Opening night in Smashville!
The Nashville Predators open their season with four consecutive at home, starting tonight with a divisional tilt against the Minnesota Wild. The pomp and circumstance of Opening Night in Smashville is always fun for everyone. From the Gold Walk, to the opening ceremonies… tonight will be fun… no matter what snark comes from outside the market.
The serious business of the season gets going after all that ceremonial stuff… and this team appears to be deadly serious about the job at hand. I have said it over and over… I love when a team has a chip on its’ shoulder, and this Nashville team has one. I get the distinct feeling that the Predators are pissed about last season… where the team asked for a chance to stay together and get the job done. As we all know, that did not happen… but hope springs eternal and a new opportunity is in front of this Predators team.
We will get a good look at the capability of this team fairly quickly… the first two games of the season are against non-playoff teams from last season before finishing the home stand with two against San Jose and Washington, the Caps fresh off spoiling St. Louis’ celebration last night.
Minnesota comes in for tonight’s lid lifter with some real questions surrounding them after the chaos of their offseason. It’s hard to judge this team, after firing their GM in August, hiring a new GM whose hands were a bit tied with the decisions made by the previous one and the one before him. They have albatross contract with aging players, some decent talent and a penchant for under-achieving. I honestly have no idea how this season will go for Minnesota. Sometimes an “us against the world” mentality can help a team (see chip on shoulder above.)
Some familiar faces on the Wild, Ryan Hartman, Kevin Fiala, Ryan Suter all former Preds… you almost thought former Wild GM Paul Fenton was trying to put the band back together… The goaltending is solid, the blueline is solid, the forwards are solid. Solid is good, but solid may struggle against a loaded division that features five teams that could win the division.
Expect Pekka Rinne vs. Devan Dubnyk between the pipes, expect booing everytime Ryan Suter touches the puck, expect a close game… in other words… your typical Wild/Preds game. Game time is 7pm, coverage on 102.5 the Game featuring the Voice of the Predators, Pete Weber and Hall Gill. National TV tonight, NBCSN will be covering all the festivities starting at 7pm.
Let’s get this going! See you at the Bridge!
---------------------------------------
The Latest SlapShot Radio podcast
---------------------------------------
Random Notes – Presented by
it will be interesting to see where he fits in
- Reigning AHL MVP Daniel Carr made the Preds opening night roster… it will be interesting to see where he fits in.
- Looks like the JoFA line is being broken up… Johansen and Arvidsson have been with Craig Smith, Duchene has been with Forsberg and Granlund in the last few practices. Kyle Turris is on the third line.
- There are new rules for bags coming into the arena… check the Preds website.
- The Gold Walk happens at 3:30pm today… it’s going to be bigger and better than ever as Kara Hammer, Lyndsey Rowley, Chris Mason, Willy Daunic and me all team up for the fesitivities. If you can’t make it to the event, you can watch it on Facebook Live.
- Keep an eye on Matt Duchene tonight, he tends to do pretty well against the Wild… 21 points in 43 career games vs. Minnesota.
--------------------------------------
SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I will be moving the show to Monday night’s this year. The best hour of hockey talk on the longest running hockey show in the southeast will begin the season at 8pm and will settle into our normal 7pm slot after Thanksgiving… Monday’s on 102.5 the Game.
Our sponsor list continues to grow. Not only are we welcoming back
Drs. Jane Bacon and Aileen Kruger at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762 and our good friend Carter Church, Your Mufreesboro real estate expert with Weichert – The Andrews Group. And our newest sponsors…
Cool Springs Wines and Spirits! The largest spirit store in all of middle Tennessee! And La-Z-Boy Nashville! Three locations, locally owned and operated, check out La-Z-Boy in Mufreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!
The new season promises to be the best yet and we get going on tonight!
---------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information,
click here.
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • 
Join the Discussion:
»