We at SlapShot Radio are very excited to announce a series of Wednesday night Playoff Watch Parties. We will be broadcasting the show live at 7pm while watching playoff action at Tavern 96, located at Bridgestone Arena. Come on out and talk playoff hockey with Pete Weber and I as we enjoy the great hospitality at Tavern 96. Starting next Wednesday night at 7pm. More details to come on the SSR Facebook page and slapshotradio.com.
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OK, be honest. How many of you saw that one coming heading into Friday night’s play? A sweep in California? Against two of the best teams in the conference? Oh sure… and I bet your bracket is still intact heading into tonight’s NCAA final…
But seriously… this rather improbable late season run that the Nashville Predators have authored is more than a little surprising, I don’t think anyone saw it coming. If you told me that the Predators would be mathematically alive on Monday, April 7th about two weeks ago, I would’ve told you to take the gold glasses off… but here they stand, on the last Monday in the regular season, with a tragic number that stands at one with a 0.3% chance at making the playoffs and games against two of the teams they are chasing.
Let’s be real… it ain’t going to happen. But… just in case… here is a scenario in which the Predators sneak into the final wild card slot… there are many variations possible, but this seems to be the clearest way to miracle territory.
First and foremost – The Predators need to win out, winning in regulation at Dallas, in regulation against Phoenix and any type of win over Chicago and Minnesota, that puts the Preds at 89 points, an unthinkable number to make the playoffs. That is a tall order in itself, but then you need to add the following to the mix…
The Dallas Stars need to lose out… and lose out in regulation… any point gained in their final four games could eliminate the Predators (and Vancouver.) If the Stars lose out in regulation, they finish at 87 points and could still capture the last playoff slot.
Then there are the Phoenix Coyotes. They need to lose in regulation at Columbus and Nashville, then lose at home to San Jose before beating Dallas in regulation to end the season. That would put the Desert Dogs at 88 points.
Vancouver is still alive as well. Their situation is identical to the Predators, although they have no games remaining against any of the teams they are fighting for the playoffs against. They need to win out in regulation in order to finish with 89 points… they also require help from Nashville and Phoenix.
All of that being said… then you have to consider the tie-breakers. All teams will have the same number of games played so this will probably come down to the ever-popular ROW statistic. Regulation – Overtime – Wins … in other words, non-shootout wins… The four teams line up like this (as of 7am 4/7/14) Dallas – 35 Phoenix – 30 Nashville – 33 Vancouver – 30
Should the scenario I laid out above play out… Dallas would remain at 35, Nashville could finish as high as 37, giving Nashville the tie-break over all of the other teams. Again… highly improbable, but fun to think about… The Predators are in Dallas, getting ready for step one in this crazy scenario, tomorrow night at the American Airlines Center.
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Random Notes
- Saturday night’s shutout of the Sharks was the first of Carter Hutton’s career.
- The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead last night against Florida… and promptly blew it to drop a 3-2 loss to the Panthers…
- The frozen Four is this weekend at Wells Fargo center in Philly.
- The Flyer’s Zac Rinaldo should be receiving a hit from the Shanahammer today for his head hit on Av’s Chad Ruhwedel.
- Gee… a big deal is being made over the bench clearing brawl in Sunday afternoon’s NYPD/NYFD charity hockey game… just another way for the mass media to malign the game.
- Mark your calendar for Saturday May 3rd for Petey’s 5K Face-Off, the annual run/walk to support the Peterson for Parkinsons Foundation. It was a blast to do it last year so make sure to join the SlapShot Radio team for this fun event. More information is available at the PFP Website.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for @PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates, but we are having a bit of fun by getting your input on Gnash introductions, weigh in on Twitter and who knows, we may use your introduction for the best mascot in the NHL at the next Preds game! 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.
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SlapShot Radio, Join Pete Weber and I as we chat with hockey’s best, every Wednesday night at 7pm on 102.5 the Game and the SlapShot Radio Network. We return for our playoff run on Wednesday April 16th and we are live from Tavern 96 at Bridgestone Arena.
Don’t forget to visit our season’s advertisers… The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills, Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry (615-872-7762), Nolensville Collision Repair Center and Burger Republic, check their excellent menu out at their website, Defend Quality… Burger Republic.
Want to be part of the SlapShot Radio family?
Advertisers… reach out to me to access our activated listener base, we have special deals available as we cover the playoffs with the best hockey talk in the mid-South. Contact me at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
Radio station owners/programmers, contact us to carry SlapShot Radio on your station, we are satellite delivered every week via SkyView on the SlapShot Radio Network.
Our podcasts are posted… Click here to download or listen to any of this season’s podcasts.
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