Your Morning Jed: Hockey Love from The Office

It's no secret that NBC incorporates the NHL into their shows whenever they get the chance. What I found most hilarious though, was Michael Scott's depiction of the NHL All-Star Game (and supposed practices leading up to it) during a recent episode of The Office.

Could you imagine if the NHL did actually let a "civilian amateur" play in the All-Star game? That would be a recipe for disaster for sure. Or at the very least, one person's dream come true/terrifying reality as they faced slap shots from the likes of Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara.

Happy Saturday, everyone! Really hoping for good things out of Dallas today.

Honestly...that was the suck.

That was just gross. If not already so, it was made clearly apparent after tonight, that this team is missing some significant pieces of the puzzle with so many players sidelined with injuries. Now is not the time for working out the kinks, however. Now is the time to play lights out hockey every time they hit the ice. The team's record has not been the greatest coming back after the All-Star break. At this point, I am pretty certain there have been more losses than wins. That, too, must change.

Seeing as how this day marks the anniversary of the historic 1980 USA vs USSR Olympic match up, I think the boys could use a pep talk from Mr. Herb Brooks:



"You were born to be hockey players; every one of ya...this is your time. Now go out there and take it."

Seriously, do it.

No Stalling Out in The Motor City

Even with some of their key players back in the lineup, Detroit proved to be no match for the Predators tonight. Overall, the game was pretty well executed. Nashville was rather disciplined, which they sometimes get away from when playing against the Red Wings. Just as Monday's game was the antithesis of how this team should play; tonight's game was about as close to the benchmark of how the rest of the season should play out.

A few post-game thoughts:

How many goals do you think this team would score if Coach Trotz was always riding them to find their place on the scoresheet? 

I think you could put anyone on a line with Joel Ward and Jerred Smithson and they would have instant chemistry. While certainly not permanent, putting Colin Wilson out there with Ward and Smithson adds a good injection of offense on a line that plays their hockey a little more defensive-minded.

The upper-body injury that sent Marcel Goc to the locker room in the waning minutes of the first period better be a minor one. If not, could David Legwand withstand the increased ice time over a longer stretch of games? 

The team gets a couple of days off (with a little GnashVegas fun thrown in tomorrow night) before they face the Colorado Avalanche at the Bridgestone on Saturday. Can they build some momentum from this win heading into a four game homestand? The best way to find out: be there on Saturday. 

A Dose of Crude Oil

When the highlight of the night was discovering that the guy who played the older brother on "The Wonder Years" was in attendance, it should have been a good indication of how the rest of the evening would play out.

The game was a disappointment on every level. It was the type of game no one wants to dwell on or soon relive. This team needs to re-group, re-focus and move on. And for everyone's benefit, let this game serve as the example of how not to play hockey in the last couple of months down the stretch.

Your Morning Jed: Relive the Shorty

Saturday night's game against Detroit was just classically amazing hockey. There was so much goodness that I didn't wipe the smile off my face for hours. Part of that goodness came in the form of a short-handed goal, scored in the second period (during a Jerred Smithson roughing penalty, tsk, tsk) by Sergei Kostitsyn. 

It was clearly a highlight reel goal and the video made its rounds on Twitter all day yesterday. If you've been hiding under a rock for the past 24 hours or so, here's what you missed:


Happy Monday, everybody! May the thing that gets you through the day be the fact there's a hockey game at Bridgestone Arena tonight. 

Let's go, Preds!

Your Morning Jed: Colin Wilson 101

It seems that there is quite a bit of Colin Wilson love in the air as of late (mine notwithstanding) so I thought I would share a couple of things that you might have overlooked in the past week or so.

If you were at the game on Tuesday night, you might have seen the in-game feature on Colin Wilson. Here's what you missed if you didn't catch it.
And if that's not enough Colin Wilson love to start your day, he is also featured in this month's Nashville Lifestyles magazine as one of Nashville's Most Eligible Personalities.

I have a feeling The Green Hills Mall is going to be frequented by adoring hockey fans far more often now that he's spilled the beans about his favorite hang out. Anything to stimulate the economy, I guess?

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Also: Who's ready for some Red Wings action tonight?! 

Philadelphia - City of Not So Brotherly Fatherly Love

This trip to the City of Brotherly Love was full of a lot more fatherly love as the Predators players got a chance to bring their dads along on the team's annual Father's Trip. During the first intermission, FSTennessee did a feature on the trip, something I love seeing year after year. I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up while watching it. There is something so heartwarming knowing even grown men can appreciate where they came from and are more than grateful for the parents that helped to get them where they are now. This annual event is also a great reminder of how humble and grounded hockey players are in comparison to so many other athletes in professional sports these days. This, of course, just further solidifies my love of the game. However, no amount of love for this annual tradition can help win a game. And unfortunately, the winless streak for the Father's Trip continued tonight. Such a bummer.

I spent the majority of the game thinking about the players that the Predators used to have in Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen. Hartnell, the pesky guy who was always buzzing around the net and Timonen, the quiet, hard-working, solid defenseman. Then I thought about how eerily similar those descriptions are when applied to Patric Hornqvist, the lovable, stay at the net, facewasher-extraordinaire and Shea Weber, the quiet, solid, beast of a defenseman, who also just happens to be the captain, as was Timonen. Losing Hartnell and Timonen to Philadelphia was one of the first big shakeups of the dreaded summer of 2007. Both were key players that left a big void in the lineup; neither was going to be easily replaced.

And yet, here it is, three and a half years later and the Predators have managed to fill both of those roles quite nicely. In some ways, those roles have been met and exceeded. Hornqvist has the scrappy, let-me-bug-the-crap-out-of-the-goalie tendencies of a Scott Hartnell but he also has good offensive-mindedness that gives him more of an edge. I have a harder time finding differences in Weber and Timonen, save for Weber's age. If Kimmo can still play like he does at age 35, I can only imagine what the Predators captain can do with the next 10 years of his career. As long as the history of the organization off the ice does not repeat, the future of the on ice product, anchored by the likes of Shea Weber and Patric Hornqvist, looks really promising.

While I'm thinking about the future for a second, it's time to look ahead to Saturday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. For a Predators fan (and probably even for the players), every game played against Detroit seems to be just as important as the game before. Now, more than ever though, is the time to get it done. 

The fans will bring the noise. Here's hoping the boys will bring their A-game.

Your Morning Jed: Get Inspired

This is a super cut from the editing geniuses at Screen Junkies, featuring some of the best locker room speeches in the history of film. Though most of the speeches are from the locker room of a football game, you will notice some recognizable hockey locker room soliloquies made the cut as well. If you've ever needed a little dose of inspiration to start your day, this might just do the trick. Note: this is mildly NSFW, due to an f-bomb in the Slap Shot clip (how apropos).



Happy Tuesday, and more importantly, Happy Game Day, you guys!!