain reasonable in the fact that the Predator lost a little ground and made their job a little tougher in losing to a team they should have beaten. That happens in a season, now they will need to make these lost points up somewhere else. That somewhere else begins tomorrow in Colorado, where the team has a chance to get back on track and start winning on the road. But in the meantime…

Keep calm and carry on.

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SportsClubStats Update

The Predators are 4th in the Central (2 points behind St. Louis) and 9th in the conference.
5th – LAK – 40 pts – 1 game in hand
6th – DET – 39 pts – 0 game in hand
7th – SJS – 38 pts – 1 game in hand
8th – STL – 36 pts – 1 game in hand
9th – NSH – 34 pts
10th – DAL – 33 pts – 2 games in hand
11th – EDM – 33 pts – 0 games in hand
12th – PHX – 33 pts – 0 games in hand
13th – CBJ – 33 pts – 0 games in hand

Predators Playoff Chances – 18.3%

Most likely number of points needed to make the playoffs – 55

Points needed – 21

Impact Games Tonight (and who Pred Nation should be rooting for)

Minnesota at Dallas - Pretend Ryan Suter is still wearing gold… the Wild can help with a regulation win.

Columbus at Calgary - Need to keep Columbus in the rear view mirror… let’s go Flames!

Predators Remaining Schedule
Twelve out of the last eighteen games are at home and we are tracking the team’s progress, so far, the Predators are 3-1-0 for 6 points.

3/21 – Calgary – W – 5-3 – 2 pts.
3/23 – Columbus – W – 5-2 – 2 pts.
3/25 – Edmonton – W – 3-2 – 2 pts.
3/28 – Phoenix – L – 4-7 – 0 pts

Saturday - @ Colorado
4/1 - @ Chicago
4/2 – Colorado
4/4 – Columbus
4/6 – Chicago
4/7 – @ Chicago
4/9 – St. Louis
4/12 – Dallas
4/14 – Detroit
4/15 – Vancouver
4/19 - @ Chicago
4/23 – Calgary
4/25 - @ Detroit
4/27 - @ Columbus

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Random Notes

- Colin Wilson has begun skating… that is VERY good news for Pred Nation. Paul Gaustad is also very close to returning to the lineup.

- The term “embarrassing” was thrown around a lot last night… an apt description from a proud team.

- 38 shots on goal for the Preds last night, matching their season high.

- Mike Fisher blocked a shot late in the third period last night, injuring his hand. X-Rays taken in the locker room were inconclusive.

- The team practices at Bridgestone Arena today before leaving for Colorado. Tomorrow’s game is a matinee that starts at 2pm CDT. The Predators will fly to Chicago post-game and spend Easter in the Windy City before Monday’s showdown with the Blackhawks.

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