Don’t Panic!
My favorite words from my favorite novel and words that need to be plastered in large friendly letters all over Pred Nation.
Panic leads to poor choices, panic leads to bad deals, panic leads to mistakes... I think we have enough of those going on to add to it... so...
Don't Panic!
While fans of the fang are focusing on Pekka Rinne being a bit off as the Predators begin a Canadian road trip that takes the team through Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary, the team is experiencing a period where goals are scarce, puck management is sloppy and traffic in front of the net is non-existent… add in Rinne not being his usual superman self and well… it is not exactly a recipe for success.
The stats are scary, the eye test is scarier as Pred Nation continues to wonder where the bottom is and when the inevitable rebound is going to happen. A win leads to hope of back-to-back wins… hope that have been dashed time after time leading to an erosion of confidence. Want an example? Tuesday night, the Predators looked good for most of the first period, appearing to build off the comeback against the Jets and the win over the Wild. Nashville was playing solid hockey until Chicago put on a push, rocking the Preds back on their heels, driving a bad turnover due to sloppy puck handling and the Hawks scored in the last 30 seconds of the period.
The body language was not good… the team sagged in an almost “oh lord… here it comes” attitude that continued into the second period. Hopes were raised when Ryan Ellis brought the Preds to within one and then were dashed by Patrick Kane’s breakaway goal, which came from a defensive breakdown and bad turnover.
That is the insidious thing about slumps… they creep into your subconscious and drive terrible self-defeating internal monologues… then they drive behaviors that seem to be correct on the surface. One thing that is very evident is many players trying to do too much, try just a little too hard… plenty of examples of that, as a matter of fact, I think that could be the biggest issue with Pekka Rinne…
Former Pred goalie Chris Mason was on Darren McFarland and Derrick Mason on 102.5 the Game yesterday and talked extensively about it… you can listen to the whole segment below.
Don’t have time to listen to it… let me boil it down...
Mason said about Rinne “This is a compounding situation, where he just keeps putting pressure on himself… He is taking on so much of this burden and responsibility and even owned games where I feel that there wasn’t anything he could’ve done.”
A key quote… “The pressure you put on yourself weighs you down more than any kind of external pressure than any coach or fans or the media can put on you.” Spot on…
When asked how to fix it, Mason said “When you get in these situations… take a step back and let Pekka figure it out on his own… just have fun, because sometimes it seems that the harder you try, the worse things get.”
So, tonight… the Predators are in Winnipeg for a critical division game. An opportunity to put some distance between the Jets and the Predators. A regulation win would give the Predators a five point cushion over their Central Division rival and give the Preds points in three of their last four games. Game time is 7pm, coverage on Fox Sports Tennessee and 102.5 the Game.
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Last night’s SlapShot Radio podcast is posted…
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Random Notes
- “Where They Stand” - Entering tonight’s play, the Nashville Predators stand 6th in the Central Division 3 points behind Colorado (2 games in hand.) The Predators trail MIN by 4 points, STL by 15 points (4 GIH) Dallas by 15 points (1 GIH) and Chicago by 20 points (3 GIH.) The Predators are currently three points out of the second wild card slot.
- The whining from certain bloggers and members of the Chicago media about the Predators ticketing policy is hysterical. I am wondering why they don’t complain about the White Sox having some of the same policies targeted at Cub fans… Kinda nice (and REALLY funny) to see how much space our little ole hockey team is taking up in their entitled heads.
- As All-Star Weekend in Smashville approaches, there has been a web hub established to help navigate all the events going on in our fair city…
Click Here for the All-Star Hub
- The Jonathan Drouin situation is getting uglier by the day. The player was suspended without pay last night by the Tampa Bay Lightning after (according to the team) his “failure to report for tonight’s game.” Drouin’s agent responded via statement trying to excuse him. This will not end well for Drouin.
- Or maybe it will… if Colorado picks the troubled player up, he would reunite with Nathan MacKinnon who Drouin played with in juniors.
- Brian Burke is at it again… this time he is driving efforts to have the NHL go to a larger ice surface, calling it “good for the game of hockey.” He isn’t advocating the international size, but an increase of five feet in width making the NHL ice 200 feet by 90 feet. Fascinating concept.
- Ten games on the NHL schedule tonight (all start times CT) – 6pm – OTT @ NJD, VAN @ BOS, PHI @ PIT, CGY @ CBJ. 6:30pm – CAR @ TML, CHI @ TBL. 7pm – NSH @ WPG. 7:30pm – EDM @ DAL. 8pm – SJS @ ARI. 9:30pm – MIN @ LAK.
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