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Game Night in Smashville and the rolling Nashville Predators run into a wanna-be spoiler in the Columbus Blue Jackets. You have to know that Columbus will be looking to derail the Smashville Express as it hurtles toward the playoffs.
Columbus has been a huge disappointment this year. Last year’s first playoff appearance had hopes high in the Buckeye State. It seems the hangover from the huge egg they laid in the playoffs carried over into this season, causing a change at head coach. The Blue Jackets are looking for answers why Steve Mason’s sophomore slump has been so bad and why the talent on this team just doesn’t seem to consistently jell. Columbus is coming off of last night’s big come-from-behind win to effectively kill Minnesota’s faint playoff hopes, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 victory over the Wild
Nashville has come out of the Olympic break fairly hot (I know, except the horrendous third period in San Jose) on a very nice 7-3-0 stretch including the current four game win streak. They do have the appearance of cranking it up for the playoffs, converting on fortunate bounces, getting balanced scoring and getting stellar goaltending from Pekka Rinne, who has two shutouts in the last four games.
The Predators have gotten a little separation from the chase group in the West, however, they cannot let their guard down, especially with three games left against the hopeful St. Louis Blues. It is the most real threat to the Predators making the playoffs, which makes a game like tonight’s so important. A Nashville win, coupled with a St. Louis loss to NJ puts the Predators in a position to extinguish the Blues faint playoff hopes tomorrow night.
Puck drop is at 7:08pm at the Bridge, coverage on 104.5 the Zone and FS Tennessee.
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John Glennon has a very good breakdown of the teams competing for the last few spots in the Western Conference race. Find it here.
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Congratulations to former Pred Paul Kariya on scoring his 400th goal.
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Where We Stand… A daily look at where the Predator’s stand in the playoff race…
Coming into tonight’s play, the Predators stand 2nd in the Central division and 7th in the Western Conference. Nashville is…
- tied in points with 6th place Los Angeles, the Kings have two games in hand.
- 1 point behind 5th place Colorado, the Av’s have a game in hand.
- 8 points behind 4th place Phoenix.
In the chase group… Nashville leads…
- 8th place Detroit by 4 points, the Red Wings have a game in hand.
- 9th place Calgary by 4 points.
- 10th place St. Louis by 10 points, the Blues have a game in hand.
The Preds have…
1 game left against – Stars(home), Blue Jackets(home - tonight), @ Florida, Kings(home)
2 games left against – Coyotes (1r, 1h), Red Wings (1r,1h)
3 games left against – Blues (1r,2h)
Tonight’s Impact Games
According to SportsClubStats.com, the results of last night’s play has the Predators chance of making the playoffs at 92.4%.
Detroit / Vancouver – A Canucks win in regulation increases the Preds chances.
New Jersey / St. Louis – A Devils win in regulation increases the Preds chances.
Los Angeles / New York Islanders – An Islanders win in regulation increases the Preds chances, couple it with any Pred win and the Preds take sole posession of 5th place in the conference.
Chase Group Odds of Making the Playoffs (according to SportsClubStats.com)
Detroit – 67.2%
Calgary – 35.9%
St. Louis – 5.2%
Anaheim – 1.4%
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Tomorrow is the big day… if you are not joining us in St. Louis, make sure you watch on FS Tennessee, the HBR road trip will be featured in the first intermission.
If you are joining us, follow me on Twitter (@PredPAPaul) for updates and where we are going/meeting, etc. We’ll be taking pictures for use on the broadcast.
Wed 3/24 – We’re live at Dave and Busters, we’ll be talking to Bill Clement about the Eastern Conference playoff race and we’ll be talking to members of the Phoenix Coyotes broadcast team about their stunning season. 6pm Wednesday, live from dave and Buster’s at Opry Mills on SportsRadio 560 WNSR.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating during Pred home games in season with information and explanations from the PA box.
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