Things worth noting:
- There were three broken sticks from the Predators bench alone last night. Each one broken during play could not have come at a worse time; while the player was winding up to take a shot on net. Though, I will say Shea Weber’s stick might have broken out of fear from the sheer force of his grip.
- I am not usually one to gripe about the officiating but last night seemed to be exceptionally horrendous. The lack of obvious calls that should have occurred was appalling. It might be an understood code among the officials to let the players play the game, uninterrupted, as the playoffs get closer BUT they should still call games fairly. A lot happens on the ice during the game so I get that there are going to be missed calls on occasion. There just seemed to be a glaringly large amount of missed calls for the Predators last night.
- Chris Pronger is one of my least favorite players in the league and last night did not change my opinion of him one bit. However, I am grateful that he is with the Flyers this season so I’m only subject to being mad at him once a year.
- Shootouts are still as stressful for me as ever though it was good to hear that the Predators record in the shootout this season is 6-3. Also, Pekka Rinne had a pretty terrific game and my hopes for a Dan Ellis playoff run performance down the stretch is probably all for naught.
- Scoring came from Steve Sullivan, Martin Erat and Jerred Smithson. And while the Tootoo-Boyd-Dumont line didn’t score, they had some great chances as well. Contribution from every line is how they need to win games and something that Coach Trotz has been stressing from day one. Here’s hoping this is a trend that will continue.
Former Predators Greg Zanon and Marek Zidlicky are headed to town with the Minnesota Wild to face off against the Predators on Thursday; the two teams final contest of the regular season. The Wild have a 2-1 edge on the season series and are a team still in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Predators have not faced Minnesota since December 5th, a game they lost 5-3. Both teams have won their last three games. Thursday night could get ugly.
Let’s go, boys!

