The eyes of the NHL will be on Smashville tonight as two of the league’s top teams tangle with the points lead on the line. The Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks are tied in points with 72, Nashville holds one game in hand over the Ducks. Both teams are being chased by the red hot St. Louis Blues, owners of a six game win streak and a date with the Buffalo Sabres tonight. Oh and by the way…
Pekka Rinne is back in the lineup for the Predators and has the start tonight.
When Rinne went down with a sprained knee, the Predators were leading the Central Division with a 4 point lead over Chicago and a 5 point lead over St. Louis. They were leading the conference and the league with a 2 point lead over Anaheim. Obituaries were being written about the Predator’s season, Chicken Little was running rampant and different “experts… were spelling doom for the Predators.
You can understand it… kind of… but longtime observers of this team knew that there is a little more to these Predators than just a Hart worthy goaltender. So, 23 days and eight games later, the total damage of Rinne being out can be totaled up thusly…
None. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Nunca. Bupkas.
The Predators continue to lead the league, conference and division. They continue to be dominant at home… and to add one more… they continue to lead the league in goal differential. Oh… and I have to add a BIG benefit now that Rinne is back. He got a three week break to rest and recover… both physically and more importantly… mentally. The concerns about him being overused? Gone. The concerns about Carter Hutton… mostly alleviated as he posted a 4-1-2 record in relief.
So, the showdown between Anaheim and Nashville at Bridgestone Arena sees two teams that fought to a shootout decision back at the beginning of January at the Pond… this is Anaheim’s only regular season visit to Smashville. That game saw Carter Hutton in net for the Predators and James Neal out of the lineup due to an injury. Tonight is the first of a five game roadie for the Ducks and the second game of the Predators “ten at home… February.
Nashville will be looking to extend their franchise record home winning streak which currently stands at nine. The injury story for both teams is a fairly brief one. Ryan Ellis is out for the Preds… that’s it as the Ducks roll in with an empty injured reserve list.
The return of Rinne sets up a really good goaltending duel as Anaheim’s Frederik Anderson has been excellent between the pipes for the Ducks, posting a 28-7-5 record, a GAA of 2.31 and a save percentage of .917. There is a reason both these teams are among the best in the league in one-goal games.
Offensively, the Ducks are led by the usual cast of characters, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf with a new wrinkle… noted Pred Playoff Killer Ryan Kesler. Kesler is having an impact on this team, like you knew he would when he came over from Vancouver.
Game time is 7pm at Bridgestone Arena and ticket availability is limited. Coverage on Fox Sports Tennessee and the Predators Radio Network gets started with pregame at 6:30pm.
Here is your preview from nhl.com
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I’d like you to know about the Peterson for Parkinson’s fundraiser happening on February 16th at the Franklin Theatre. It’s called “Songwriters and Storytellers… and will feature performances from some of Nashville’s premier songwriters. Writers of hits for artists like Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean… just to name a few. For more information, including how to purchase tickets Click here. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm… it should be an awesome show for a great cause.
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Random Notes
- Standings update after play on 2/4 – No real changes as most of the prime participants were off last night. The Predators remain first in the division, conference and league. St. Louis is two points behind in the division. Anaheim is tied in points but the Preds have a game in hand on the Ducks. The Predators also have a game in hand and an eight point lead over third place Chicago, who leads 4th place Winnipeg by only 3 points.
- The Western Wild Card race saw the only impact of last night’s games with Calgary’s win over San Jose. Calgary has taken over second in the Pacific, San Jose drops to third and Vancouver drops into the second wild card slot in the west. This situation will be very fluid given the three games in hand that Vancouver holds over both Calgary and San Jose.
- Nice stat from predators.com - The Predators have seen 127 points come from their blue line this season, tied for first in the NHL. Nashville, who has five defensemen with 10 or more points, lead the League in goals by defensemen with 34.
- Pekka Rinne, after missing eight games… still leads the NHL in wins with 29. He is second in GAA at 1.96 and second in save percentage at .931.
- The Panic Button is being pressed in Los Angeles as the Kings fall further out of the playoff race. As play begins today, the Kings are five points out of a playoff spot. Now five points isn’t a huge hole, the bigger problem may be the fact that they have to jump four teams to get there.
- Speaking of LA… no help coming on the blueline as the story around suspended d-man Slava Voynov’s domestic violence charge seems to keep getting worse.
- So, Evander Kane was scratched for wearing sweats to a team meeting… ummmm… OK.
- As the trade deadline gets closer, the rumor mill is really heating up. One of the more interesting reports comes out of Ottawa. According to the Ottawa Sun, Chris Neil does not want to be traded.
- PK Subban joins the Diving/Embellishment Hall of Shame as he was fined $2000 bucks yesterday for violating NHL Rule 64.
- Now this I would like to see… USA Today is reporting that Detroit is in talks to potentially host the World Juniors in 2018 at their new arena being built right now.
- Nine games on the NHL schedule tonight – Blues @ Sabres, Islanders @ Flyers, Capitals @ Senators, Kings @ Panthers, Ducks @ Predators, Lightning @ Stars, Red Wings @ Avalanche, Hurricanes @ Coyotes, Sharks @ Canucks.
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