Well, that was frustrating. Give the Blackhawks full marks for an incredible comeback, but blowing a 3-0 lead on the road is not good., giving up a 4-3 lead with less than two minutes to go in the game is worse. Let’s not get crazy here, the Hawks are good, and they showed it last night. It was one of those games where you saw a good team find the next gear and ram it home.
The Predators showed the resiliency that Pred Nation is used to seeing… especially posting that last minute goal to re-take the lead before heading to the locker room.
Bottom line… the Preds took four of a possible eight points in the season series with Chicago… Al I have to say is that a playoff series between these two teams would be awesome!
Here are the highlights from nhl.com…
And the Preds are right back in action tonight at Bridgestone Arena for the last home game of 2014. It will be a sold out atmosphere for this critical Central showdown against St. Louis as the Predators attempt to win for the 13th straight time following a loss this season.
The Blues hit town after a shutout win snapped a four game losing streak last night against Colorado in what could have been Martin Brodeur’s swan song as a St. Louis Blue, Brian Elliott is expected to be activated from IR today and potentially play tonight. The goaltending situation for Nashville is a little murky as Pekka Rinne went last night, so the assumption is that Carter Hutton may go tonight, but the Preds are off until Saturday, so Rinne would have some recovery time should head coach Peter Laviolette chose to play him back-to-back. Given there is no day of game skate today, we will not get an indication until closer to game time.
We could also get a look at the newest Predator Mark Arcobello, acquired in a trade with Edmonton for Derek Roy. A 26 year old American, Arcobello is a 5’9… centerman that has played in 78 NHL games, posting 30 points (11g, 19a.) Game time is 7pm… get downtown early as parking will be a challenge with the Music City Bowl just finishing up.
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Random Notes
- Lots of banter about Edmonton not picking up Roy on waivers instead of giving up Arcobello in a trade, Stu Grimson explained it well last night during the broadcast… it was due to contract limits.
- James Neal had his second multi-goal game against the Hawks this year
- The annual father’s trip is going on right now.
- Congrats to Colin Wilson on being named the NHL’s 2nd star of the week.
- The Wild Card race in the west is tight… Winnipeg and LA at at 45 and 43 points respectively with Calgary (!) tied with LA, but they have played one more game.
- Four games tonight in the NHL –Habs @ Panthers, Blues @ Preds, Kings @ Oilers, Canucks @ Sharks.
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