2/6/10 - San Jose at Nashville: L 4-3

The tenacity of the San Jose Sharks ultimately won them the game. As soon as the Predators scored, the Sharks found a way to even the score. The tenacity of Jason Arnott could have won the game for the Predators, especially with his nine SOG for the evening. It was unfortunate that he couldn't quite put any of them away past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

It would have been awesome to see one more win at home before I have to do without for so long. Though I will admit that I'm glad it wasn't Tuesday's game against Phoenix that became the last game I saw on home ice before next week's road trip and the impending Olympic break.

Things worth noting (and also some general observations):

JP Dumont grabs two goals in what seems like ages. Calling him out worked perfectly. He woke up and my Frenchman lives again.

I still miss Jed Ortmeyer BUT he was being quite chippy out there tonight. While we're at it, I miss little Scooter too.

Not excited that Smithson got juggled around on so many different lines. I guess that shows his versatility but he has been playing so well with Legwand and Ward. Being stuck on a line with Belak is strictly punishment.

Let's talk about Jody Shelley and Wade Belak going at each other twice in one game. Though there was a lot of jersey holding, Belak won in both cases.

Josh Sacco is still one of the cutest little kids in the universe.

Dear Joel Ward, thank you for scoring a goal on the breakaway. It leaves me with faith that the team actually does remember what it's like to score one of those.

The good news is: these teams seem to be evenly matched for once. SOG counts stayed pretty consistent for both sides once they evened out in the first period. That was a plus on the night, even if the Predators ended up on the losing side of things.

Dear Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan, please stop passing when you could take the shot instead.

The fourth line did not play at all in the third period. I'm not really sure what Trotz's motivation was behind this decision but both Ryan Jones and Jerred Smithson deserve more ice time than what they were handed tonight (4:35 and 7:51, respectively).


The Predators now have a couple of days off until they head out for their last road trip before the Olympic break. It's a rare East Coast road trip, one in which they will visit the Islanders, the Rangers, the Devils and the Penguins. While they might be done in the Sommet for close to a month, you can at least breathe a sigh of relief knowing that all four games can be seen on FS Tennessee next week. Since all four teams are fairly unfamiliar to the Predators, it will be an enlightening week of hockey ahead for them. Like I said on Tuesday, every point is crucial so here's hoping they can pull out some wins.

Let's go, boys.