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Watch out, he’s got a Coach!

Tonight in Dallas the Predators and Stars have a rematch from Saturday night, when Nashville topped Dallas 3-1 in a rough game that saw Dan Hamhuis and Sean Avery ejected in the first period for engaging in a secondary fight, which Avery appears to have started:

Hamhuis said he was standing alone at the point while a scrap took place next to the net. Then Stars winger Sean Avery hit him across the back of the legs “for no reason” and suckerpunched him. Hamhuis said he stood up for himself by fighting back but said it was a “very, very cheap play.”

Hamhuis better watch out; at home in Dallas, Avery might actually come at him straight on, and bring a designer purse to hit him with…

Both the Predators and Stars will be without key components, as Nashville’s Jason Arnott sits with a broken finger and Dallas goes without Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen is doubtful.  On the positive side for the Stars, they expect Fabian Brunnstrom to make his NHL debut.

With Arnott out of the lineup, expect Radek Bonk to assume some duty at center, while Nashville relies heavily on David Legwand and Martin Erat to step up offensively.  Both players were signed to long-term contract extensions and are viewed as key cogs to the Predator attack, but have failed so far to score.  The defense has been picking up some of that slack, notching four goals in the first three games (Weber 2, Suter, and Klein), and Dan Ellis has been reliable in net.  So far, in fact, I’d say each game has looked better than the last for Ellis this season.

Another possible lineup change could involve Ryan Jones; with either Bonk or Rich Peverley moving over to play center, an opportunity opens up for Jones on the wing, and having not played since Friday, he’ll surely be eager to make an impact.  Given the way that Nashville’s been driving hard to the net early on (particularly Jordin Tootoo and Scott Nichol), that would appear to fit Jones’ style of play.  The question will be whether he can keep up the high tempo of NHL action, which is well above what he experienced at the NCAA level last season.

Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
 Tags: Ryan+Jones, Sean+Avery,

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About On the Forecheck

Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats and analysis.  Having started over 10 years ago writing for websites like In the Crease and e-Sports, Dirk launched On The Forecheck in 2005 to cover the Nashville Predators as well as apply statistical analysis to NHL hockey. 

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