“Now Clark… that’s what ya call an RV…
Or… to fit into last night’s 3-0 over New Jersey… an Arvy… as in Viktor Arvidsson. Viktor Arvidsson, master of the jump screen, did it again and again last night… along with tallying a shorty which was the back-breaker for a Devils team that is beaten up, bloodied and in desperate need of this All-Star Break in order to hit the reset button.
And in other news from the Prudential Center… PK Subban … well… he hockey good, posting his 18th point in his last 17 games and frankly… I am wondering why his in not in the conversation for the Norris Trophy. I will say this… if he keeps this level of play up, he will be by the end of this season, and that consideration is richly deserved.
Ok yeah… one more story from last night… not sure if you know this or not, but Pekka Rinne is a freakin’ brick wall. He posted his 4th shutout of the season last night… all of them on the road. No one can argue with Subban and Rinne being in Tampa Bay this weekend.
Here are the highlights…
So… 47 games in and the Predators are on a pace to register 113 points on the season which should be enough to win the Central Division, considering where this team was at this point last year, there is much optimism in Pred Nation. Especially given the imminent return of Filip Forsberg to the lineup.
Watching last night’s game it suddenly hit me, this team has arrived as I now notice that teams are playing the Predators a lot like the Predators used to play the Detroit’s of the league in the early years of the franchise. It’s kinda fun being on the other side of that equation.
All-Star Weekend gets going tonight… the Skill Competition is Saturday, the All-Star Tournament is Sunday.
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“Where We Stand… update… a daily tracking of where the Preds are in the standings and the games that impact them most, brought to you by Mark Lonsway - THE real estate professional for hockey fans!
Heading into the All-Star break, the Predators stand second in the Central Division with 65 points, one point behind Winnipeg (3 GIH) and two points ahead of St. Louis (4 GIH) … the Preds lead Dallas (3 GIH) by five points and Colorado (1 GIH) by eight points.
Impact games tonight (all times Central) – None – All-Star Weekend in Tampa Bay
Playoff Odds Courtesy SportsClubStats.com - The Predators playoff chances are now at 99% after yesterday’s play.
The Playoff Point Line - I look at the point level needed for a 75%+ chance to make the playoffs… right now, it stands at 97.
Playoff odds and playoff point line courtesy of SportsClubStats.com
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Random Notes
- Cody McLeod didn’t last long on waivers, the New York Rangers picked him up. McLeod was a great pickup for Nashville last season, he added something that last year’s team was missing… and is one helluva nice guy. Good luck Cody!
- There is a four team battle royale forming for the last wild card slot in the Central, with Colorado, LA, Minnesota and Anaheim all tied at 57 points. The Av’s have the playoff spot right now due to games in hand… they have one on LA and two on the Wild and Ducks.
- Dallas has a chance to put some distance on between the first and second slots as they lead by three points over that bunch, it could’ve been five, but they went down to Toronto last night.
- It may be a little early to write this, but the Chicago Blackhawks are teetering on the edge of irrelevancy. They have 53 points in 49 games… the four point gap between them and the pack above them is only half the issue… leap frogging four teams is harder than closing the point gap.
- New Jersey’s loss last night knocked them out of the top three in the Metro.
- Eeli Watch – Eeli Tolvanen’s Jokerit team took down Salavat Yulaev in OT yesterday. Tolvanen was held off the scoresheet. He has 17 goals and 16 assists in 44 KHL games. Tolvanen has been named to the Finnish Olympic Team.
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------------------------------------- SlapShot Radio’s tenth anniversary season is on. 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 co-hosts, Dan Keczmer and JP Dumont bring a true insiders perspective to the show. JP Dumont is back in the co-host chair for our next show as we welcome NJ Devils play-by-play man, Matt Loughlin.
We have been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives results4 at a reasonable price. Just ask our sponsors… including day one sponsor Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762, Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799, and TurfMasters… check out their great service at TurfMasters.com. Also… The Crag… Nashville’s premiere location for indoor rock climbing. Newton Dominey and his awesome crew have a great location in Cool Springs and they have opened a new location in South Nashville at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd and Nolensville Rd. Check out their website at ILoveRockClimbing.com If you’ve never done it before… you need to try, they specialize on helping first timers.
We are also happy to welcome our latest sponsor… Patrick Brown’s Farmer Insurance Agency in Mt. Juliet… I switched to them a few years back and their service has been incredible! Give Pat and his team a call at 615-288-2086.
Advertisers… reach out to me in order to access our activated listener base though great preseason advertising deals available for our tenth season when you email me at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the link.
If you are outside of the listening area, listen live online at The Game website or check out the podcast about two hours after the show at on SoundCloud.
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