Well… since we didn’t have a Saturday game this week, SlapShot Radio’s intrepid photographer was out and about last night, capturing the action on a rare Sunday home game for the Predators, making our regular feature a true, Sunday Shots…
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| From Predators vs Capitals |
Let’s start out with this. No matter which way the vote for Norris trophy goes, Shea Weber is the best defenseman in the league this season and last night’s 4-3 shootout win over Washington was the entire reasoning for that statement in one tight little game. His stats tell most of the story, 1 goal, 1 assist +2, 3 hits, 3 blocked shots in over 27 minutes of ice time, in other words, just another day at the office for the captain.
Now that is solid enough, but, to paraphrase Paul Harvey, you need to know the rest of the story, shutting down Alex Ovechkin, the leading goal scorer in the league. Ovechkin logged almost 21 minutes of ice time, most of them with Weber on the ice, and in that time he got three weak shots and went a -2 with a giveaway. Weber was so effective on Ovechkin that the Russian sniper was literally a non-factor in the game.
It was a microcosm of the season for Shea Weber. Putting in his best work during a season that hasn’t went the way most expected. He leads defenseman goal scoring with 21 and fantasy geeks will tell you that Weber is the only defenseman in the past nine seasons to post 20+ goals, 150+ hits and 150+ blocks in a single season. The stats really scream “Norris… here.
Besides the captain’s excellent play as of late, I would be remiss if I didn’t add in new papa, Patric Hornqvist who has been on a tear lately. Hornqvist had two goals, his 100th and 101st of his NHL career and was all over the ice.
The Predators have a few days off before heading out to the West Coast for their last multi-game road trip, a Friday/Saturday back-to-back against Anaheim and San Jose and a Tuesday visit to Dallas before their last two home games. Fan Appreciation Night is Thursday, April 10th against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Here are the highlights…
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Random Notes
- Reason number 10,327 on why I like hockey - After last night's fight between Rich Clune and Patrick Wey, Clune came over to the box and one of the first things out of his mouth was to ask me if I knew how Wey was doing. Good on ya Rich.
- The Predators are 7-4-1 in their last 12 games.
- Mark Van Guilder made his NHL debut last night after 387 minor league games. The 30 year old is a product of Notre Dame, captaining the Irish to the 2008 National Championship game.
- Not a single power play for Nashville last night, the Capitals went 2-4 on the man advantage.
- Had to share this picture I tweeted out last night… Big Ben has some competition.
Yikes! Dem Caps fans is crazay! pic.twitter.com/9QaS6BOLKA
— Paul McCann (@PredPAPaul) March 30, 2014- Looks like Ted Nolan will be remaining behind the bench with Buffalo and having the “interim… removed from his title. Looks like a three year deal.
- 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.
- Four games tonight – 6:30pm starts – Hurricanes @ Senators, Panthers @ Devils. 9pm start – Jets @ Ducks, Wild @ Kings.
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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.
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