Take four out of every six points… that needs to be the Nashville Predator’s mantra… and so far, under new head coach John Hynes, that is exactly what the Preds have done. After a loss to Boston in his first game, a game that showed a team that was physically and emotionally spent after a ridiculous road trip and the firing of their coach, the Predators have won their last two, showing improvement and attention to detail in each performance.
Thursday night in Chicago, an obviously rejuvenated team hit the ice, jumped out to a 3-0 lead by showing the Blackhawks an aggressive forecheck and a different breakout. Passing their way to the offensive zone instead of trying to carry the puck in obviously surprised the Hawks. After some solid adjustments in the first intermission, Chicago mounted a comeback and the Preds went into a few old habits until the lead shrunk to 3-2 with momentum clearly on the home team’s side.
Coach Hynes called a very smart timeout, gathered the entire team around him and got them back on track. That was a turning point to the game… and perhaps to the Preds season.
The Predators locked down defensively and pulled out a huge win.
Fast forward to yesterday in Winnipeg. Nashville didn’t surprise the Jets with their new look, but they did manage to beat Connor Hellebuyck with a single shot, Kyle Turris, finishing off a nice 2-on-1 that the netminder had no shot at. From then on, it was all about the defense and all about Juuse Saros in net. And all about the new head coach not trying to fix everything at once.
In his first full practice, Hynes worked on the breakout… and that work has been evident in the last two games. Then, after Thursday’s win, he went to work with the penalty kill unit and again… that work was evident yesterday. The coach has worked on fixing the most critical needs for this team immediately. In my humble opinion, this team lost its’ team defense identity... an identity they look to be recapturing.
The early reviews are positive, but they don’t mean anything unless this team makes the playoffs… and then does some damage which most believe it has the horses to do. Nashville is back in action on Tuesday night in Edmonton.
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ICYMI – Yesterday’s SlapShot Radio is available on SoundCloud… no SSR tonight as we step aside for NCAA action.
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Random Notes – Presented by
- Kyle Turris’ goal was a sweet one…
- I grow more and more impressed with Yakov Trenin’s play… he has earned his spot on this roster.
- Keep an eye out for prospect Philip Tomasino… he was named OHL player of the week after going on a scoring tear, six goals and four assists in three games.
- Former Preds AGM Ray Shero was let go by the New Jersey Devils yesterday. He has been the Devils GM for the last four and a half seasons. The interim GM is former Predator captain Tom Fitzgerald.
- Tonight’s games – 6pm –CGY @ MTL, NYI @ NYR, BOS @ PHI, CAR @ WSH. 7pm – ANA @ STL.
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SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I are now on Monday night’s this season. The best hour of hockey talk on the longest running hockey show in the southeast … 7pm Mondays 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 Murfreesboro 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 Murfreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!
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