11/27/10 - New York Rangers at Nashville: L 1-2 SO

Seeing as how it is more productive to remain positive, I am going to refrain from saying much about tonight. Here's just a couple of things I want to throw out there: I was so happy to see Colin Wilson finally get another goal and step up his game. It's about time. I am also very much enjoying the Ward-Smithson-Tootoo line still. They seem to have the get up and go that some of the other lines are lacking.

And, that's about it. One of these days I'm going to have more to talk about without sounding restless and frustrated. I just don't want to rehash the same problems game in, game out.

11/26/10 - Nashville at Minnesota: L 2-5

How many times can this team re-focus and get back to the basics before those two things stop being effective? At what point do I stop being frustrated with this team? At what point will this team start playing like the team I know they are more than capable of being? At what point will their shots on net actually start converting themselves into goals? Almost goals (obviously) do not win games. We could all talk at length about the near goals, the just misses that every line seems to get shift after shift. But talk is all there is at this point. All talk and very little action. 

Before the game, Coach Trotz had some strong words regarding the lackluster play of the team's forwards as of late.  And if he's sharing his disappointments publicly to Pete and Terry, he's saying a lot more to the guys in the locker room. What is it going to take to turn things around? I, for sure, don't have the answer to that burning question. What I do have, like any good long-suffering Predators fan, is hope. That and the recollection of many a seasons past where these same issues have resolved themselves in the long run.  These two things are what I will cling to while this team figures out, once and for all, who they are going to be this season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You might have noticed that the posting has been a little light around here lately. Well, there are plenty of good reasons for that, among them being the holidays. I promise my posting will resume to a somewhat normal schedule after this week is over. For now, I leave you with a little Thanksgiving treat from the CBS show How I Met Your Mother. If you don't watch this show, you should because it's...(wait for it)...awesome. They also reference Canada and hockey quite often so it's got that going for it too.



Happy Slapsgiving, everyone! May your day be full of only good things and leave you appropriately stuffed.

11/22/10 - Nashville at Columbus: L 0-2

Mo Money Monday: Week 3

Welllll, things are getting really hairy around here. Movember is definitely taking its toll on the upper lips of men worldwide. This week's winner goes to someone who has been brave enough to go where others fear to tread...er, grow? Congratulations, George Scoville! You are keeping it classic with a nice, normal, albeit slightly pervtastic moustache.

Next week's winner is for all the marbles, boys. Who's going to show me their best Yosemite Sam impersonation?!

On a game day note: I'll be hosting a live chat during the game tonight with Columbus Bluejackets blogger Bethany. The chat will start at 6:00pm CST so stop on by for hockey talk with us both. My only rule is that you play nice with the "enemy".

Your Morning Jed: Grinding the Puck

There is a popular video series entitled "Will It Blend?", presented by Blendtec, home of what appears to be the greatest blender in the universe. Whatever "it" you can think of has probably been blended by their scientists at some point or another. In my experience, if the question "will it blend?" is raised, more than likely, it will blend. I mean, you don't create a popular video series based on the blending abilities of a blender if said blender will fail to blend its contents. 

So when presented with the challenge of blending three hockey pucks, one can only assume that they did, in fact, blend.

Puck smoothie, anyone?

11/16/10 - Nashville at Toronto: L 4-5

If you've ever wondered whether or not you were capable of going from elation to frustration within a span of forty minutes, please use the first and second periods of tonight's game as your perfect tool for that experiment. I am still shaking my head over the turn of events from the first 20 minutes to the second 20 minutes. The Predators looked as though they were continuing their dominance of the game as Marcel Goc scored a breakaway, shorthanded goal. Then things went terribly wrong and never got better. I tend to jot down observations throughout the game and tonight was no different. However, you will notice the quick descent into Criticismtown that occurred once the second period Toronto free-for-all got started.

Observations/Frustrations:

JP Dumont was sitting at the net, EXACTLY where I feel like the team is absent in most cases, and his perfect positioning is the reason that goal looked so ridiculously easy. I said before that I didn't really understand the pairing of Dumont with David Legwand and Joel Ward but they are really starting to produce some good things.

Okay, David Legwand was instrumental in Jordin Tootoo's goal. He fed him a great pass at center ice. I do have to give props to Toots as well though. He had some great hustle to bust past both Leafs players and took a precise shot to get that goal under Giguere's pad.

I could barely analyze what a great play Tootoo had on the second goal before Martin Erat turned right around and scored just 10 seconds later. The second and third goals of the night set a road record for the fastest goals scored away from the Bridgestone Arena and the second fastest pair scored in franschise history. Seeing Erat get that first goal taken care of, after he'd been out of the lineup for a while, makes me feel even better about his return to the game.

Steve Sullivan missed yet another golden breakaway opportunity late in the first period. Could someone please start a Sullivan Missed Breakaway Counter a la David Legwand's Goal counter? I KNOW the count has to be at least five so far this season.

The Predators managed to give up a goal to Toronto at the end of an otherwise strong first 20 minutes of play. Yeah, they've really got to figure out how to stop doing that. It will continue to be a thorn in their sides if they don't correct the mistakes they are making in the last minutes of each period.

For a while, I wondered if the onslaught of penalties called against the Predators in the second period that gave the Maple Leafs three, almost back-to-back, 5-on-3 opportunities and TWO POWER PLAY GOALS were completely Nashville's fault. I have never seen so many consecutively called penalties against the same team in all my years of hockey-watching. I wondered what Ron Wilson said to the officials to have them throwing up their arm every other second? Then after the fifth call against the Predators within that same period, I realized it was more classic Nashville style to play undisciplined after gaining a big lead rather than being on the receiving end of questionable calls. Four power play goals later, I am quite certain I witnessed one of the worst periods of hockey every played by the Nashville Predators. There is pretty much no excuse for what happened. Even the HockeyCentral commentators were dumbfounded at the lack of discipline shown by Nashville.

This was definitely a game I wish I could have been broadcasted on FSN. It would have been very interesting to see what all three coaches had to say after this ridiculous debacle. I mean, seriously. The Predators handed this game to the Maple Leafs on a silver platter in the second period. They should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of discipline. It was painful to watch how everything unraveled. I am positive the boys will be kicking themselves over this loss, thinking of all the ways they should have had this game in the bag after they went up 4-1 early in the second. The only thing I have left to say is that they better put that aggression and frustration to good use when they take on the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night. 

Mo Money Monday: Week 2

Yesterday was Week Two of Show Me Your Stache Sunday. This time around, there was a clear winner that stood out above all others. I had to give bonus points for this meticulously (or so it would appear) groomed mo. I was also impressed by the fullness of the 'stache even though it has only been two weeks. So, without further ado...congratulations, Paul Nicholson!! You're this week's winner and recipient of a $10 donation from What The Puck. Well done, Paul. You've got quite a fantastic 'stache going on.

Show Me Your Stache Sunday continues next week. After this week, I'm pretty sure the competition is just going to get more fierce. Those Cellblock boys have been cultivating some facial hair of their own and it's only a matter of time before one of their mos becomes a contender.

Happy Monday!

11/11/10 - Nashville at St. Louis: W 3-2 SO

It is almost inevitable that it happens like this every season. The Predators get stuck in a losing streak and start a panic among their fan base. No player (or coach, for that matter) is safe from the scrutiny heaped upon them by the masses. The defense is slacking here. The goaltender drops too fast there. The offense isn't generating enough chances. The blame game is never ending. However, just as sure as there will be a losing streak each season; there is always a game to end that streak, giving the fans a breather and injecting a little life back into their hearts.

By no means do I think that the Predators were able to completely erase the memory of their previous five games with tonight's win. There were still a lot of things about the game they played tonight that need to be addressed and corrected.  It will definitely take more than one win to get this team back on the track they were on in early October. It wouldn't hurt to have Martin Erat, Ryan Suter and Matthew Lombardi back in the lineup either. I can't minimize the victory though. A win is a win is an it's-about-freaking-time win. The team needed this heading into Saturday's game (and at home!!) against Chicago. Having the crowd behind you and not frustrated will serve them well.

So if you need something to do Saturday night, might I suggest heading down to the Bridgestone Arena to watch the Predators take on the Blackhawks for the second time this season. It will be the first home game in over two weeks and the last one for another week and a half, as the guys hit the road AGAIN for another four game stretch before Thanksgiving. Basically, what I'm saying is that you need to be there Saturday. Get your game face on and bring the noise to Broadway.

Mo Money Monday

Yesterday marked the first "Show Me Your Stache Sunday" of Movember 2010. Since I can't grow a moustache myself, I decided I would find other ways to help the Movember campaign this year. A weekly donation to the cause on behalf of the mo I deem the most deserving seemed to be a fun (and interactive) way to raise awareness. I called for entries on Twitter yesterday, giving anyone who wanted to participate until midnight to reply with their Movember progress picture. I got quite a few participants, which made it harder to pick a winner. 

However, this week's honor goes to @BENKOLARCIK for his completely unexpected facial hair entry. I don't actually think he was growing it for the Movember movement but because I've never seen him with that much facial hair, I am donating this week's $10 to Movember on his behalf. Congratulations BennyK! Bet you didn't even know you would earn such a prize, did you?

The "Show Me Your Stache" contest continues next week. If you weren't a winner this week, never fear! You can enter as many times as you like over the course of the month. Stay tuned every Monday to see if your mo mug finds it place in my Moustache Hall of Fame.

Happy Monday!

11/7/10 - Nashville at Anaheim: L 4-5

How do you react after a loss as heartbreaking as this? With just 1.7 seconds left in the game, the Ducks countered their third goal of the third period to summarily end the Predators hopes for at least one point to show for this West Coast road trip. Nashville seemed to have turned things around after the poor showing at the Staples Center last night. Steve Sullivan, Cal O'Reilly and Patric Hornqvist were putting forth some great offensive pressure. For every goal the Ducks scored, the Predators found a way to answer. That fifth goal, however, is the one that will sting for a while. 

In a way, these two teams are mirror images of each other.  Anaheim is a much different team than the one the Predators faced just about a month ago. The Ducks were met with a lot of early injuries and struggled from the start. Now they are working their way back into a winning system. The Predators got off to a great start and then found themselves with plenty of their own injury woes. Now, they must find a way to bounce back from their fifth loss in a row. The question remains: what will it take to get back to what was working so well just a couple of weeks ago?

That is definitely something the entire team and coaching staff can contemplate on the four hour plane ride home tonight.

11/6/10 - Nashville at Los Angeles: L 1-4

It's been four in a row. The loss against Phoenix on Wednesday night was a tough one to take but at least the team had some offense going on. Tonight's loss against the Kings was just an embarrassment. One bad play after another. No offense to speak of, save for Shane O'Brien (I mean, REALLY?!?!), who plays DEFENSE. Tentative goaltending from starter Pekka Rinne. There's something seriously off with this team right now. 

Observations:

They sure did talk a whole heck of a lot about Ryan Smyth's 1,000th NHL career game. Jason Arnott achieved that same milestone while he played for the Predators and I certainly don't remember that much talk about it. Well, maybe there was considerable discussion but I wasn't paying attention.

The LA announcers referenced back to Jordin Tootoo a lot. I'm not sure what their fascination was with him but the ad nauseum conversation in the first two periods was overkill.

Shea Weber had five shots on goal through two periods of play. Honestly, he was one of about three guys on the team that I saw trying to do anything worthwhile offensively. It was obvious to me that he was trying to get something started but he shouldn't have to shoulder the entire load.

The Los Angeles Kings are a team to be worried about playing against. They are definitely dangerous. They might have struggled against Nashville in the past but when they win, they win big. This was a good game for them and the fans of Los Angeles should be happy with the team on the ice in front of them each night.


Yeahhhhh. What can possibly be left to say after this? The guys have to get their heads back in the game. They will take on the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center tomorrow. The Predators don't have the best winning record against the Ducks at the Honda Center. However, the only way to save face on what's left of this road trip is to find a way to pick up two points in Anaheim. If they don't pull it out, I fully expect some major punishment at practice when they hit the ice on Tuesday.

11/3/10 - Nashville at Phoenix: L 3-4

Looking at the guys that did not make the road trip, I immediately think of all the money and talent that's tied up in Matthew Lombardi, Ryan Suter and Martin Erat. And then I think of what this team is managing to do without the use of these players. Just how good could the Predators be at full strength? I really want to find out the answer to this question sooner rather than later.

Here's one of the many reasons I love the way Jerred Smithson plays: he is always battling for that puck along the boards. Any time you see both teams in a scrum, trying to work the puck out, I can guarantee you he will be in the middle of that fight. This is another good example of the hard-working style of play that the Predators are known for and Smithson embodies that spirit in almost every aspect of his game. He does, however, need to work on his face offs. His numbers are way down from last season.

Definitely love seeing the beaming smile on Francis Bouillon's face as he talked with Terry Crisp during the first intermission. He especially lit up when the topic of him wearing the 'A' was brought up. You could tell he was very proud of that, bringing up that it was the first time he's ever worn an 'A' in his NHL career. I'm happy to see that the designation of wearing Suter's 'A' is not being taken lightly in his absence.

Okay, look. I know Phoenix has had their issues with attendance and ownership woes. That's nothing the Predators haven't dealt with over the past few years. But for a team who had one of the best seasons in the league last year, you would think there would have been a spike in attendance this season. And yes, I know the arena isn't even really in Phoenix and you have to take that into consideration too but....wow. I think even the Atlanta Thrashers have better attendance than Phoenix does here lately. Pretty sure I've never seen an arena so empty while a game was being played. At one point, I could hear the guys talking to each other on the ice so clearly, I would have sworn all five guys on the ice were mic'ed up.

Loving the young lineup on the power play; Franson, Hornqvist, O'Reilly and Wilson with a rotating defensemen. They had such a good spark in the second period and there's hope for the future of the man advantage if they can keep up what they were doing tonight.

How many freaking times is Pekka Rinne going to give everyone a heart attack by coming out of the net?! And not just out of the net, but like, ALL THE WAY out of the net to the point where every other Predator on the ice has to cover his butt. Something is totally off with his game right now.

Every line has a specific job to do on the ice but I think this team could benefit from a finisher on every line. There were so many near goals that could have easily been a goal had someone been at the net to tap it in. Hornqvist needs to schedule a workshop or something.

Yeahhhhhhh, I'm going to need this team to start winning again. There are some good things happening on the ice for the guys but like last season, there is something missing in the offense again. The rest of this road trip better be all kinds of successful. The boys need to shake off the crap and find their groove already.

November + Moustaches = Movember

Now that Halloween is over, we can all start to gear up for the holiday season. Friends, family, food, facial hair...wait, what?!  Yep. November has become a month more affectionately called Movember. And what exactly is Movember, you ask? It is a movement started back in 2003 by a group of guys in Melbourne, Australia who wanted to bring more awareness to men's health. Their thought was that men with moustaches often garner attention and this would be a way to start conversations about men's health. Since 2003, the movement has spread from Australia to many countries around the world. Last year, $42 million was raised through the Movember campaign, through the help of one million donors and fundraisers. That money went directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

So why am I bringing this up? Because the Predators will be taking part of Movember again this year. And as much as I absolutely hate seeing some of the guys grow what I would consider the WORST facial hair known to man, it truly is for a deserving cause. The team raised quite a bit of money last year and after the news of Assistant Coach Peter Horachek's own battle with prostate cancer, I'm positive the guys will be determined to raise the (handle)bar this time around. Should you want to take part of Movember in conjunction with the team's participation, there are just a few things to know before you get started.

The rules to Movember are simple:

1. Each guy must begin the month of November with a clean-shaven face.
2. During the entire month of November, each guy must grow and groom a moustache.
3. There will be no joining of the moustache to your sideburns. This is a beard.
4. There will be no joining of the handlebars to your chin. This is considered a gotee.
5. Each "Mo Bro" must conduct himself like that of a true gentleman.

Now that you've got the rules, here's a moustache style guide to help influence your mo growing decision.
If you're still not sure if this is for you, take a look at what type of man grows a "mo":

While I loathe what some of the players look like with facial hair, their reasons behind growing it are more than honorable. I promise I'll try to keep my mustache disdain to a minimum this year.