Stop me if you heard this one before… The Nashville Predators lost in overtime…
- end of blog
But seriously folks… The Predators futility in overtime continued last night, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Montreal Canadiens on a night where a lot of Pred Nation was heavily conflicted. Nowhere was it more evident than when the opening lineups were read… after a long a hearty cheer for Shea Weber when the former Preds captain was read, just two names later, the name of Alexander Radulov was read… and to most observers, the boos were louder than the cheers.
Beyond the sideshow of former Preds coming back home (or to the scene of the crime) … this was a whale of a hockey game. Two excellent goaltenders making save after save, both teams playing with grit, heart and determination. It is hard to find much fault with Nashville’s play, except for the abundant turnovers, Carey Price was outstanding in net, reversing a trend of so-so play recently and Pekka Rinne was simply outstanding, making 41 saves in the OT loss.
Perhaps it is a good time for the Predators to take it on the road after losing six consecutive home games, going 0-3-3 since that epic comeback win over St. Louis. They have a back-to-back in Florida, doing the Tampa/Sunrise trip Thursday and Friday before heading to Chicago for a Sunday night matchup with the Blackhawks.
The time to get things done is now… not next week, not next month. The sense of urgency and will needs to come out now… or this season may go down as one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.
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A few personal observations from last night...
- So weird to announce Shea Weber for the opponent... and very hard to not preface it with "The captain"
- Incredibly proud of Smashville last night for the warm welcome back they extended and most especially the "Thank You Weber" chant that broke out right after the tribute video...
- If announcing Weber on the opponent's lineup was weird... announcing his goal was simply surreal.
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Random Notes
- If it’s the new year, then it is time to roll out the Where We Stand – After last night’s play, the Nashville Predators stand 4th in the Central Division, training 3rd place St. Louis by 6 points with a game in hand. Nashville is 3 points out of a Wild Card spot. The Predators have a game in hand over the first wild card team, Los Angeles and two games in hand over the 2nd Wild Card team, Calgary.
- Another really good game from Kevin Fiala, who finally got rewarded for all his hard work on the scoresheet, getting the bounce on the first goal of the game.
- Full marks to the Habs, they played an outstanding game last night and deserved the two points.
- Congratulations to PK Subban, who was named captain of the Central Division team for All-Star Weekend.
- In the World Juniors today, Team USA is in a rematch with Team Russia at 2pm CT on NHL Network. The second semi faces off at 6:30pm featuring Team Canada vs. Team Sweden.
- OK, now this is getting ridiculous… 16 in a row for the Blue Jackets and a chance to tie the NHL win streak record on Thursday night in DC.
- Six games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – WPG @ FLA. 7pm – MTL @ DAL, NYR @ PHI. 9pm – ARI @ VAN, COL @ CGY, DET @ ANA.
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