The last road trip of the regular season begins tonight as the Nashville Predators are in the Lone Star State to take on the Dallas Stars. Dallas has not traditionally been very friendly to the Predators, especially at the end of the season as the Preds have had a trip to the American Airlines Center during the last week of the season for the past three years… and lost all three. Their overall record in Dallas is a paltry 9-25-2 all time. Tonight is the rubber game of the series as both teams have won two.
The Stars are playing for pride and jobs next season as they are banged up. How banged up? Well, you won’t see Maatias Janmark, Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Ales Hemsky, Curtis McKenzie or Antoine Roussel... and you know what that means… lots of kids looking to impress. Dallas has lost an unbelievable 324 man games to injuries this season, that being said… expect big changes this off-season as the anticipation is that Lindy Ruff’s contract will not be renewed, goaltending personnel changes will happen and the defense need a major overhaul.
Nashville is heading in the opposite direction, looking to go into the playoffs playing the right way but certainly has had its’ share of injuries, losing 225 man-games coming into tonight with James Neal and Yannick Weber both day-to-day with upper body injuries. Nashville has been playing well for the most part, but not getting the results... they are 1-3-1 in their last five and are certainly looking to turn things around as the second season nears.
Game time was changed to 7:30pm central as NBC Sports decided to change things up and show a team that never gets any airtime, the Boston Bruins… so Willy Daunic and Stu Grimson will lose their day off and handle the TV broadcast tonight. The Voice of the Predators, Pete Weber and Chris Mason will be on the radio call… pregame starts at 6:30pm on radio, 7pm on TV.
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ICYMI – Last’s night’s SlapShot Radio…
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Random Notes
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Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 92 points in 80 games played and remain in the 2nd Wild Card slot, they trail St. Louis for 3rd spot in the Central by one point, the Blues have a game in hand. The Preds are tied with Calgary for the first Wild Card slot, Calgary owns the tiebreaker.
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Impact Game(s) Tonight - The games that impact the Preds seeding … STL @ FLA – the Preds still have an outside chance of getting the 3rd slot in the Central. CHI @ ANA – Anaheim has a chance to put a stranglehold on the Pacific with a win. CGY @ LAK – Who wants the first Wild Card? EDM @ SJS – An Edmonton win coupled with an Anaheim loss gives the Oilers an outside chance for the Pacific Division title.
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Preds Matchup Chances - Chicago – 52.3% (unchanged), Anaheim – 32.7% (unchanged), Minnesota – 6.2% (unchanged) Edmonton – 6.2% (unchanged), San Jose – 1.7% (unchanged).
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If the Playoffs Started Today - As the 8 seed in the West, the Predators would play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
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Teams that have clinched playoff spots - No playoff spots were clinched, but Washington did clinch their second consecutive President’s Trophy. 14 down, 2 to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Anaheim, San Jose, Edmonton, Montreal, Calgary, St. Louis, Nashville and Boston have punched their tickets.
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Playoff “Tragic Numbers” - In the East… Tampa Bay = 2, New York Islanders = 2. (Stick tap to Damian Echevarrieta for this data)
- Mike Fisher has been nominated for the King Clancy Trophy for the 5th time. The Clancy Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The award is voted on by his teammates.
- Speaking of nominations… Matt Irwin has been nominated by the Nashville chapter of the PHWA for the Masterton Trophy.
- The Predators have assigned Samual Girard to Milwaukee who just finished his junior career with Shawinigan. The 2016 second round selection played 59 games so far this season, posting 9 goals and 66 assists! The 18 year old starts his AHL career tomorrow night against Cleveland.
- Viktor Arvidsson is still looking for his 30th of the season.
- Ryan Johansem is looking for his 48th assist of the season, which will set a new assist record for the franchise by a centerman.
- Miikka Salomaki played well in his return against the Islanders. I’m curious if they go with him again tonight.
- I also thought Brad Hunt played well on Tuesday, I would like to see a little more of him.
- Twelve games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – OTT @ BOS, PIT @ NJD, NYI @ CAR, WPG @ CBJ. 6:30pm – TBL @ TOR, STL @ FLA. 7:30pm – NSH @ DAL. 8pm – MIN @ COL. 9pm – VAN @ ARI, CHI @ ANA. 9:30pm – CGY @ LAK, EDM @ SJS.
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