Saturday's Dump & Chase: It's Opening Day for the NHL!

Nashville Predators News

On the Forecheck's Dirk Hoag on blogging, Predators' return - Nashville Business Journal
Blogging won't exactly land me on "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous", but that's not why I got into it in the first place. Thanks to Jamie McGee for reaching out for this interview.

The Hippodrome: There's A Fever In The Puck House Now | Pith in the Wind
J.R. points out that language in Tom Cigarran's statement to Preds fans can sure make it look like the Preds were on board with the lockout, contradicting many others who chose to believe that they were just bystanders in the whole thing.

Nashville Predators hope Ryan Ellis can assist on offense | The Tennessean
I've got him as a depth guy on my fantasy team, so I sure hope he cashes in.

Icebreaker: Predators will finally answer big question tonight | The Tennessean
Are they ready or not? One has to wonder if the relatively low roster turnover will help the Predators play well together early on.

Travel hurts West teams more than East | The Tennessean

Hmm... I wonder where these AP writers got the travel mileage numbers for this story? I don't see any attribution...

All the key story lines to get you ready for the (wildly abbreviated, probably totally insane) NHL season - Grantland

Katie Baker touches on items from all around the league, and includes a (much appreciated) nod to my Super Schedule.

Even for veterans, the first game of the NHL season is special - Nashville Predators Examiner
The adrenaline junkies are about to get their first fix in a long time.

Playing the point on the power play suits Sergei Kostitsyn just fine - Nashville Predators Examiner
Is SK74 part of the solution on the back end of the PP?

Three Minutes With: Scott Hannan… | Section 303
Hannan's familiarity with Shea Weber should help him fit in on the Nashville blueline.

POSSESSION-- THE PREDATORS BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: The Game
Willy Daunic gets input from Rob Vollman of Hockey Prospectus on the issue of the Preds' poor possession numbers from last season.

Why Shea Weber Needs To Win Against Columbus - Predlines

Methinks Jason is over-cranking the hype machine a bit much here.

Smashville 24/7 - Will Preds power play success carry over?
Jacob Underwood points out the hole left behind by Ryan Suter.

Mid-season report card: Forwards | Admirals Roundtable
Well done, Mr. Mueller & Mr. Van Guilder.

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

Your Guide to NHL Opening Day - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
The first game starts at 2:00 p.m. Central, with the Kings & Blackhawks on NBC.

Puck Daddy chats with Dustin Brown about Stanley Cup hangovers; playing the villain role; and LA Kings being confused for Sacramento Kings | Puck Daddy
The defending champion L.A. Kings could be set up to contend for several more years, but will they be ready to go from Game One?

Hockey Operations Update: Standard of Enforcement and New Rules - NHL.com
Get up to speed on a few new wrinkles in the rule book (hat tip to Kukla's Korner for sharing this).

Wade Redden, Blues Agree In Principle To Contract - St. Louis Game Time
The Blues made a low-risk, high-reward move here, rescuing Redden from the scrap heap.

Canucks re-sign Alex Edler to a 6 year deal - Nucks Misconduct
A staple of the Vancouver defense gets a sweet contract extension.

Incorrect things you will hear: "In a 48-game season, every game counts" | Backhand Shelf
Cam argues that we may know by the halfway point which teams are going to make it.

Pre-Season Injury Update: Western Conference | Backhand Shelf
The Canucks in particular are missing two important forwards, Ryan Kesler and David Booth.

The Best NHL Goaltenders Between the Lockouts - Eyes On The Prize
What will we end up calling the era from 2005-2012? Anyways, here's a look at the top 'tenders from that time.

james mirtle: 2013 NHL teams by weight, height and age - A hockey journalist's blog
Man, those Sharks are chubby!

Sports Radio Interviews " Rick Nash Believes it’s Tough to Build Chemistry in a Lockout-Shortened Season
Nash certainly doesn't have any excuses now that he's in New York.

Red Wings Roster: Patrick Eaves Cleared to Play - Winging It In Motown
Good news for the Detroit forward who was felled by a Roman Josi slap shot.

And lastly... ESPN mixes hockey & the Muppets to perfection:

Predators vs Blue Jackets Reaction: Glad to Be Back, But No Time to Lose

There was some good, some bad, and some ugly to talk about after Nashville's 3-2 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.

Craig Smith's Ice Time Drop

As many of you noticed, Craig Smith's ice time plummeted in the 3rd period, and in the post-game press conference, Barry Trotz specifically pointed out his turnovers as the reason for that. He also mentioned that due to the lack of a preseason and the urgency of a 48-game season, the coaches have to take an approach that rewards those guys who are going well "right now", and that the opportunity is there for players to turn things around immediately and be their best player the next night.

Ryan Ellis Goes Adventuring

It was interesting to me how aggressive Ryan Ellis was in the offensive end, and he talked post-game about having the green light from the coaching staff to go deep into the zone for potential chances, as long as the situation is right. On his first period goal, "Fisher made a great pass, and I missed the net, but as we worked the puck back to the point I was able to hang out down there and the play came back to me." In the overtime session, he had another extended foray down near the Columbus net. "In 4-on-4 there's more room out there, and in that situation I saw we had numbers, and I knew with a dependable veteran like Scott Hannan back there that he would play it safe and take care of things."

I was very encouraged with how the defense worked out in this game. Ellis is still young, so it's important that the Preds manage his ice time and situational usage to get the most out of him, and last night, that seemed to pay off.

Other reaction, via quotes provided by the Preds' PR staff:

Barry Trotz on the top d-pair of Shea Weber & Roman Josi:

They were really good. Really, really good. It's going to take some time to get that chemistry. It's game one and we had no preseason. It's the same for everybody. I wish we would have gotten those two points for our fans. You want to get a home victory. We went to a shootout, and that's what happens sometimes.

Trotz, on Shea Weber's fight in the second period:

I thought Shea Weber, our captain, was doing the right thing. Going against Jared Boll for an excessive hit against Smith then he stepped right in and that's what your captain does - he leads by example. Not a great trade'off for us but at the same time, he did what you want your captain to do, step right in there.

Over in the Columbus locker room, Derick Brassard said that for the Blue Jackets, that fight proved to be a pivotal moment in the game:

We had a rough start. In the first period the guys were kind of anxious out there and kind of nervous a little bit. They stepped up their game in the second period and took the intensity to them. It was kind of a game changer there when Jared Boll and Shea Weber fought. That is a key defenseman for them that was gone for ten minutes and we could go after their defensemen and we did a good job and we stuck to the game plan and kept it simple. For a lot of guys here, it is their first game of the season. That was the game plan just to keep it simple and work for 60 minutes and trust our work ethic and that's what we did.

Kevin Klein, on the first game with his new D-pair Hannan:

It was good. Lots of talk. He is very vocal. Makes it easy. He is very steady back there. I thought we gelled pretty easily but there are still some things we need to work on.

Klein on what it was like to play against a Columbus team which rolls all four lines (no more Rick Nash):

I think they are very similar to us. I think they do a good job getting the puck in behind you, starting their forecheck. They are a very disciplined forechecking team and they play a lot like us. We knew they were going to come hard and we knew they were going to dump it in and unfortunately we came up on the wrong side today.

Pekka Rinne, on the compensation of at least getting one point in the standings:

You can't deny that. Not too many guys are smiling after the game when you lose. I think right nowwhen the puck is on the ice and you are playing and we still got a big point. You have to remember that.I think that still brings a smile on my face. Even though it's disappointing to lose in the shootout, I takethose losses more personally than those in overtime or anything like that but I will get over it and getback on it Monday.

Shea Weber on how the team played early on, and the prospects for improvement:

A little unsystematic at times. There were a lot of turnovers, but it was kind of expected, and like I said before, there was a lot of room for improvement. We have got to get going here, especially if we've got a game every other night.

...

We're working on things during practice, but it's not the same as a game. I think as the season goes on,you get better period'by'period and game'by'game.

We'll leave the last word to Coach Trotz, who summed the feelings of many:

Hockey is back. We have such a great sport. We see the energy in the building. Wecould see that people were excited being back.

Predators vs Blue Jackets: Columbus Wins in a Shootout

It's been a long time coming, so perhaps the first game of the season deserved overtime and a shootout.

Stay tuned for something new this season, as we'll be able to use SB Nation's "story stream" technology to feature all of the content related to tonight's game in a single package. There may be some bumps & bruises along the way as we get used to it, but I think you'll enjoy it.

Need tickets to tonight's game? Only a few are available via TiqIQ!

How the Preds Stack Up

Following yesterday's announcement of the Opening Night roster, Josh Cooper shared what the likely lines & d-pairs will be tonight:

Kostitsyn - Fisher - Erat

Smith - Legwand - Hornqvist

Wilson - Gaustad - Halischuk

McGrattan - Spaling - Yip

Josi - Weber

Hannan - Klein

Gill - Ellis

Pekka Rinne, of course, is expected to start in goal.

3 Questions With The Cannon

For some insight into what's been going on in Columbus, I fired 3 Questions over to Dan Parker of SB Nation's Columbus blog, The Cannon:

1. Blue Jackets fans may have received the biggest kick in the proverbial nuts over the last several months, between the lockout, the All-Star Game cancellation, and of course the Rick Nash trade. Where is there reason for optimism in Columbus?

It really depends on how you define "optimism" for many fans. I tend to fall into the group that is pretty sure this season is going to be a rough one in terms of wins and losses, but it also may be the first ray of light in a while.

The biggest reason for optimism, purely and simply, is John Davidson. His hiring was a coup. He's a bona fide top-of-the-organization executive, and he jumped at the chance to come to Columbus when he probably could have had any job he wanted around the league or in the broadcast world. The off-shoot is that, between Davidson's desired team identity and the players that came on board and/or will be taking over the leadership roles this season, Columbus is going to try to become a full-ice gritty, tough team to play against.

Another good thing to think about is the notion of addition by subtraction: losing Nash hurts in the stat sheets, but it's also not a coincidence that their last two top draft picks are Captains of their junior clubs, and Jack Johnson was brought in and has been a Captain multiple times for Team USA. While Nash was the Captain, everything from practice habits to on-ice effort has been the subject of whispers. If, under this new direction and with the influx of new "good leadership" guys, they can develop that 60-minute effort and build an identity around it, the rest will fall into place in subsequent seasons.

2. Goaltending has been an issue there ever since Steve Mason's second season, so what's the story in net?

The story is that everyone's kind of holding their collective breath. Sergei Bobrovsky couldn't be more of a wild card. Will the Jackets see the starter-quality play of his rookie year and during the lockout in the KHL? Or will they see last season's spotty play? The book on Bob is that he's willing to work hard and is motivated to improve--two things which never seemed to be part of Mason's psyche--and that Columbus might end up with at least a bridge until some of their younger, more highly-regarded guys in juniors are ready.

The hope with Mason is that actual competition will force him to elevate his game. Given 48 games in 99 days, however, both guys are going to have to step up big time if the Jackets hold out any hope of competing.

3. Who has made the biggest impression in training camp, in terms of offering potential to take a leap up the Columbus depth chart?

I'm going to take this in a different direction and list two guys who didn't actually make the club: Tim Erixon, and Boone Jenner. Erixon was, of course, one of the guys who came over in the Rick Nash deal, and is Springfield's (AHL) highest-scoring defenseman and an AHL All Star. His cut was a bit of a surprise, but it's looking more and more like the 5-7 spots on D are going to be a round-robin of Adrian Aucoin and youngsters John Moore and David Savard. The club clearly wants Erixon to continue playing every day instead of getting lost in that mess. As for Jenner, the 2011 2nd round pick is Captaining the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. He looked good enough and physical enough to have made the Jackets' roster as a third- or fourth-line center, and his two-way play--and the potential for wearing a letter someday--is certainly a reason for much optimism for the future. He went back to the OHL because they didn't want to burn a year of his ELC in a shortened, crazy season, and because he can continue to develop his leadership qualities as he Captains Oshawa for the second straight year. If he doesn't make a legitimate push to be on the club to start next season, the Jackets' brass will have to be disappointed.

For more on the BJ's, check out The Cannon's Season Preview section.

Question of the Day

So as we get ready to dust off our Game Day routines (make sure to review the OTF Unofficial Glossary in preparation for tonight's Game Thread), I'll toss a question out there for discussion. Who scores the first goal of the season for the Preds?

NHL Season Predictions

The 48-game intraconference schedule makes predictions a trickier business than usual. With divisional rivals playing a larger portion of the season strictly against each other (37% as opposed to 29% in an 82-game season), will that make it more difficult for one division to field 4 playoff teams, like the Central and Atlantic did last year?

So here's who George & I are picking to make the playoffs (in order), and take home the hardware:

George		Dirk
West	East	West	East
San Jose	Pittsburgh	St. Louis	Pittsburgh
St. Louis	Washington	Los Angeles	Boston
Vancouver	Montreal	Vancouver	Florida
Minnesota	Philadelphia	San Jose	New York Rangers
Chicago	New York Rangers	Chicago	Carolina
Nashville	Boston	Phoenix	Washington
Phoenix	Buffalo	Detroit	Philadelphia
Detroit	Carolina	Nashville	Ottawa
Stanley Cup champs	New York Rangers		Los Angeles Kings
Hart Trophy	Alex Ovechkin		Sidney Crosby
Norris Trophy	Ryan Suter		Alex Pietrangelo
Vezina Trophy	Henrik Lundqvist		Pekka Rinne

Feel free to submit your own picks in the comments below!

Blue Jackets 3, Predators 2 (SO): Columbus Hangs In For A Win

After having to wait an extra 3 months for hockey at Bridgestone Arena, perhaps a little overtime and a shootout was due...

Martin Erat opened the scoring just 39 seconds in, freezing the Blue Jackets at the blueline by looking off a passing opportunity, and walking right into the slot for a wrister which appeared to cleanly beat Sergei Bobrovski. That was answered back with a power play goal for Nick Foligno, who camped out in front of Pekka Rinne and tipped a Fedor Tyutin shot with just under four mniutes remaining in the first.

Ryan Ellis quickly put the Preds back into the lead, however, with a clever play which, with the benefit of the hockey gods, resulted in a goal. He had already snuck down from the right point on the power play for a back-door chance, and shortly thereafter the puck came back to him. He wasn't in good position to puck-handle and shoot, so instead he just shoveled the puck at Bobrovski, and it slipped right through the 5-hole and into the net.

The Blue Jackets weren't going away without a fight, however, and in the second, Artem Anisimov tied things back up with a powerful drive, lifting a backhander by Rinne with Paul Gaustad draped all over him. From there on, the game was scoreless through the third period and overtime, before heading to a 6-round shootout, in which Derek Brassard dealt the winning blow for Columbus.

Random observations:

• Colin Wilson looked especially strong on the puck tonight, showing the makings of a difference-making power forward. That may have been why he found himself bumped up onto David Legwand's line in the 3rd.
• Scott Hannan was invisible tonight (outside of a scrap with Derek Dorsett), and that's meant as a compliment. As a stay-at-home defenseman, he kept things simple and effective out there.
• The crowd was in fine form, eager to bust out whenever there was reason to, but for a long stretch there beginning the second period, the action slowed to a crawl.
• After playing 8:33 through the first two periods, Craig Smith's ice time dropped off down to just 2:08 the rest of the way.

Post-game reaction from the Preds, video highlights, and advanced stats will all follow later on, and they'll get plugged into this Story Stream.

Sunday's Dump & Chase: Selanne & Jagr Dominate on Opening Day

Nashville Predators News

No Nash, no problem for Columbus - Predators Insider
The Rick Nash trade gave the Blue Jackets a different look last night, posing a challenge for the Preds.

Need a Nashville Predators T-Shirt for the new season? Shop here & support OTF!

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

Blue Jackets Game 1 Recap: Something Old, Something New - The Cannon
Head over here for the Columbus perspective on last night's game.

Red Wings At Blues Game Recap: Blues Blow Out Wings 6-0 - St. Louis Game Time
This was an absolute curb-stomping by St. Louis, which visits Nashville tomorrow.

Vladimir Tarasenko Scores First NHL Goal On First Shot - St. Louis Game Time
We could have a Calder Trophy candidate in St. Louis, to go with an already-impressive lineup.

Babcock: Bertuzzi to Miss Several Weeks - Winging It In Motown
This could prove to be a big loss to the Red Wings.

Jaromir Jagr, Dallas Stars Outlast Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3 - Defending Big D
The Stars got off to a great start, with Jagr playing a part in all four Dallas goals.

As Stars try to work out new deal, Glen Gulutzan says team can’t focus on absent Jamie Benn | Dallas Stars Blog
Meanwhile, Dallas still hasn't signed young RFA Jamie Benn.

Ducks Dominate Canucks 7-3 in Rare Opening Day Win - Anaheim Calling
Touchdown, Ducks! Teemu Selanne had four points as well.

Watch the Los Angeles Kings finally raise their 2011-12 Stanley Cup banner (VIDEO) | Puck Daddy
The Kings did it up right yesterday, although I thought the second round of player introductions as they each raised the Cup was a bit much.

Never Cheer Before You Know Who’s Winning – Hawks 5, Kings 2 | The Committed Indian | The Real Fan's Program and Your Source for All Things Blackhawks
After that ceremony, however, it was all downhill for the Kings, as Chicago simply blew them out of the building.

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche: Game Recap - Hockey Wilderness
So far, so good for Parise & Suter as the Wild won 4-2.

Canucks lay an egg, kick-start new goalie debate in lop-sided loss (with goalie poll) - Vancouver Sun
@Strombone1 had the last laugh yesterday.

Leafs 2 - Habs 1: Quick Hits - Pension Plan Puppets
Toronto kicked things off with a win over their ancient foe.

Sutter shines, Fleury sets record: Penguins 3, Flyers 1 - PensBurgh
The Penguins beat their cross-state rivals to open the season.

Bruins beat Rangers 3-1: Everything is awesome! - Stanley Cup of Chowder
Birthday boy Johnny Boychuk scored for Boston.

New Jersey Devils Win First Game of 2013, 2-1 Over New York Islanders - In Lou We Trust
The New Jersey Devils begin the post-Parise era with a win over their division rival.

Game 1: Washington Capitals versus Tampa Bay Lightning - Raw Charge
The Tampa Bay Lightning kicked two field goals to Washington's one.

Jack Hillen leaves Capitals season opener with injury - Washington Post
The former Nashville Predator hurt his shoulder after going into the boards.

Recap: Panthers trounce Hurricanes 5-1 - Litter Box Cats
The Florida Panthers began the defense of their division title in convincing fashion.

Senators power their way to 4-1 win over Jets - Silver Seven
That stinkyface Erik Karlsson had three points for Ottawa.

A conversation with John Davidson - Predators Insider
Josh Cooper catches up with the new boss in Columbus. Have they finally struck gold?

Watch insane benches clearing hockey brawl; with pink jerseys, 13 ejections between IceHogs and Rapids (VIDEO) | Puck Daddy
Settle in for some AHL madness.

Comments by Bruins Owner Reflect Bitterness of Lockout - NYTimes.com
Jeremy Jacobs basically blames the players for the lockout, and is already looking ahead to another one down the road. Cheers!

Larry Brooks Slap Shots: Will New York Islanders’ penny-pinching ways follow franchise from Long Island to Brooklyn? - NYPOST.com
I don't think Shea Weber will be overly impressed by the honor bestowed upon him by Larry Brooks here.

NHL GameCenter having issues on first day of games - Puck Drunk Love
Yeah, you weren't the only one having trouble connecting last night.

What's New in the New Season - Blog - icethetics.info
A nifty guide to what's showing up on some jerseys this season around the NHL.

Scott Gomez in talks with San Jose Sharks: Reports | Puck Daddy
Wade Redden landed in St. Louis, and now it looks like the other major buyout player may also come to the Western Conference.

Nashville Predators Set 2013 Opening Night Roster

This, from the Preds:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has assigned forward Chris Mueller to Milwaukee (AHL), in addition to releasing goaltender Zoltan Hetenyi from a Professional Tryout Agreement, finalizing the team's roster for the 2012-13 season opener against Columbus tomorrow night.

The breakdown of the 23 players on Nashville's roster is as follows:

Forwards (13): Martin Erat, David Legwand, Mike Fisher, Nick Spaling, Craig Smith, Richard Clune, Brandon Yip, Brian McGrattan, Matt Halischuk, Patric Hornqvist, Paul Gaustad, Colin Wilson and Sergei Kostitsyn.

Defensemen (8): Victor Bartley, Ryan Ellis, Shea Weber, Jonathon Blum, Kevin Klein, Scott Hannan, Roman Josi and Hal Gill.

Goaltenders (2): Chris Mason and Pekka Rinne.

Besides the waiver claim placed on Clune earlier this week, the news here is that Victor Bartley is on the NHL roster to start the season, but he's unlikely to play against Columbus. Josh Cooper shares the lines as they appear to be set, so what do you think? I have to admit I'm not crazy about those bottom two...