It doesn't seem like that long ago when Preds fans everywhere were riding the high of the 7 game winning streak we had going. Remember how much fun that was? Things are definitely different now, for both the fans and the team.
I have no idea where that team went. The team we've been watching since the Olympic break is barely hanging on to 7th place in the West. Teams behind and in front of us are playing a lot better than we are, and with some consistency.
If we fall out of playoff contention and I have to hear the injury excuse again, I'm going to lose my mind. Weber is missing his second game tonight. Grebeshkov is missing his first game of what will be a 1-2 week injury after taking a shot to the groin. According to the Canadian papers, he had to have emergency surgery on one of his testicles after the game Sunday. Ouch! Get better soon new guy! None of our forwards are injured (knock on wood), so there are no excuses for us not scoring goals. Weber isn't the offensive powerhouse like he was last year. His numbers are nothing to scoff at, but the scoring needs to come from the guys making millions to do it. I'm looking at you Arnott, Dumont, Sully, etc.
Speaking of those three, I was thoroughly disappointed to see that line reunited after the Olympic break. All they do is make each other lazy. Rumors are that Wilson was seeing top line time at practice, with Dumont demoted to the fourth line. While the Atlanta game has started, I'm stuck at work and can't confirm what things are looking like. These young guys have their chance to prove why they belong up here. Personally, I think Wilson should never be sent back down. He is the total package, and I think he'll only get better. O'Reilly I couldn't care less about. I'm not impressed, and would have liked to see him gone before Jones, but such is life.
With about a month left in the regular season, this team needs to access their upper level. We all know it's there. We know how they can play when they're on, and they need to be on for every single game left this season. Win out and we're in. All we can do is win our games. The scoreboard watching helps nothing. If they go out on the ice and play 60 minutes, they'll have no reason to be checking the scores around the league.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
About that...
So the Olympics are about a day away from over and I have posted nothing. I'm awesome.
The main thing that needs to be noted is that it's Canada vs. USA for the gold medal tomorrow afternoon. It was someone's bright idea to start the game at 2:15 central, when I'm stuck at work. Lame. So it looks like I'll be missing all but the 3rd period. I'll DVR it in case anything awesome happens. If nothing else, it should be one heck of a rematch. Hopefully with a different outcome than the first time when Team USA took it to Canada and won 5-3. Either way it turns out, 2 Preds are coming home with medals, and that's pretty awesome.
We'll see how this game goes, but I'm not sure anything can top the Canada vs. Russia game. Watching Weber, Neidermayer, et al dominate Ovie and company made me grin from ear to ear.
3 days until the Preds are back on home ice. It's been too long. Definitely looking forward to getting back to the arena.
The main thing that needs to be noted is that it's Canada vs. USA for the gold medal tomorrow afternoon. It was someone's bright idea to start the game at 2:15 central, when I'm stuck at work. Lame. So it looks like I'll be missing all but the 3rd period. I'll DVR it in case anything awesome happens. If nothing else, it should be one heck of a rematch. Hopefully with a different outcome than the first time when Team USA took it to Canada and won 5-3. Either way it turns out, 2 Preds are coming home with medals, and that's pretty awesome.
We'll see how this game goes, but I'm not sure anything can top the Canada vs. Russia game. Watching Weber, Neidermayer, et al dominate Ovie and company made me grin from ear to ear.
3 days until the Preds are back on home ice. It's been too long. Definitely looking forward to getting back to the arena.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
New England & Olympics
Despite working for what seems like the past 4 weeks, I have had no time to sit here and work and blog. So depressing. But today, I have a spare few moments to post some thoughts.
The Predators are in up in New England making fools out of themselves. Starting with a loss to the Islanders. Yes, the Islanders. Because Erat took a dumb penalty in the last minute of the game. We did beat the Rangers, who were Gaborik-less, so I'm not insanely impressed. Ellis played lights out in that game though, so mad props to him. Last night we fell apart in the third period to hand the Devils a 5-2 victory. I didn't see the whole game, but man did Suter and Weber look weak in the third. Hopefully that play doesn't continue into the Olympics. I want Shea to bring home that gold medal, and he won't be if he plays defense like that. Rinne (and some blown coverage) also provided Kovalchuk with his first goal as a Devil, which apparently is a hat trick in New Jersey...weird. Hats were on the ice, and I was thoroughly confused. Jacob and I both agreed that Ellis should have started after his solid performance against the Rangers. Guess we'll see what Trotz throws out there against the Pens on Sunday. Not looking forward to that game, but I'll be at work, so if it's a massacre at least I'll avoid it. Goc may return Sunday, while Smithson is questionable. Wilson is showing fire, and I am so glad he got called up. I really love this kid and hope they keep him around.
The Olympics started last night amid tragedy. A Georgian luge athlete died during a practice run yesterday morning. NBC showed the video of the crash several times (which I thought was pretty distasteful). Needless to say, it was hard to watch. I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out. That poor kid was only 21 and he died trying to live his dream. Thoughts and prayers are with his family as they try to deal with this horrible accident.
I haven't seen the whole ceremony yet, so I can't comment on that. I did go through the broadcast schedule to find the events I wanted to watch. Hockey, figure skating, and speed skating are all going to be filling up my DVR for the next 2 weeks.
The Preds aren't back on home ice until March 2nd. It seems like a long time, but the break is doing me some good. Catching up with school stuff and staying focused is never a bad thing. It's good to have a break from the thing you love every now and then. It's especially good with the way they've been playing. It's not worth the stress, and some of the enjoyment has been taken out of it. So I'm trying to bring everything back into perspective. Hopefully this break will allow me to do that.
Maybe I'll do some Olympic blogging....
Although from the looks of it, I've sucked at even keeping up with my Predators blogging.
Sorry to all my loyal readers. :P
The Predators are in up in New England making fools out of themselves. Starting with a loss to the Islanders. Yes, the Islanders. Because Erat took a dumb penalty in the last minute of the game. We did beat the Rangers, who were Gaborik-less, so I'm not insanely impressed. Ellis played lights out in that game though, so mad props to him. Last night we fell apart in the third period to hand the Devils a 5-2 victory. I didn't see the whole game, but man did Suter and Weber look weak in the third. Hopefully that play doesn't continue into the Olympics. I want Shea to bring home that gold medal, and he won't be if he plays defense like that. Rinne (and some blown coverage) also provided Kovalchuk with his first goal as a Devil, which apparently is a hat trick in New Jersey...weird. Hats were on the ice, and I was thoroughly confused. Jacob and I both agreed that Ellis should have started after his solid performance against the Rangers. Guess we'll see what Trotz throws out there against the Pens on Sunday. Not looking forward to that game, but I'll be at work, so if it's a massacre at least I'll avoid it. Goc may return Sunday, while Smithson is questionable. Wilson is showing fire, and I am so glad he got called up. I really love this kid and hope they keep him around.
The Olympics started last night amid tragedy. A Georgian luge athlete died during a practice run yesterday morning. NBC showed the video of the crash several times (which I thought was pretty distasteful). Needless to say, it was hard to watch. I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out. That poor kid was only 21 and he died trying to live his dream. Thoughts and prayers are with his family as they try to deal with this horrible accident.
I haven't seen the whole ceremony yet, so I can't comment on that. I did go through the broadcast schedule to find the events I wanted to watch. Hockey, figure skating, and speed skating are all going to be filling up my DVR for the next 2 weeks.
The Preds aren't back on home ice until March 2nd. It seems like a long time, but the break is doing me some good. Catching up with school stuff and staying focused is never a bad thing. It's good to have a break from the thing you love every now and then. It's especially good with the way they've been playing. It's not worth the stress, and some of the enjoyment has been taken out of it. So I'm trying to bring everything back into perspective. Hopefully this break will allow me to do that.
Maybe I'll do some Olympic blogging....
Although from the looks of it, I've sucked at even keeping up with my Predators blogging.
Sorry to all my loyal readers. :P
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Back to back fail
Phoenix game Thursday night = lame
Colorado game last night = more lame
Yes, I know the sky is not falling. It was two games, two losses, and we are not out of the playoff race or anything like that. However, as a fan who lives and dies (in theory) by this sport, I am so beyond frustrated.
The Phoenix game was in our hands. We dominated the whole game, expect the third period. Play 60 minutes for Christ's sake! Former Pred Upshall scored a natural hat trick in the third period. Lame. Seriously. Two of our supposedly good defensive forwards were both -3 in this game: Ward and Smithson. Seriously, so not happy that Smitty is back. Klein and Hammer were full of fail again. Ellis wasn't terrible, despite the loss. Legwand has looked really good the past few games, even if it's not showing up on the scoreboard.
The Colorado game was just crap. The team was shorthanded 9 times. 9 freaking times! One particular penalty that was complete BS was the goalie interference on Hornqvist that resulted in a waived off goal. It would have been the game tying goal. Anderson was out of the crease and it looked like he initiated contact, so that's crap. Every goal scored last night was on special teams. Colorado scored twice on the power play, and Franson scored on the power play for us. Some more stuff that irritated me was the lack of urgency with the empty net. I feel like the last few times we've pulled the goalie, no one on the ice seems to be really pushing hard to get a goal. That kills me. Act like you care! Fight to keep possession of the puck!
Unlike the Phoenix game, it's hard to pick out players who did well last night. Pekka was pretty much the only decent one on the ice. I felt like every d-pairing sucked, and our forwards pissed me off to no end. Ward was out with a groin strain, but Dumont, despite the flu symptoms that kept him out of the game in Phoenix, was back in the lineup. Legwand had another pretty strong game. He's been really good on the forecheck lately. If only he would bury a few goals.
Belak had another pretty uneventful fight. What's his purpose again? Sully had a fight that I had to laugh through. The guy had like 6 inches on him. Hilarious. But the ref wouldn't let Weber pound some punk, so Sully had to take care of business.
I was angry at Arnott all game. He is the laziest piece of crap EVER. On one shift he was checked behind the net. He lay there whining, pretending to be hurt trying to get a call. Meanwhile, the play goes to the other end and Colorado gets a good scoring chance. We were basically shorthanded while Captain Douchetard took his sweet time getting up and back to the bench. His post game interview pushed me over the edge. He was talking about being happy they were going to have a couple days off before playing in Columbus. Said it would be nice to relax. Considering he takes more shifts off than anyone, he should be plenty relaxed. Don't make me get back on my "Rip That C Off Arnott's Chest" soapbox.
This 3 game skid has put the Preds in 6th place in the West. With us not playing until Tuesday, we could be on the outside looking in very shortly. Here's to hoping the ship is righted the next time the team takes the ice.
Colorado game last night = more lame
Yes, I know the sky is not falling. It was two games, two losses, and we are not out of the playoff race or anything like that. However, as a fan who lives and dies (in theory) by this sport, I am so beyond frustrated.
The Phoenix game was in our hands. We dominated the whole game, expect the third period. Play 60 minutes for Christ's sake! Former Pred Upshall scored a natural hat trick in the third period. Lame. Seriously. Two of our supposedly good defensive forwards were both -3 in this game: Ward and Smithson. Seriously, so not happy that Smitty is back. Klein and Hammer were full of fail again. Ellis wasn't terrible, despite the loss. Legwand has looked really good the past few games, even if it's not showing up on the scoreboard.
The Colorado game was just crap. The team was shorthanded 9 times. 9 freaking times! One particular penalty that was complete BS was the goalie interference on Hornqvist that resulted in a waived off goal. It would have been the game tying goal. Anderson was out of the crease and it looked like he initiated contact, so that's crap. Every goal scored last night was on special teams. Colorado scored twice on the power play, and Franson scored on the power play for us. Some more stuff that irritated me was the lack of urgency with the empty net. I feel like the last few times we've pulled the goalie, no one on the ice seems to be really pushing hard to get a goal. That kills me. Act like you care! Fight to keep possession of the puck!
Unlike the Phoenix game, it's hard to pick out players who did well last night. Pekka was pretty much the only decent one on the ice. I felt like every d-pairing sucked, and our forwards pissed me off to no end. Ward was out with a groin strain, but Dumont, despite the flu symptoms that kept him out of the game in Phoenix, was back in the lineup. Legwand had another pretty strong game. He's been really good on the forecheck lately. If only he would bury a few goals.
Belak had another pretty uneventful fight. What's his purpose again? Sully had a fight that I had to laugh through. The guy had like 6 inches on him. Hilarious. But the ref wouldn't let Weber pound some punk, so Sully had to take care of business.
I was angry at Arnott all game. He is the laziest piece of crap EVER. On one shift he was checked behind the net. He lay there whining, pretending to be hurt trying to get a call. Meanwhile, the play goes to the other end and Colorado gets a good scoring chance. We were basically shorthanded while Captain Douchetard took his sweet time getting up and back to the bench. His post game interview pushed me over the edge. He was talking about being happy they were going to have a couple days off before playing in Columbus. Said it would be nice to relax. Considering he takes more shifts off than anyone, he should be plenty relaxed. Don't make me get back on my "Rip That C Off Arnott's Chest" soapbox.
This 3 game skid has put the Preds in 6th place in the West. With us not playing until Tuesday, we could be on the outside looking in very shortly. Here's to hoping the ship is righted the next time the team takes the ice.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
More evidence....
...that Carey Price is a douche.
Now, I'm not the biggest Cam Janssen fan, but come on. I looked at the game summary on NHL.com this morning and saw that Price wasn't given a penalty, not for roughing, not for anything.
Now, watching the play, Janssen is going for the puck and Price is out of the crease. Explain to me how Janssen gets the roughing call when Price is the one trying to throw punches. I'm pretty sure Price drops his gloves, ummm hello?!
The Blues ended up on the short side with Janssen getting a minor for roughing and Conklin getting a minor for leaving the crease. Please hold while I laugh out loud. Leaving the crease, really? Because Price wasn't way out of the crease. Conklin didn't do anything. He didn't grab, or beat down any of the Canadiens even if he did skate towards the action. One of the Habs got a penalty for roughing, but it should have at least been 4 on 4 because Carey Price is a doucher.
Watching the highlights, he should have at least had 3 out of the 4 Blues goals. He let Kariya bank a shot in off of his own butt. Sorry, but that was awesome. And McDonald's OT winner was from how far out? Once again, Price proves that he's overrated.
I might watch this video a million times, simply because of what it's called. "Cam Janssen DRILLS Carey Price" How can that not make you smile?
Now, I'm not the biggest Cam Janssen fan, but come on. I looked at the game summary on NHL.com this morning and saw that Price wasn't given a penalty, not for roughing, not for anything.
Now, watching the play, Janssen is going for the puck and Price is out of the crease. Explain to me how Janssen gets the roughing call when Price is the one trying to throw punches. I'm pretty sure Price drops his gloves, ummm hello?!
The Blues ended up on the short side with Janssen getting a minor for roughing and Conklin getting a minor for leaving the crease. Please hold while I laugh out loud. Leaving the crease, really? Because Price wasn't way out of the crease. Conklin didn't do anything. He didn't grab, or beat down any of the Canadiens even if he did skate towards the action. One of the Habs got a penalty for roughing, but it should have at least been 4 on 4 because Carey Price is a doucher.
Watching the highlights, he should have at least had 3 out of the 4 Blues goals. He let Kariya bank a shot in off of his own butt. Sorry, but that was awesome. And McDonald's OT winner was from how far out? Once again, Price proves that he's overrated.
I might watch this video a million times, simply because of what it's called. "Cam Janssen DRILLS Carey Price" How can that not make you smile?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
D-man fail
The Preds announced today that they extended "defenseman" Kevin Klein 3 years.
See what I did there?
That will keep him here through the 2012-2013 season. The terms are 3 years, $4.05 million total.
That sound you heard earlier in the day was me screaming obscenities.
I have been on the "split up Klein and Hamhuis" campaign all season. Separately, they aren't terrible, but put them together and I will almost assure you that a goal will be scored by the opposition. Case and point: both were a glaring -3 last night against Toronto. Another thing I took from this deal is that it all but assures Hamhuis will not be here next season. Whether he's gone at the deadline or the offseason, I doubt he is in Nashville come this fall. Now, I don't know what kind of money Hamhuis thinks he can get, or will get, but I would rather have him than Klein. However, I understand that Klein is the cheaper option. But until they find a good partner for him (NOT HAMHUIS) he will be in my doghouse. I'd still rather see Sulzer on the ice than Klein. Poile may also be setting himself to be able to keep both Suter and Weber in the future. Weber will be up after next season, and Suter the following season. The money they will save by potentially not signing Hamhuis will allow for what will likely be very nice raises for Suter and Weber.
Either way, Klein and Hamhuis still suck as a d-pairing, and last night's "game" just makes me angry.
Really glad they went back on the road. I don't have to pay to watch them on TV. So if they blow chunks, I don't get as upset.
The upcoming schedule looks like this:
In Phoenix on Thursday, where my BFF Sarah will be in attendance. Hope she gets to see a good one.
In Colorado on Friday.
These two games are also the annual Father's trip, so hopefully that will be some good motivation to play well.
Then we move back East with visits to Columbus and Detroit.
Time to rack up some points against teams below us in the standings.
See what I did there?
That will keep him here through the 2012-2013 season. The terms are 3 years, $4.05 million total.
That sound you heard earlier in the day was me screaming obscenities.
I have been on the "split up Klein and Hamhuis" campaign all season. Separately, they aren't terrible, but put them together and I will almost assure you that a goal will be scored by the opposition. Case and point: both were a glaring -3 last night against Toronto. Another thing I took from this deal is that it all but assures Hamhuis will not be here next season. Whether he's gone at the deadline or the offseason, I doubt he is in Nashville come this fall. Now, I don't know what kind of money Hamhuis thinks he can get, or will get, but I would rather have him than Klein. However, I understand that Klein is the cheaper option. But until they find a good partner for him (NOT HAMHUIS) he will be in my doghouse. I'd still rather see Sulzer on the ice than Klein. Poile may also be setting himself to be able to keep both Suter and Weber in the future. Weber will be up after next season, and Suter the following season. The money they will save by potentially not signing Hamhuis will allow for what will likely be very nice raises for Suter and Weber.
Either way, Klein and Hamhuis still suck as a d-pairing, and last night's "game" just makes me angry.
Really glad they went back on the road. I don't have to pay to watch them on TV. So if they blow chunks, I don't get as upset.
The upcoming schedule looks like this:
In Phoenix on Thursday, where my BFF Sarah will be in attendance. Hope she gets to see a good one.
In Colorado on Friday.
These two games are also the annual Father's trip, so hopefully that will be some good motivation to play well.
Then we move back East with visits to Columbus and Detroit.
Time to rack up some points against teams below us in the standings.
I guess we have to talk about it
Leafs 4 Preds 3
And once again, the score does not tell the story. The Predators played maybe 10 minutes of the game last night. Unfortunately for us, the Leafs played more.
It started out bad. When you're down to the Leafs 0-3 nine minutes in, you've got problems. After the second goal, I was screaming for Pekka's head. Every goal was soft. Every single one. Finally after the third goal, Ellis made his grand entrance. Granted, the defense didn't help Pekka out much, but he should have had at least 2 of those goals. One (maybe the first goal) was simply because he wasn't hugging the post. Basic stuff here folks.
Thankfully, Ellis came in and played amazingly. He had the best save of the season on Stempniak (who I love and wish still played for the Blues, or for us). Find it on a highlight reel somewhere. I'm at work and the internet hates me today, so I can't provide a link.
Goc scored the first Preds goal in the second period by doing what the team had failed to do all game: go after rebounds. We were having trouble getting shots through, so Goc's was a big goal. The team made their short appearance in the third, and the crowd rewarded them. After we had tied it at 3, there was another epic standing ovation TV timeout. I'm not sure the team deserved it, but the few shift before that certainly showed some life and gave the crowd reason to cheer. The building was rocking, and we all but willed the team to score. Unfortunately due to some more Klein and Hamhuis fail (see rant below), Kessel walked in and scored the game winner with about 5 minutes to go.
As for the last minute or so, I have never seen a team play with so little urgency as the Preds did last night. Once Ellis finally made it to the bench, the team just seemed so slow, with no one really fighting to tie it up. Definitely disappointing.
Arnott and Smithson were back last night. Arnott definitely showed some rust. As for Smithson, Thuresson should have that spot over him. I would much rather a rookie get the experience. I am praying that the front office let's Smithson walk this summer. I can't handle much more of this. In other news, Tootoo should be back in Phoenix on Thursday, but Spaling will not be sent down. Thank God.
I made the comment several times last night that I'd rather be blown out than have the team come back only to lose late in the game. At least in a blowout, you don't get your hopes up. I definitely thought we had a chance once we tied it up. Just goes to show, playing 60 full minutes of hockey really does make a difference. The effort exerted last night is inexcusable. Losing to the Maple Leafs at home is inexcusable. Anyone else starting to think we're resembling the Blues and their home woes? Let's just hope we don't need the guys to start staying in hotels in Nashville. I expect a better effort when they're back on the 30th.
Sucks that it was such a crappy effort on the last game before a decent road trip, not to mention the good crowd, and the fact that it was Military Monday. The team sure did lay a couple of eggs for the military this year: Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto. I sense a trend. Meh, whatever.
Goc scored the first Preds goal in the second period by doing what the team had failed to do all game: go after rebounds. We were having trouble getting shots through, so Goc's was a big goal. The team made their short appearance in the third, and the crowd rewarded them. After we had tied it at 3, there was another epic standing ovation TV timeout. I'm not sure the team deserved it, but the few shift before that certainly showed some life and gave the crowd reason to cheer. The building was rocking, and we all but willed the team to score. Unfortunately due to some more Klein and Hamhuis fail (see rant below), Kessel walked in and scored the game winner with about 5 minutes to go.
As for the last minute or so, I have never seen a team play with so little urgency as the Preds did last night. Once Ellis finally made it to the bench, the team just seemed so slow, with no one really fighting to tie it up. Definitely disappointing.
Arnott and Smithson were back last night. Arnott definitely showed some rust. As for Smithson, Thuresson should have that spot over him. I would much rather a rookie get the experience. I am praying that the front office let's Smithson walk this summer. I can't handle much more of this. In other news, Tootoo should be back in Phoenix on Thursday, but Spaling will not be sent down. Thank God.
I made the comment several times last night that I'd rather be blown out than have the team come back only to lose late in the game. At least in a blowout, you don't get your hopes up. I definitely thought we had a chance once we tied it up. Just goes to show, playing 60 full minutes of hockey really does make a difference. The effort exerted last night is inexcusable. Losing to the Maple Leafs at home is inexcusable. Anyone else starting to think we're resembling the Blues and their home woes? Let's just hope we don't need the guys to start staying in hotels in Nashville. I expect a better effort when they're back on the 30th.
Sucks that it was such a crappy effort on the last game before a decent road trip, not to mention the good crowd, and the fact that it was Military Monday. The team sure did lay a couple of eggs for the military this year: Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto. I sense a trend. Meh, whatever.
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