Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Game Night

February 12, 2019, 8:16 AM ET [8 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Nashville Predators have gathered seven points in the six games since their All-Star/Bye week break. Not bad, but not great and certainly not getting to where they need to be from a results standpoint. Look, I get it… these are the dog days of the season, when the playoffs are getting within sniffing distance, but still far away enough to not quite gin up the excitement needed. I guess it is why I am not quite freaking out over the team’s uneven performance as of late.

Pred Nation’s ole buddy Detroit is in town tonight. The Red Wings find themselves scraping the bottom of the Eastern Conference once again as the rebuild, reload, whatever you want to call it in the Motor City continues. It is hard to figure out what this franchise is doing, what the plan is to return to relevance… this team will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season after a string of appearances that went back to the 89-90 season. A stretch that featured four Stanley Cups, including a back-to-back.

Those days are long gone. This team will be lucky to crack 70 points this season.

There is talent to build around, good young talent like Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist and Andreas Athannasiou. They have a serviceable defense and good goaltending in Jimmy Howard. But the trade deadline is approaching, and the vultures are circling… do the Wings finally offload for picks and really begin a rebuild?

This Red WIng team has been hurt all year, missing 178 man games to injury, Trevor Daley is on IR, Tyler Bertuzzi is day-to-day and has missed seven games since 2/1. Cry me a river say Pred fans…

The worry for Fans of the Fang? What team shows up tonight? Do they build off solid efforts at home against Dallas (a OT win) and St. Louis (an OTL) or do they repeat the lackluster effort in St. Louis. No one knows at this point. The only thing we know for sure is that the JoFA line is nearly unstoppable right now.

Viktor Arvidsson is on pace for a 40_+ goal season… and that’s after missing 24 games! Filip Forsberg has posted 14 points in his last 14 games, including two multi-goal games and Ryan Johansen is on a point per game plus streak… he has posted 24 points in the last 23 games.

Game time is 7pm at Bridgestone Arena, limited tickets remain. Pregame is at 6pm on 102.5 the Game, 6:30 on Fox Sports Tennessee. Puck drop is at 7:08pm.

------------------------------------

The Where We Stand section

Nashville maintains the second slot in the Central Division, two points behind the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg holds two game in hand over Nashville. The Preds lead Dallas by ten points and lead St. Louis and Minnesota by 12.

Nashville currently holds the 4 seed in the Western Conference playoff race and has a 99.8% chance of making the playoffs according to SportsClubStats.com… the “85% chance” line is floating between 89 and 90 points right now.

Impact Games Tonight –6pm – DAL @ FLA. 7pm – NJD @ STL, PHL @ MIN, NYR @ WPG. 8pm – TOR @ COL.

-------------------------------------

Random Notes

- Milwaukee Update – Milwaukee finished a six game homestand last night with their sixth consecutive home loss. I bet they can’t wait to hit the road. Their next game is Sunday at Manitoba.

- History – Tonight is the 97th meeting between these two teams.

- Streak Breaker – The Predators are looking for their first win on home ice against the Red Wings since 2013.

- Warranted? – It is interesting… with all the complaining about the defense (present company included) the Nashville blueline have posted 152 points so far this season, second-most in the NHL.

-----------------------------------




-------------------------------------

SlapShot Radio’s 11th season is on! As the longest running hockey show in the region, SSR feeds hockey fans what they crave… intelligent, fun, entertaining talk about their favorite sport and we do it from the opening of training camp all the way through UFA day. We are on every Wednesday at 7pm, except for this week when we step aside for the player’s show.

We have been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives awareness and results at a reasonable price. Just ask our sponsors… including day one sponsor Drs. Jane Bacon and Aileen Kruger at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762 and Patrick J. Brown’s Farmer Insurance Agency in Mt. Juliet… I switched to them a few years back and their service has been incredible! Give Pat and his team a call at 615-288-2086.

Advertisers… reach out to me in order to access our activated listener base though great stretch run advertising deals available combining radio with advertising right here on my blog. It is a great, cost-effective, high-visibility way to build awareness of your business. You can send me a message on the SlapShot Radio Facebook page or by messaging me right here on HockeyBuzz.

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.

If you are outside of the listening area, listen live online at The Game website or check out the podcast about two hours after the show at on SoundCloud.

-------------------------------------

KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information, click here.
Join the Discussion: » 8 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Paul McCann
» The time has come
» Whining through Game 3
» Playoff Picks
» Waiting for he playoffs
» A special night in Smashville