Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Predators Missed Prime Opportunity to Move into Top Eight and Wednesday Wrap-Up

The Nashville Predators missed a prime opportunity to move back into the top eight and make up ground on Dallas, Calgary, and Anaheim has they been able to snag a pair of points from the L. A. Kings.

Dallas lost to San Jose 6-3 and Calgary lost to Phoenix 4-3 so it would have been a great night for a Predator win but it was not to be.

The Predators had plenty of opportunity and scoring chances but the bounces and passes always seemed to be just missing where they needed to be for the Preds to score goals. The Preds played great defense and held the offensively-minded Kings to just 18 shots.

There was an almost ten minute stretch at the start of the game where the Preds allowed one shot and it wasn't until past the halfway mark in the third that the Kings got their first shot of the period.

To the Kings' credit, they took advantage of a few key turnovers and defensive lapses to make the most of their evening in route to the 4-2 win. Jonathan Bernier improved his career record to 4-1 against the Preds.

From the beginning of the game, it appeared to be one of those nights where the hockey gods were not in the Predators favor and continued to smile on the red-hot Kings.

The Predators will get another shot at points tomorrow night against Boston at the Bridgestone arena where everyone will get bright green St.Patrick's Day beads.

Preds-Kings Round-Up...

Here is our game story from last night with post game video.

Josh Cooper had his game story, notes column, and postgame ponderings. He also has a quote from Ryan Suter about "pulling on rope."

Jim Diamond goes into detail on J P Dumont's late addition to the line-up..

David Boclair has his story at The City Paper.

From the blog world reports come from Ryan Porth, Amanda DiPaolo, Mark Willoughby, Dirk Hoag (with his advances stats), Jeremy Gover, Predatorial, Fang Finger Fever, and Hockey Night in Nashville.

The other side of the story comes from Mayors Manor, Jonathan Moncrief, Kingscast, KingsCourt, Jewels from the Crown, Kings Insider, J.P. Hoonstra, and the LA Times.

Audio clips from the Predators include Jon Blum, Ryan Suter, J P Dumont, Shea Weber, and Marty Erat. From the Kings comes Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Bernier, and Coach Terry Murray.

Programming Note...

Today's RLD Radio, produced by Ryan Porth, will have Joe Yerdon from NBC's Pro Hockey Talk as the guest. I will co-host once again. Here is an outline of today's show that begins at noon Central.

In Pred Nation...


From the Preds PR: Predators All-Star Captain Shea Weber and mascot GNASH will be signing autographs and greeting fans Wednesday, March 16 from 3:30-4:30 at the Hendersonville Walmart (204 N Anderson Lane). We're still looking for the perfect submission to get Shea's picture on the People of Walmart site.

Here is a scenario from the CBC that could put the Predators ahead of Calgary if they are tied in points at the end of the season due to the new tie-breaking system.

The Milwaukee Admirals suffered a 3-2 overtime lost to the Aeros in Houston last night.

From the GM Meetings...

Better enforcement of charging and boarding penalties was the main focus of Day 2 of the GM Meetings. A blanket rule on blindside hits was voted down.

The bottom line from the meetings so far is that there is not a consensus on how to handle head shots.

Rick Stephens at All Habs points out that Gary Bettman's five step plan would have changed nothing in the Chara-Pacioretty situation.

Bruce Arthur looks at the NHL moving on head shots.

Nick Cotsonika gets the inside look of the Chara-Pacioretty review from Mike Murphy at the GM Meetings.

From @TSNBobMcKenzie: GMs, BTW, overwhelmingly viewed Chara-Pacioretty as "hockey play" I'm told vote was 24-6 on it as a play that didn't require discipline

Around the NHL...


The Goldwater Institute finally put a lawsuit where their mouth is in the Coyotes sale with a note that a suit to actually be filed.

It is no surprise that the NHL will use the All-Star Draft again in Ottawa in 2012.

Ex-Pred Jason Arnott is up to his usually March tricks with an undisclosed injury and is not on the Capitals road trip.

Vintage Leaf Memories looks at young phenom James Reimer as to how much more they can expect out of him as he has carried them into contention.

Patrick Hoffman looks at another crowded crease in Washington. It seems like this has been the year of three goalies on the roster off and on for several teams.

Steve Lapore questions what adjustments will be made to NHL programming if there is no NFL season next year.

Not that a move is eminent, but a Winnipeg team would be the Moose and not the Jets according to a source at True North S & E.

Odds and Ends...

Pred beat writer for The City Paper David Boclair, has a story on how the culture of college athletics contributed to the death of an MTSU basketball player.

Do you think you pay too much for auto insurance? Check this list to see how your state matches up.

If you are in the market for a Galaxy Tab, these folks show you how to hack a Barnes and Noble Nook into an Android tablet for one half the cost.

Skateboarder Tony Hawk seems to have commitment issues as he divorced his third wife to go after his best friend's wife.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

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