One of my favorite series of books is by Douglas Adams… a wise-acre of the highest order, he wrote a trilogy (that consisted of five books… I know, roll with it) of hysterical books that started with “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” In the first book of the series the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is identified as… 42.

For this year’s Predators team, the answer could well be 43… or 4-3… as in the score of the last two games at the Joe… as in the score of the two games in Anaheim and San Jose back in November that helped turn the season around… the score of a big win in February against St. Louis… the score of two games in March against the Kings… that’s right… 4-3… in fact, (here comes the bizarro stat of the day...) the Preds have had ten games in this crazy season that ended 4-3. Their record in those games? 8-1-1.

The “Cardiac Cats” struck again last night, with another improbable comeback that keeps their flickering playoff hopes alive. Once again, Jason Arnott took this team on his back and led the way to a win. Scoring with less then seven minutes to go, his goal fired up the team and drove a furious comeback attempt that was capped off by a game tying power play goal that was scored by Joel Ward… no wait… the it’s credited to Jason Arnott… hold on, check your scoresheets fans… By the time the off-ice officials figured it out, the goal was credited to JP Dumont, his 16th of the year.

Overtime solved nothing… the shootout belonged to the captain. In the fourth round, Jason Arnott went five-hole on Chris Osgood to seal the victory… the final score?

4-3

Douglas Adams must be smiling somewhere…

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One more regular season game… One more "game of the year"... tonight at Xcel Energy Center, against the Minnesota Wild. A team even more desperate and in more need of help to make the playoffs than the Predators. Beyond the obvious one for Pred Nation, the game has some interesting story lines… The Nashville Predators, formerly owned by current Minnesota owner Craig Leipold… Minnesota’s slim playoff chances go bye-bye with any loss… Plenty of buzz in the Twin Cities that Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire may be gone at the end of the season…

The Preds lead the season series 2-1, the one loss being a game that sticks in the craw of the team… that post-Thanksgiving Saturday night where the Preds gave up five power play goals in a 6-2 drubbing on home ice. St. Paul has traditionally not been kind to the Predators, the team has only won four times in fifteen trips to Minnesota, one time being a fine 2-0 shutout back in February authored by Dan Ellis. They come into the game with a chance to take the season series.

The Wild will be missing Brent Burns, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and tough guy Derek Boogaard. They are all listed as out for tonight’s showdown. The Predators’ well known injury list remains the same.

Expect a tight-checking, defense first game tonight… don’t have to be a genius to make that prediction… the key for Nashville is to jump out early, pour plenty of shots on Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom and not get behind, allowing Minnesota to use their trap.

Coverage for the game is on 104.5 the Zone and FS Tennessee. Puck drops at 7pm.

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It was good to see Preds prospect Colin Wilson play last night in the Frozen Four. He potted two goals, including the game-winner for the Boston University Terriers. BU goes on to play the Miami University Redhawks on Saturday night for the championship. Pred connecions on both teams... game coverage will be on ESPN.

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SportsClubStats now has the Predators’ chances of getting into the playoffs up to 32.6%. If things fall right tonight… that could go up as high as 93%

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The “Where We Stand” Update

The Predators stand 9th in the Western Conference at 88 points, three points ahead of Minnesota, the “Tragic Number” for the Wild is 2, the “Tragic Number” for the Preds is 3

The Predators are…

- Tied with 7th place Anaheim. Anaheim needs one win to clinch their playoff spot. Should they lose both of their remaining games and both the Preds and Blues win out, the Ducks would finish 9th. Anaheim has one game in hand.

- Tied with 8th place St. Louis. The Blues currently own the tie-breaker over the Preds. If the Blues win out, they make the playoffs. St. Louis has one game in hand.


Tonight’s Impact Games

- Columbus @ St. Louis - The puck drop on this games is 30 minutes after the Preds start in Minnesota. A Columbus win in regulation combined with a Preds win, puts Nashville in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

- Dallas @ Anaheim - One of the more improbable scenarios for the Preds making the playoffs is Anaheim losing their last two…

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Join Brandon Felder and me for the fastest hour in radio… HockeyBuzz Radio, The shows moves to Wednesday night next week featuring a full playoff preview. Bill Clement will join us to break down the Eastern Conference matchups and our own Pete Weber will break down the Western Conference. Start time is 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR, you can listen online at www.wnsr.com or you can download the podcast of the show at www.hockeybuzzradio.com

Also... don't forget to check out www.hockeybuzzradio.com for updates, links to more hockey and Predators information.

The site has been revamped, featuring a new section called HBRCares, dedicated to fundraising and community activities that HBR and the Preds are involved in.

"Our House" is chock full of pictures from recent games... some on the ice, but mostly of the fans... only at hockeybuzzradio.com.

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