Kukla's Korner

On the Forecheck

Next entry: Sullivan’s Hope

Previous entry: Boots, the big bucks Puckbuddy

Predators and Blue Jackets split the pair

After failing to show up on the scoresheet during the first 5 games of the season, David Legwand finally made an impact in Saturday night’s 6-3 romp over Columbus, scoring the first goal by tipping a Shea Weber shot.  There were still some troubling defensive gaffes, but seeing the whole gang chip in to score a six-pack goes a long way to address concerns that Jason Arnott’s absence would leave the team desperate for goals.  In fact, this team which is built around the “scoring by committee” theory happens to have the most goal-scorers in the NHL (14 different players), tied with Colorado.

While it’s great to see role players like Joel Ward and Rich Peverley score, however, it’s the performance of Nashville’s rising star, Shea Weber, that should make the rest of the league sit up and take notice.  Big #6 scored his 3rd goal on the young season, added 3 assists, and notched a +5 rating in 21:06 of ice time.  At this point Weber leads the team in scoring, and will get his chance to impress the Canadian media this Thursday when the Calgary Flames come to town.

Let’s go to the highlights…

So what to make of this home-and-home split with the Blue Jackets?  It would have been nice to kick Columbus down the stairs and keep them in the Central Division basement, but instead we’re left with a less decisive result; these are two teams which boast some exciting talent, but are also a long ways from playing their best hockey.  Despite each team winning on home ice, I’m guessing both Barry Trotz and Ken Hitchcock can’t be happy about seeing so many dangerous scoring chances allowed, even in victory.

Having played 6 games already, Nashville’s coaches will have plenty of material to identify habits which need to be corrected.  Fortunately for them, the team has until Thursday to sort things out in practice, with just home games against the Flames and Kings on tap this week.  I’m guessing these skates will also present an opportunity for either Kevin Klein or Ville Koistinen to earn some marginal playing time; neither has especially impressed Barry Trotz with their work so far.

Up front, there may be some battles brewing for ice time as well.  Nick Tarnasky, acquired from Tampa Bay late in the preseason, is due to make his Predators debut soon, and Jason Arnott might be able to return to action with some form of protection for his broken finger.  The question then becomes, which depth forwards might be relegated to the press box?

One possibility might be Ryan Jones; not necessarily due to poor play on his part, but Trotz has consistently pointed out that dealing with the NHL schedule will be a major challenge for the former NCAA star, so occasional scratches may well be part of the plan for him.

With four of the next five games on home ice, the next two weeks will be important in terms of generating some chemistry between players and consistency in team play.  Starting November 4 the team goes on a six-game West Coast road trip that will go a long way towards establishing whether the Predators are Western Conference contenders.

By the way, has anybody else noticed that Preds broadcaster Pete Weber appears to be bitten by the hockey statistics bug?  I’ve noticed in recent games that he talks quite a bit about “total shots” (when applied to individuals, it’s often called the “Corsi number”), which adds Shots on Goal to Missed Shots and Blocked Shots Against to reflect the total number of times a shot is attempted, which, when compared with the opponent’s data, can help provide a more thorough description of which team is carrying the play.  Kudos to Pete & crew for adding a fresh angle to the game presentation.

Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
 Tags: Ryan+Jones, Shea+Weber,

Comments

pwnicholson's avatar

I haven’t listened to Pete and Terry yet this year (don’t have cable) but i have to say i love Tom Callahan and his calls. Pete and Terry on the radio were just poor (sorry, i felt like all i got were highlights, the game wasn’t called well in the simulcast) and even Eli Gold was just so-so to me. Tom Callahan is like the old days of listening to my Spurs on the radio with Jay Howard or Bill Schoening. I feel like i can see the game in my head much more, right down to the “from left to right across the rink in your head” descriptions. He is also much more of a hockey guy, though used to non-traditional hockey markets (where Eli was a hockey guy decades ago had clearly moved on). Major improvement in my book!

Posted by pwnicholson from Nashville, TN on 10/20/08 at 12:16 AM ET

Add a Comment

Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.

Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.

Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Feed

Most Recent Blog Posts

About Kukla’s Korner

Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet.  We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.

The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here.  For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.

image
image




Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!

When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.

Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.

Free Bet

As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.

 

image

 

high yield savings account

Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.

 




 


Enter the maximum amount you want to pay each month
$ USD
You will pay at least $1.00USD
Sign up for

Another way to help KK