Weekend Wrap Up: California Nightmare Became Sweet Dream

After Thursday night, there was no question that things needed to start looking up for the Predators.  And though their record at the Honda Center wasn’t the greatest (something I failed to remember before taking in two separate games there over the past few seasons), they found a way to win 1-0 against the Ducks on Friday night.  Was it a battle for both teams?  Oh, absolutely.  Was it the best win ever?  Hardly.  However, it was a game that helped to ease the sting of the night before.  Add in yesterday’s win at LA and you’re looking at a pretty successful road trip for the boys; one that could have gone horribly wrong after Thursday night had the team not used the “put it behind us and move on” philosophy.  This resiliency, a word used quite often by Coach Trotz, has shaped this team and defined who they are season after season.

The boys I like after this road trip: Shea Weber, JP Dumont, Patric Hornqvist and Colin Wilson.  All for obvious reasons, of course.

The boys who could be doing much better: David Legwand and our penalty killers (seriously, what happened this year?!?!).  Our special teams need some special help.

This week begins a nice long homestand for the team; only broken up by a one off game against St. Louis next Sunday and a game in Florida against the Panthers on the 29^th.  The Predators have had a lot of success on the road this season but you could argue that is because they have played more games on the road than they have at home so far.  This month is their last chance to bring that road success home and I look forward to what these remaining games have in store.

Also, I can not wait to see Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell back in the arena again, even if they are wearing Flyers jerseys.  I really hope the crowd gives them a nice welcome back and NOT in the form of booing or "SUCKS!" during the starting line announcements.

Let’s go, boys!