The Nashville Predators open the home portion of their First Round series against the Anaheim Ducks tonight at Bridgestone Arena at 8:30pm… and no, that time is not a typo. But it is one of the joys of being a team on the very eastern edge of the Western Conference and crossing over into the Pacific Division. The Predators hold a 2-0 lead in the series and in order to take a 3-0 lead, Nashville will have to do what no other team in the Pacific Division side of the playoffs has done thus far…
Win at home…
There have been 5 games in the two series on the Pacific side and home teams are 0-5 after last night’s OT win for the Kings at the Shark Tank. Now, no one should be surprised that a team with a sub-.550 home record (San Jose) lost at home, but LA and Anaheim have better home records than Nashville.
So, what does Nashville need to do tonight to put the Ducks in an 0-3 hole?
Continue to play with discipline, Anaheim’s game is to try and intimidate physically while play is on and mentally frustrate with a lot of after the whistle crap, Nashville has not bit on either tactic and it has driven the Ducks to distraction and silly penalty taking. The Predators need to feed off the energy at Bridgestone Arena, but not allow that energy to overwhelm their discipline as I expect tonight’s crowd at the Bridge to be loud, proud and absolutely insane!
Survive the first ten minutes, the Ducks should come out firing… both with the body and the stick. Effective counter punching by Nashville will amp up the frustration level and firmly ensconce the Predators in Anaheim’s collective head. It will be an absolute key to winning tonight.
Come on down early… there is a Plaza Party that starts at 5:30pm with live music, food, beverages and fun, doors open at 6:30pm and all fans at tonight’s game will receive a special playoff t-shirt. Game time is 8:30pm… there’s a new opening that you will want to be in your seats for… tickets for tonight are extremely limited so get ‘em quick… Coverage is on 102.5 the Game, Fox Sports Tennessee (in Predators viewing area) and on USA Network nationally.
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Cause for Joy – Besides the 2-0 lead… Anaheim’s road record is the third worst among Western Conference playoff teams.
Cause for concern – The running of Rinne – Anaheim has run Pekka Rinne repeatedly, he has been clipped, hit, sticked and otherwise abused. Retaliation needs to be … well… Duck-like… y’know, out of the vision of the officials (see Kesler’s chop to Rinne’s face in Game 2) or after the whistle (see one of 724 examples in the first two games.)
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I have to go here… and I hate it.
I am proud to have grown up in the Delaware Valley. I know the passion and knowledge of Philly sports fans… Normally when something happens at a Philadelphia sporting event, the entire media goes off on the old saw of “What do you expect from Philly?… You get the “They boo’d Santa… “They throw things… blah… blah… blah. Never mind that this happens in multiple cities across the country, after all… never let the facts get in the way of a good bias… but when a few idiots in Philly do it… it allows pundits from all over to crow about their prejudice being right.
Unfortunately, this time… the scorn and ridicule is richly deserved.
As I settled in to watch game 3 last night, I was impressed by the salute to Ed Snider… In his 44th season, Philadelphia Flyers PA announcer Lou Nolan was spectacular in how he handled the salute. The video was touching but not over the top… the Game Ops crew struck the right notes…
You knew trouble may be brewing when the idiots started yelling during the moment of silence.
After a spine-chilling version of God Bless America… seriously, if you haven’t seen the mashup of Lauren Hart singing with a video recording of Kate Smith from 1974, it is amazing… the puck dropped, Philly scores less than a minute in and the Spect… err Wells Fargo Center went crazy… then the Washington Capitals showed why then won the President’s Trophy and took over the game. Then the Flyer’s lost their discipline and the idiots took over in the stands. Throwing the very thing meant to honor the Chairman onto the ice.
Lou Nolan was put in an awful position by these bozo’s… and he handled it with grace, class and the scorn that was deserved for the dummies that cost their team a penalty by throwing things on the ice (something that should’ve happened in Game 2 of Ducks/Preds.)
It was shameful…and as someone noted on Twitter, it changed the meaning of the shirt given out with Ed Snider’s profile replacing the circle in the Flyers logo to Mr. Snider hanging his head in shame.
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Random Playoff Notes
- Tonight’s game will be Shea Weber’s 48th playoff game, a new franchise record for playoff games played by a Predator. The captain is also three goals away from breaking the franchise record for goal scoring in the playoffs.
- I was stuck by Bruce Boudreau’s tone in his postgame presser from Sunday… almost resignation with a sense of “I can’t get these guys to do the right thing… mixed in.
- No starting goaltender has been named yet for Anaheim… we’ll get a hint at morning skate.
- Both teams travelled yesterday and did not practice.
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Series Snapshots
- Predators / Ducks – NSH leads 2-0 – Next game – Tonight @ NSH – 8:30pm – Fox Sports TN
- Panthers / Islanders – NYI leads 2-1 – Next game – 4/20 @ NYI – 7pm CT – USA Network
- Lightning / Red Wings – TBL leads 2-1 – Next game – Tonight @ DET – 6pm CT - NBCSN
- Capitals / Flyers – WSH leads 3-0 – Next game – 4/20 @ PHI – 6pm CT - NBCSN
- Penguins / Rangers – Series tied 1-1 – Next game – Tonight @ NYR – 6pm CT – USA Network
- Stars / Wild – DAL leads 2-1 – Next game – 4/20 @ MIN – 8:30pm CT - NBCSN
- Blues / Blackhawks – STL leads 2-1 – Next game – Tonight @ CHI – 8:30pm CT - NBCSN
- Kings / Sharks – SJS leads 2-1 – Next game – 4/20 @ SJS – 9:30pm CT – USA Network
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------------------------------------- Season eight of SlapShot Radio is on! Join us every Wednesday night at 7 on 102.5 the Game. Pete Weber and I cover the playoffs from pillar to post. This week we will be chatting with Anaheim Ducks radio play-by-play man (and former Voice of the Nashville Sounds) Steve Carroll and a lot more.
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