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Domination at Bridgestone

February 14, 2020, 8:01 AM ET [8 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Happy Valentine's Day!

After a disappointing end to the western conference road trip, the Nashville Predators were looking for a little redemption and a little love. They got exactly that in a 5-0 beatdown of the New York Islanders. It could very well have been the most complete effort of the 2019-2020 season as the Preds started fast and never let up off the gas. They survived a push back from New York with excellent goaltending from Juuse Saros and kept the pressure on for 60 minutes. The love was provided by Smashville as Pred Nation brought it loud and long.

It was a nifty little throwback to the heady days of October… but don’t tell Rocco Grimaldi that. In a Twitter post from the Preds Radio Network’s Jeremy K. Gover, Grimaldi is quoted…


Yup… that kinda sums it up. A game that saw a Saros shutout, Craig Smith’s first career NHL hat trick and a dominating performance from a team that desperately needed one… it still is only one game, and frankly… if the team doesn’t use this as a building block, “It’s just one game” might be what this team is remembered for.

The best thing about last night’s performance was that everyone was pulling the rope… there were no passengers. Every player skated hard and outworked a Barry Trotz coached team, which we all know, is a pretty tough thing to do. Even though the results may not have been there, the top two lines looked dangerous all night long and the Bonino/Grimaldi/Smith line reaped the benefits of it.

So… as Hockey Day in America coverage descends upon Nashville, the spotlight will squarely be on the town and the team. A critical back-to-back, home and home starts tomorrow afternoon with the defending Stanley Cup champs. The last times these two teams met, right after Thanksgiving, the Predators took four points over three games. You know that St. Louis will be looking to avoid that happening again.

Game time tomorrow is 2pm CT at Enterprise Center, then 5pm on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.

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Where They Stand – a daily look at where the Predators are in the playoff race.

As play opens on 2/14/2020, the Nashville Predators are in the 5 spot in the Central and the 10 spot in the Western Conference, two points behind Winnipeg, three points behind Arizona and five points behind Calgary. The Preds have two games in hand over the Jets, three games in hand over the Flames and four games in hand over the Coyotes. The Preds trail Dallas by ten points for third in the Central

Impact games tonight – SJS @ WPG

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Random Notes – Presented by

- Smashville was rockin’ last night… from Luke Bryan’s anthem to getting the first goal less than :40 seconds in… Pred Nation brought it loud all night long. It was nice to hear the barn rocking like that.

- Eight of Nashville’s next eleven games are in the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena.

- With his hat trick last night, Craig Smith jumped up to third on the Preds goal scoring list this season.

- Rocco Grimaldi’s goal was his 10th of the season making him the 10th Nashville Predator to break double digit goals this season.

- Is a changing of the guard at hand? Juuse Saros has really been good in the net these last few games.

- Tonight’s games – 6pm – SJS @ WPG., MTL @ PIT, NYR @ COL, NJD @ CAR.

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SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I are 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 Furniture Galleries with three locations in middle Tennessee all locally owned and operated, check out La-Z-Boy in Murfreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!

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