Official Nashville Predators Thread

#601
#601
UTvol1fn said:
Those Pacific teams are hungry...give me 4th and home ice.

Plus the travel out west is not always ideal.
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Pretty well waxed a Pacific team last year, and it appears that if the Predators are in the position to play another one this year, it will be a lower quality opponent. The Predators are also a much better team. The 4 or 5 is still ideal, as it would likely mean a matchup with an ailing Detroit or a Chicago team that the Preds have dominated all season in the first round, and a a second round matchup with Vancouver or St. Louis, both of whom the Preds have also managed to play very well against all season.

It's unfortunate that they punted the Edmonton and Pittsburgh games and dropped a point in the Kings matchup. Get 3 more points out of those games and the division is still winnable.
 
#602
#602
Radulov has made this team so much better. He creates scoring chances almost every time he's on the ice. If we play consistent team defense, Rinne is on his game, and we convert our scoring chances I think we win the west. If we fielded this team the whole year, I think we are first or 2nd in the league in points. We just have to have it all come together at the right time.
 
#603
#603
That Legwand line has been super productive since Radulov was added. He just seems to always make the right play with the puck in space.
 
#604
#604
OrangeWilly said:
That Legwand line has been super productive since Radulov was added. He just seems to always make the right play with the puck in space.
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In two of the three games he has played, Radulov has been the best player on the ice for either team, in my opinion. He has been incredibly active, better defensively than I expected, and created scoring chances on nearly every shift. He certainly looks like the missing piece, and effectively gives this team a 1a and 1b line.

When Wilson and Erat are back, that gives you a third line of Wilson, Smith, AK (or Erat if you want to split up the top line). That's more offensive talent than pretty much any other 3rd line. You can also move Halischuk around or stick him on the 4th line with Goose and Spaling and still have the ability to put some points on the board.
 
#605
#605
Bottom line, once Josi is back and the defensive corps is set up, this team is ridiculously talented and built for a playoff run.
 
#606
#606
Once healthy, here are my lines:

SK-Fish-Erat
Rads-Leg-Horn
AK-Spaling-Wilson
Bourque-Gaustad-Hali

Suter-Weber
Josi-Gill
Klein-Bouillon
 
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#607
#607
vol4eva said:
Once healthy, here are my lines:

SK-Fish-Erat
Rads-Leg-Horn
AK-Spaling-Wilson
Bourque-Gaustad-Hali

Suter-Weber
Josi-Gill
Klein-Bouillon
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Forgot about Bourque, he has been playing entirely too well to sit. Having too many forwards is a very good problem to have, but I just feel like there needs to be a spot for Smith. Yip and Tootoo should be scratched the rest of the year.
 
#608
#608
emainvol said:
Forgot about Bourque, he has been playing entirely too well to sit. Having too many forwards is a very good problem to have, but I just feel like there needs to be a spot for Smith. Yip and Tootoo should be scratched the rest of the year.
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I like Smith, but Bourque and Hali are playing very well right now. There's just nowhere to put Smith.
 
#609
#609
vol4eva said:
I like Smith, but Bourque and Hali are playing very well right now. There's just nowhere to put Smith.
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I agree that it is hard to find him a place when everyone is healthy, but he should absolutely be playing ahead of Tootoo and Yip.
 
#610
#610
Thrasher865 said:
Unfortunately, with the stupid way the NHL seeds for the playoffs, that would mean dropping to the 6th seed and giving up home ice. Would you give up home ice to be able to play Dallas instead of Detroit?

If the NHL seeded like the NBA, we would be in 3rd, only 3 points out of 2nd...
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I honestly would be very happy with the matchup regardless of losing home ice. I don't want it to happen, because it would mean we would be free-falling headed into the playoffs. That said, we match up better against Dallas IMO.
 
#611
#611
vol4eva said:
Radulov has made this team so much better. He creates scoring chances almost every time he's on the ice. If we play consistent team defense, Rinne is on his game, and we convert our scoring chances I think we win the west. If we fielded this team the whole year, I think we are first or 2nd in the league in points. We just have to have it all come together at the right time.
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100% agree.
 
#612
#612
Tootoo has run his course in the NHL imo...I don't see him as an asset to this team. I like him, but he's just not that good for his role on the ice.
 
#614
#614
We'll have basically have a 5th line scratched every night with Smith, Yip, and Tootoo with Ellis and Hillen. Gotta love that depth. I don't really think Smith has a spot anymore. He hasn't produced offensively in quite a while and other guys bring more on defense and toughness. Plus the experience factor. He'll be great for us in the future, but there's just not a spot for what he brings right now. That's a great problem to have.
 
#616
#616
Blues tonight? How many games are left? I've already assumed there's no way to catch them, but this would help if we could get a quick 2 points on them.
 
#617
#617
st louis and we have 6 games left counting tonight's

it's possible, but basically we need to win out and they need to lose...
 
#618
#618
Okay, yeah, we would essentially have to win out. And if we beat them tonight, they would only have to get 6 points to clinch the division.

So, we'll just hope to win to maintain our battle for the 4 seed. The game Friday is going to be HUGE. WHY couldn't it be in Nashville? :(

The game Saturday is going to be big, as well. Although, as stated before, if we're not getting home ice in round one, I'd rather be the 6th seed than the 5th. I just hope we don't stay in the 5th. Up or down 1 spot.
 
#619
#619
Tuesday – Nashville can clinch a playoff spot with a win or overtime/shootout point at St .Louis; With a win in regulation or overtime, Nashville would clinch no worse than the No. 6 seed in the Conference.
 
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#622
#622
Big game tonight....It doesn't help that Detroit has a home an home with Columbus this week. That makes it difficult to keep pace.
 
#623
#623
maybe Columbus will pull off the upset tomorrow....

it has been clear that we have the toughest schedule in the league, even if it is just by a small margin.
 
#625
#625
UTvol1fn said:
Tootoo has run his course in the NHL imo...I don't see him as an asset to this team. I like him, but he's just not that good for his role on the ice.
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He shattered his career high in points this year. He has become a great
passer, and every team needs an
enforcer to protect the players. He needs
to be on the roster IMO.

Also, he is a fan favorite. Would be a bad move to get rid of him. He provides a spark, and is great at drawing penalties.
 
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