Blues are hot but still running in place posted by Blues Fan

The Blues have been red hot. They’ve won five straight games, scoring 29 goals in the process. Only one of the games has seen an opponent be closer than two goals in the third period. The penalty-killing unit at one point stopped 18 straight man-advantage situations for the opponent. In two of the wins, the Blues allowed just 20 shots or fewer. They’ve gone from scoring 14 more goals than they’ve allowed to 33, the third-best mark in the whole league.

And heading into Thursday night’s game against Detriot, the Blues are in third place in the Central Division, five points out of first.

Life is not easy in the Central, and the Blues are finding that out in the early days of 2015. They have walloped opponents up and down, figuratively at least, are playing some of the best hockey in the league and all they have to show for it is being in the exact same place they were before. The Blues are treading water beautifully, going nowhere fast.

“We won five in a row and made up no ground,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “That’s the shock for me. You win five in a row and you just keep pace with what’s above you. It’s a tough league. … Man, you’ve got to really play well to get in the playoffs in this conference. You’re sitting at 57 points and you have a team breathing right down your neck.”

Goalie Brian Elliott has advice that may work well for players, but not for the coaches or the fan base: Stop looking at the standings.

“Since I’ve been here, it’s always been one of the toughest divisions to gain points in,” Elliott said. “Nashville’s pretty much winning every game. It’s tough to make up ground even if you’re winning. You worry about your own things. You don’t look up and down the standings. Just focus on the next game, get two points and then at the end of the year see where she goes.”

Laviolette brought fresh perspective to Predators posted by Predators Fan

Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette has found early success in his first season here, leading them to the best record in the NHL through the first half of the season.

Laviolette has given the Predators a new identity. They had been known as a tough defensive team since they came into the NHL in 1998-99 but Laviolette has added a more aggressive offense.

"I think it's just a bit of a different style of game," Predators forward Colin Wilson said. "I think there are a lot of people here who needed a fresh start, and at the same time we signed a few people who needed fresh starts. I think the combination of all of that has been perfect. I just love the mood he keeps in the dressing room. He keeps us all really focused and in-tune."

Laviolette is quick to point out that the success is a direct reflection of the work ethic of the players. He knows how important that character trait can be.

"I think all teams probably rest a lot on that," he said. "If your team works hard in practice and works hard in games, they have the opportunity to find success. I think without it you probably don't have much opportunity. I think there is a lot of balance in the League and a lot of parity in the League. I think work ethic sometimes makes the deciding difference."

That hard-working mentality has been instilled in Laviolette's players since long before he arrived. Nashville historically hasn't had the most talented teams, so they have relied on outworking opponents to achieve success.

Laviolette said he believes the Predators can be better as the season progresses.

Can The Nashville Predators Do better this Season? posted by Predators Fan

The predators acquired James Neal after trading Hornqvist. This was not a bad move as the Left winger has been an asset for the team. Mike Ribeiro, Derek Roy and Olli Jokinen were the other Key acquisitions that could prove to be an asset to the team as they move into the 2014-2015 season.

Rinne’s Injury

One of the major blows last season, was Pekka Rinne hip injury which got worse during the season. He had to stay out for half of the season as the team tried to cope with an unimpressive goaltending. Luckily, Rinne will be getting back to the team this season.

The question is whether he will be in a position to get back to his 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 form where he finished with a .930 and .923 save percentage. He only managed .902 save percentage in the last season.

The Defence

The Predators defence can boast of Shea Weber’s Talent. He is a well rounded player who is flexible and can defend the team no matter the opponent. The rest of the defence is full of youthful players. Their lack of experience may not be very good for the team. Nevertheless, the team can still rely on veteran Kevin Klein and Seth Jones before the younger players get the experience they need.

The offence had issues at some point in the last season. After the return of forwards, Craig and Fisher, the team can hope to fix that problem this season. Their center does not inspire a lot of confidence. A few of the new talents may help to improve the centerline.

Conclusion

Last season performance through the western conference gave them a position 8. Unfortunately, as things seem at the moment, we cannot expect a lot from the team this season. Their chances of doing better than they did last season are very slim. 

Golden Effort Falls Just Short posted by Brad VanFossan

A Golden Effort Falls Just Short By Brad VanFossan I know it’s more than just a hockey game when my 63 year old father is looking forward to watching, and has been watching most of the hockey games during this Olympics. I know it’s more than just a game when patrons at bars ask to turn the hockey game on, both the men’s and women’s games, as I have seen happen over the last couple weeks. This is about reliving nostalgia for those who were around for the 1980 Gold Medal team‘s “Miracle“ run. And it’s about wanting to experience that same feeling for those of us who were too young or weren’t around then. This is the kind of thing the brings generations of sons and fathers together creating memories that become part of family lore. More importantly, this is a message to the world that hockey isn’t a secondary sport in the United States anymore, but one we can excel at, and even be the best.  It’s almost time for the opening face off, winning twice on enemy territory won’t be easy, but I think if anyone can, it’s this group of relentless young men. No matter what the outcome, they will put forth an effort to be proud of.My in game thoughts from the penalty box: -In the first U.S./Canada match up the U.S. was able to score first, taking the crowd out of things for a bit, today Canada scored first, it’s the first time the U.S. has trailed all Olympics. -Jonathan Toews goal was off of a rebound, not too much cause for concern yet. The U.S. is still playing pretty well, theyContinue reading "Golden Effort Falls Just Short"

Uh Oh, Skettio's! posted by Goon Squad

Officiating has become so intolerable that one general manager filed a protest in a league that doesn't allow protests and several coaches have talked about reading the rulebook again to see if it had changed.

Bettman has put out many fires in his time as NHL commissioner.

On Tuesday, with the Burrows allegations, it was just a spark – and now smoke can be seen coming from Detroit.

NHL rules state that if a call on the ice is to be overturned there must be substantial video evidence to back up overturning a call. 

In this case there was none whatsover--just the word of Mike Leggo, the trailing official who claims he saw what no video camera could--the puck crossing the goal line.

What is the point of having video replay if it's not going to be used for it's intended purpose?

With two teams battling for a very important extra point, assuming the puck crossed the line and going against standard practice, which is substantial video evidence, is absurd. Yet, for the second time in a few days, we have an officiating controversy.

Maybe the call was correct, but the point is that we cannot assume a puck crossed the line.

It was an injustice to the Red Wings, who for the second time this season have been on the wrong end of, plainly stated, an incorrect call.

Coincidentally or not, both games were against Dallas:

Continue reading "Uh Oh, Skettio's!"

Cheechoo - Should he stay or should he go now? posted by Brian Winett

Jonathan Cheechoo is the San Jose Sharks highest valued trade bait.  Jonathan is a young player coming into his prime with an acceptable contract for any team to handle for a second line scoring winger.  Everyone knows what Cheechoo has done, so let’s figure out what to do with him now.

TRADE HIM:

Jonathan’s trade to another team will free up a prorated $3M against the cap which right away will allow the team to bring up Kyle McLaren (providing Kyle doesn’t get picked up on re-entry waivers) from the AHL adding depth at defense for the playoff run and the playoffs when the rosters expand after the trade deadline, not to mention freeing up cap space next year for resigning Ryan Clowe (and extending Pavelski and Setoguchi).  Jonathan is stuck on the third line, a checking line, and whiffs on nearly every check.  Trading Cheechoo for a draft pick isn’t the best way to go, so who could take Cheechoo and who could the Sharks get back in a trade.  At the beginning of the year I fantasized of a Michalek and Cheechoo for Kovalchuk trade, let’s look at some lower profile options however:

Nashville Predators NEED a scoring winger and do I mean badly.  Nashville’s defense is good to go along with inconsistent goaltending and still the Preds are on the hunt for the playoffs even though their offense is 28th in the league in goals scored.  The need is there for Cheechoo, I am just not sure who we could get for him, although a first round draft pick would be nice.  That being said, the fact that the Predators are so good defensively points to the fact that they have a t least one good strong grinding winger who can fit into the Sharks’ third line as a checking/grinding defensive minded player.

Inbound link contest winner announced! posted by Earn Money Blogging

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

The whole purpose of this contest was to get our bloggers networking with other webmasters and to start to build up their inbound links which will help their traffic.  Even a few links can help you with the search engines as they will see you as more of an authority on your topic the more inbound links you have.

To learn more about marketing your blog check out this post: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html#my_faq_2971

Marija's blog can be found here.  If you're a Knicks fan, check it out: http://www.newyorkknicksnews.com/marijak

The original post announcing the contest can be found here: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/bloggers/weblog/2984.html

And if you're not already signed up with Google AdSense and making money from your blog, check out our Revenue Share FAQ page: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html

Inbound link contest - Win $100! posted by Earn Money Blogging

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

We're going to impose some restrictions on the types of links you can get so please see below for the full list of links that do NOT count.

To get started simply go to Google and find other websites and blog that are about the sports and teams that you write about. Email the website owner and ask them for a link by explaining that you think your blog would be a good resource for their readers. Or offer to write a guest post for them with your by-line and URL at the bottom of the article. Or offer to exchange links with them by writing a quick write up of their site and a reciprocal link back to them. Some webmasters will be happy to add you to their blog roll even if you don't give them a link back (which is ideal) but some may want you to link back to them - you can easily do this with a quick blog entry on your blog about their website.

To learn more about inbound links and marketing your blog in general check out this post:

2008 NHL Playoff Awards - Round 1 posted by Paul Olsen

Let’s end the suspense- Nicklas Lidstrom has already won his sixth Norris Trophy, regardless of when it will be announced.  Through Round 1 of the 2008 NHL Playoffs, here are some lesser known awards:

The “thanks for showing up” award has to go to the Ottawa Senators.  Martin Gerber didn’t show up until the second period of Game 1, while the rest of the team waited until Game 2.  Every member of the team worked together to cycle in their mental vacations to ensure a consistent lack of consistency.  It will be interesting to see how much of this roster remains intact over the offseason. 

Humanitarian Award:  The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins came short of providing blueprints for knocking out a conference’s top seed, but each team scored enough to prove that no team in unbeatable.

Better Staal: Statwise, Marc wins with a tiebreaking +3, as each Stall has put home one goal thusfar.  While Jordan’s upside is just as significant, Marc has been arguably the best at his position for his team.  Of course, Jordan has world class competition at his center position, but few expected Marc to outperform veterans Paul Mara and Michal Rosival.

Honorable Mention:  A playoff award should not be affected by regular season play, but the Boston Bruins persisted through an adversity mired season, watched by Patrice Bergeron.  Marc Savard stepped in as the centerpiece of Beantown’s blue-collar Bears, who secured their playoff spot with a run bested only by Washington’s history making push.  Phil Kessel has emerged as a star, while Milan Lucic and David Kreici allow Claude Julien to cycle three playoff quality lines. 

Chris Chelios plays in record 248th NHL Playoff game posted by Brent Blaze

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/chris_chelios_plays_in_record.p

The defensemen is forty-six-years-old and still going strong. From AP-

DETROIT -- Chris Chelios was on the ice for his 248th playoff game, breaking the NHL record set by Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.

The defenseman played Saturday for the Detroit Red Wings against the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of the first-round series. He is making his 23rd postseason appearance, extending his own mark.

The 46-year-old Chelios became the second-oldest player in an NHL game earlier this season. Hall of Famer Gordie Howe was still skating at 52 for the Hartford Whalers during the 1979-80 season -- almost a decade after leaving the Red Wings.

Attorneys disagree on NHL's role in Predators' legal dispute (Yahoo Sports)

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From Yahoo Sports

P.K. Subban showing Nashville he knows how to make entrance (Yahoo Sports)

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From Yahoo Sports

Predators sign forwards Trevor Smith, Harry Zolnierczyk (Yahoo Sports)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Nashville Predators have signed forwards Trevor Smith to a two-year contract and Harry Zolnierczyk to a one-year deal. [read full article]

From Yahoo Sports

Busy Blues lose Backes, sign Perron, Hutton, extend Allen (Yahoo Sports)

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From Yahoo Sports

AP Source: NHL forwards Nystrom, Raymond placed on waivers (Yahoo Sports)

A person with direct knowledge of the moves tells The Associated Press that Nashville Predators forward Eric Nystrom and Calgary Flames forward Mason Raymond have been placed on waivers in order for their teams to buy out the remaining year of their contracts. Nystrom, a nine-year NHL veteran, had no goals and seven assists in 46 games last season. Raymond, a nine-year veteran, had four goals and an assist in 29 games last season. [read full article]

From Yahoo Sports