It’s Game Night in Smashville for game two of the Western Conference Quarter Finals and the Nashville Predators are looking for some retribution in order to even up this best of seven series. Game one was an incredibly close affair, fast paced, up and down the ice, breath taking hockey. Expect more of the same tonight.
The expectation is that the Blackhawks will go with the same lineup tonight as they did Wednesday, including Corey Crawford in net. Head Coach Joel Quinneville called that decision a “no-brainer.… The Predators are playing their lineup close to the vest, calling Mike Fisher day-to-day… if Fisher doesn’t go tonight would Peter Laviolette go with rookie Kevin Fiala for his playoff debut? Mike Santorelli? Cody Franson skated yesterday in a full contact jersey, do we see him in the lineup tonight? The chess match of between game moves has just begun.
So what does Nashville have to do in order to even this series up? A couple of things…
- Continue to shoot the puck like Chicago votes… early and often - One of the most encouraging things about game one for Pred Nation was the continuous barrage of shots poured down on Blackhawk goaltending, second period excepted… and speaking of…
- Actually play the second period with the same intensity as the first and third - Not taking anything away from Chicago’s excellent play in the second period, the Preds need to maintain their focus and intensity… they had an object lesson Wednesday night of what happens when they let up off the gas.
- Discipline – Nashville lost its discipline at points Wednesday night, the second period especially. You cannot give this Blackhawk team that many power play opportunities and expect to win.
It’s a critical game two tonight… expect the sea of Gold to be out in full force at The Bridge. Game time is 8:30pm, pregame coverage begins at 8pm on Sports South and 102.5 the Game. It is the second game on NBCSN so I expect puck drop at about 8:45pm…
Here’s the game two preview from nhl.com
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Random Notes
- Viktor Stalberg played an excellent game Wednesday night, the kind of game Pred Nation has been waiting for since his signing. - The Predators really need to take advantage of Chicago's dependence on four d-men and take advantage of the third d pair when they are on the ice.
- The stars were certainly out in Smashville at Game One, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill… just to name a few.
- One of the more interesting storylines may be the Predators growing up fast. Lots of rookies in Wednesday's lineup against a highly experienced and battle hardened Hawks lineup.
- It's a big night in Nashville, not only Game Two, but the opening of First Tennessee Park at Sulphur Dell. I bet a lot of folks will go to the opening then head over for puck drop at the Bridge.
- Craig Berube was fired in Philly today... third coach so far, with more changes to come. I still believe a few teams are waiting for Babcock and or McLellen to be available.
- I still question Ken Hitchcock's goaltending decision for the Blues 4-2 loss to Minnesota. That game also confirmed my belief in not wanting any part of the Wild in the first round.
- Slightly Off Topic - Given all the comments and publicity happening about the ESPN reporter that cursed out a Virginia towing company… I’d like to see an investigation into the company’s practices… their Yelp page is full of very concerning comments about their way of doing business… Not excusing that reporter’s behavior, but predatory towing is a real problem in the Capitol area, there is too much smoke around that company for there not to be fire. It's been 30 years since I lived in DC and it was an issue then... can't believe they haven't figured out a way to address it properly in that time.
Four game two’s tonight, here are the games and national coverage options…
- Ottawa @ Montreal - MTL lead 1-0 – 6pm CDT faceoff – Coverage on CBC, CNBC - New York Islanders @ Washington – NYI leads 1-0 - 6:30pm CDT faceoff – Coverage on NBCSN, SN - Chicago @ Nashville – CHI leads 1-0 – 8:30pm CDT faceoff – NBCSN, SN - Calgary @ Vancouver – 9pm CDT faceoff – CNBC, CBC
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