Before I get to today’s preview, I wanted to let you know about an event coming up on November 9th at the Belcourt Theatre. I had the great honor of meeting the family of Mitchell Mielnik on Tuesday night before the Predators / Lightning game. Their son Carson was the Blueliner of the Game. Mike and Tara are going through a hell that most of us cannot imagine and they seem to be doing everything they can to get from one day to the next with grace… a grace that I am not sure, were I in that same position, that I could muster.
You may recall the name... Mitchell, a member of the Jr. Predators, passed away early this summer after a battle with a rare heart condition. You may recall the hashtags on Twitter #18Strong and #PrayforMitch.
Burying your child is something that no parent should ever have to do… but what makes it even harder to get over, is the seven figure medical bill that this family is dealing with. To help alleviate this, there is an event scheduled for Monday, November 9th at the Belcourt Theater in Hillsboro Village. “Play for Mitch – A Tribute to Mitchell Mielnik… will feature a reception, live auction, and music… lots of music from great artists like Emerson Drive and Sixwire. The reception and silent auction begin at 5:30pm… music gets going at 7:30pm… you can get your tickets online… here is the link.
------------------------------------
It’s Game Night in Smashville as the Nashville Predators welcome the Anaheim Ducks to town for a matchup of Western Conference powers. Anaheim has gotten off to a slower start than most expected, 1-3-1 has head coach Bruce Boudreau on the hot seat again. The Ducks are coming off of their first win of the season, a 4-1 pasting of the Minnesota Wild on Monday night. Anaheim swept the season series from Nashville last year and tonight is the first of three meetings between these two teams in the next 26 days.
The Predators come into tonight’s game off a stirring come from behind win over the Lightning with a forward that is hotter than a two dollar pistol… James Neal is on a nice little scoring streak with five goals in the last three games. When Neal is feeling it, he is very hard to contain and he is certainly taking advantage of some great chemistry with Filip Forsberg. Forsberg has delivered some incredible setups that Neal has knocked home, look for Anaheim to key on this line tonight.
Good news on the injury front as Ryan Ellis, Barret Jackman and Austin Watson all practiced yesterday after being scratched from Tuesday night’s game. All three are listed as day-to-day, Jackman and Watson are called upper body injuries, Ellis, lower.
Special teams may tell the tale tonight as Anaheim has been stellar on the PK (91.7%) only giving up one power play goal. As good as they have been shorthanded, the power play is powerless at 0-12 so far this young season. The Preds have been solid on both sides of the puck on special teams with a 22.2% conversion rate on the power play and a 87.5% kill rate on the PK.
The big guns have been silent so far in Anaheim, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf each only have one assist and no goals… Ryan Kesler is scoreless add that all up, and this could be trouble for Pred fans… this team has too much talent to not break out of this funk eventually.
Game time is 7pm, limited tickets remain. Coverage of Fox Sports Tennessee and 102.5 the Game.
------------------------------------
Random Notes
- The Predators have only won 1 of their last 9 against Anaheim and haven’t beaten the Ducks at home since 2011.
- Nice article from Adam Vingan in today’s Tennessean about Chris Mason and his new role on radio with the Preds.
- Expect Barret Jackman in the lineup tonight… Ryan Ellis is a game time decision.
- St. Louis placed Paul Stastny on IR due to a broken foot… he will be out for at least five weeks.
- Calgary waived Karri Ramo yesterday… desperate times?
- The John Tortorella era begins in Columbus tonight at the Jackets take on Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center… pass the popcorn!
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
Season eight of SlapShot Radio is on! Join us every Wednesday night at 7 on 102.5 the Game when Pete Weber and I preview the upcoming week and take a look back at the week that was.
SlapShot Radio is the longest running hockey show in the mid-south delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio. Nashville will be a focus to the entire league as Music City hosts the All-Star game and we’ve got room for your business to be part of the SlapShot Radio family with effective and affordable advertising packages for every budget. Advertisers… reach out to me to access our activated listener base via email at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
Our premier, day one sponsor is Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at 615-872-7762. Also, our newest member of the SSR Sponsorship family is Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799.
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.
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information, click here.