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Game Night in the Rockies

November 7, 2019, 9:05 AM ET [7 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As bad as the finish was to the Nashville Predator’s last home stand was, the annual early-November got off to a great one with a satisfying 6-1 win in Detroit. The Preds are now in the Rockies for the first divisional showdown of the season with the Colorado Avalanche tonight at Pepsi Center. The Preds and Av’s are in the 2 and 3 slots respectively in the Central and this game is a big one.

Colorado got off to a flying start to the 2019-20 campaign, but then injuries hit and it has been all downhill since Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog hit the injured reserve list. Colin Wilson has missed a couple of games as well, we will find out more on his status at day of game skate. The Av’s started the season at 8-2-0… since these injuries hit they have dropped five straight and aren’t too happy about it. Keep in mind, this team has gotten better defensively and still has a very dangerous Nathan MacKinnon and Jonas Donskoi in the lineup.



Nashville comes into tonight’s game after righting the ship in the second period in Detroit, exploding for five goals in the second period and cruise to a victory. While Matt Duchene had his first two goal game in Gold, the best part of this offense continues to be the secondary scoring. Nick Bonino has eight goals so far, Colton Sissons has five and Austin Watson has three. Calle Jarnkrok has made the most of his move to the top six, posting five goals so far. The offense is proving to be dangerous up and down the lineup making a scheming nightmare for opposing coaches.

Between the pipes, I would expect to see Philipp Grubauer in net for Colorado, he is playing some very solid hockey, posting a GAA of 2.80 and a .915 save percentage. I would also think that Pekka Rinne would be in net for Nashville for this critical Central Division matchup.

These two teams don’t meet again until the end of February… they will play three times in 30 days then. Game time is 8pm CST tonight, coverage on 102.5 the Game and Fox Sports Tennessee.

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Random Notes – Presented by

- Interesting article on the Preds website about the Winter Classic jersey design process.

- Pekka Rinne is quietly putting together another excellent season… he is 8-0-2 so far in this young season becoming the first NHL goaltender to post a season-opening point streak of at least 10 games at age 36 or over.

- Nashville to Denver Connection – The Avalanche have several former Preds on their team, Colin Wilson, Sam Girard and Vladislav Kamenev.

- Th St. Louis Blues have been on a tear lately, last night’s win in Edmonton was their 6th straight… Tarasenko? Who’s he?

- Ready for some afternoon hockey? The NHL Global Series gets going tomorrow with the Sabres and Lightning playing is Sweden. 1pm puck drop on NBCSN.

- Tonight’s NHL schedule – 6pm – VGK @ TOR, WSH @ FLA, PIT @ NYI, MTL @ PHI, NYR @ CAR. 6:30PM – LAK @ OTT. 7:30pm – VAN @ CHI. 8pm – NSH @ COL, NJD @ CGY, CBJ @ ARI. 9:30pm MIN @ SJS.

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SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I are now on Monday night’s this season. The best hour of hockey talk on the longest running hockey show in the southeast will begin the season at 8pm and will settle into our normal 7pm slot after Thanksgiving… Monday’s on 102.5 the Game.

Our sponsor list continues to grow. Not only are we welcoming back Drs. Jane Bacon and Aileen Kruger at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762 and our good friend Carter Church, Your Murfreesboro real estate expert with Weichert – The Andrews Group. And our newest sponsors… Cool Springs Wines and Spirits! The largest spirit store in all of middle Tennessee! And La-Z-Boy Nashville! Three locations, locally owned and operated, check out La-Z-Boy in Murfreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!

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