Game Night! It’s opening night for the Nashville Predators as they lift the lid on the 2017-18 season with the first of three consecutive games against Eastern Conference teams. Tonight Boston, Saturday in Pittsburgh and then the home opener Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s a tough start for the Preds, all three teams are expected to be in the mix come playoff time.
First up, the Boston Bruins. A Bruins team that has the familiar names, Bergeron, Marchand, Krug and a lot of new faces. Some of them covering injuries to key players like familiar names Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron, who are both listed as questionable for tonight’s tilt. Availability questions also surround David Backes, who missed yesterday’s practice… he was described as being “a little under the weather.…
The Predators come in with a question… Nick Bonino is listed as a non-roster player as the sun comes up this morning… I can’t help but believe he is a game-time decision as he has given every indication he will play tonight. Expect Rinne between the pipes, the JOFA line to finally be reunited after very little time together in preseason and a potential appearance from Samuel Girard, the first junior eligible rookie to make a Predators opening night roster in a long, long time. Perhaps going as far back as Scott Hartnell’s first year with the team.
Interesting that there are a lot of comments being made about starting on the road for a couple of games. In talking to SlapShot Radio’s JP Dumont last night, he said it was a real advantage to get a couple of road games under their belt before returning to Smashville for the conference championship banner raising. Coach Peter Laviolette said that starting on the road “is a good thing for us.…
It’s a slightly different team, it’s a new season, and it all gets going at 6pm central. TV Coverage on Fox Sports Tennessee and the Predators Radio Network, flagship 102.5 the Game.
Now let’s continue my crackpot predictions for the upcoming season… We did the East yesterday, now it’s time for the West…
I have the following teams making the playoffs.
Pacific – The top three… Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton – I am one that is not automatically giving the division to Edmonton, the Oilers are a fun team to watch but I question the construction of the team… they still have huge questions on the blueline and I just wonder about Todd McLellan’s system. That being said… they will be a really fun team to watch. Anaheim will be solid and I would not be surprised to see them win the division again. I expect Calgary to recover from a horrific year and take the third spot in the division.
Central – The top three… Nashville, Dallas, Minnesota – I know… I know… How can you call both St. Louis and Chicago out of the top three? The Blues injury issues scare me, and Chicago’s panic in the offseason disrupted a roster in a way that I don’t believe was positive. So, who wins the division? Any of the top three… If Nashville can stay healthy and get a good start to the season, they will be a heavy favorite to take the division. If Bruce Boudreau can wring career seasons out of his Wild team, they could take it… If Dallas has finally solved their goaltending issues and their patchwork defense holds up, they could take it… of course assuming that Ken Hitchcock and Alex Radulov can get along (pass the popcorn.)
The Wild Cards – Chicago, Los Angeles – Two teams raging against the dying of the light and playing with a really large chip on their shoulder. I learned a long time ago that pride and history can keep you making the playoffs long after the window has closed (see Detroit up until last season.) Do I think either team can do damage once they get there… yup.
Knocking on the door – St. Louis, San Jose, Arizona, Winnipeg – The Blues could jump into the top three of the Central or sneak into a wild card, it all depends on how quickly they get healthy. San Jose still has some pop, but I’m just not sure how much they have left. Arizona is a team on the rise… I believe they could make a run that slides them into a wild card. And then there is Winnipeg, lots of talent that should have this team contending, but something always seems to happen.
So let’s drop the puck on this season!
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Here’s last night’s SlapShot Radio…
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In case you are just tuning in to the NHL now… you may want to take a look at this video regarding NHL rule changes
A look at the rule changes for the 2017-18 season. pic.twitter.com/wsz9UKRnsy
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 3, 2017
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Random Notes
- No real consensus pick for the Stanley Cup as the season begins… All except one of USA Today hockey writers have the Western Conference winning the cup, Kevin Allen is calling a three-peat for Pittsburgh, the other five are split… one calling Anaheim, two calling Edmonton and two calling Nashville
- I don’t get the lazy reporting in most of the season previews I have seen regarding Nashville… amot everyone says that the Predators didn’t “replace James Neal’s 23 goals.… Ummm Nich Bonino had 18 last season in a third line role… OK that makes five goals not replaced… they added Scott Hartnell, who had 13 last season, being underutilized… that puts the team at +8 goals… then look at Fiala’s production… lazy analysis.
- Former Predator Cody Franson has made the Chicago Blackhawks after attending their camp on a PTO.
- Steve Mason had a really rough go in his first game with Winnipeg last night… giving up five goals before being pulled.
- The Edmonton McDavid’s beat the Calgary Flames last night 3-0 on the strength of goals from McDavid, McDavid and McDavid.
- The Bruins have a new play-by-play man for their radio broadcasts, he is Judd Sirott, who jumps to the B’s from Chicago where he was calling the Blackhawks and Wolves for parts of the last 12 or so years… You may recognize the name and the voice as he was the national play-by-play man for HDNet (now AXS TV) when they had a piece of the NHL contract
- KHL Watch – Eeli Tolvanen’s Jokerit has won 10 consecutive games. Tolvanen now has 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points in 14 games so far. Jokerit plays next on Sunday.
- The countdown to Opening Night is on… the Oct. 10 game against the Flyers is sold out, however limited tickets are available to next Thursday’s early season showdown with Dallas.
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------------------------------------- SlapShot Radio has an exciting season in store for our tenth anniversary season. As the longest running hockey show in the region, SSR feeds hockey fans what they crave… intelligent, fun, entertaining talk about their favorite sport and we do it from the opening of training camp all the way through UFA day… the only local hockey show that does that.
We are on every Wednesday night at 7pm on the Predators flagship station, 102.5 the Game. Our new co-hosts are ex-Preds Dan Keczmer and JP Dumont bringing a true insiders perspective to the show. Well… almost every Wednesday… our next show is Saturday, October 14 at 8am… we are stepping aside for the players show…
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