There are lots of things that I love about playoff hockey.
And although I’m a little disappointed with all the nasty play and dirty hits and the lack of respect that some players *coughraffitorres* have shown for their fellow players, there is something about this time of year that makes my heart just fill up with joy and excitement.
I love that I acutally have the opportunity to watch teams that I otherwise never get to see. Like the Nashville Predators, for instance.
For years, I’ve been indifferent to them. I didn’t hate them, nor did I love them. They were just there. Existing in a Western Conference world that I just never visited.
I respect Barry Trotz and his loyalty immensely. I give props to the organization being patient and slowly building an organization and a team that can compete with the big dogs of the NHL. I makes me happy to see that the fans in Nashville have embraced this team and the sport of hockey.
The Preds have made the playoffs 7 out of their 13 years of exsitance and last year, they even won their 1st ever playoffs series, defeating the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. Also that season, they had 16 regular season sell-outs and 6 sell-outs during the playoffs.
Well played, Music City.
We love hockey almost as much as we love country music!
Well, last night, I had the chance to watch the Preds take on the Wings in game 3 of their series. Although the Preds are seeded #4 to the Wings’ #5, you know this is going to be a tough series, but I’m really liking the Preds chances in this one.
Pekka Rinne is a freak of nature a la Zdeno Chara and should not be as atlethic and quick as he is.
He is 6’5″! He’s a goalie! It boggles the mind.
So very tall.
Martin Erat is playing well. Paul Gaustad and David Legwand are well over 50% in face-off wins. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are doing a great job of shutting down Zetterberg, Datsyuk and all the other offensive talent that the Wings have. They are arguably one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL. (Chara & Seidenberg are the best. Sorry, I’m biased)
They have some great young players, especially Gabriel Bourque, who scored this beaut last night.
KNEE DROP. SNIPE.
It also helps that the Predators have two Boston University Terriers on their roster – Brandon Yip and Foxy Friday honoree, Colin Wilson. As a tried and true Terrier, my blood runs scarlet and white and seeing two very talented former college players from my alma mater get the chance to play in the NHL makes me appreciate this team even more.
So for the remainder of their playoff run, I’ll be rooting for the blue and gold, much to Gator’s dismay. She’s already mad at me because of the Bruins/Caps series and now this one, too.
What can I say? I’m digging the Predators.
Perhaps I’ll have to invest in NHL Center Ice next year, after all….
No, no. Thank YOU.
Pekka Rinne = Eric Northman. FACT. So Nordic. LOVE.
I also appreciate the Preds. As long as they are not beating the Blackhawks. I also enjoy imagining the “Real Housewives”-style bitchery that happens betwixt Carrie Underwood-Fisher and the other WAGs.
So nordic but decidedly less scary. Pekka doesn’t look like he wants to eat me.
You’re making me sad I let my husband have the TV Tuesday night. I actually have only seen about one period of this series but I have lots of love for Nashville and Barry Trotz’s Captain Picard hair. So much better than his previous combover/dark dye job.
If you live in a southern non-hockey market, even here in Dallas with the Stars, you pretty much have to pony up for Center Ice. This season I got GameCenterLive, thinking I could watch on TV with the Roku AS THEY SAID YOU COULD, but I missed a lot of games due to the mind-blowing slowness of the feed. It was like trying to watch a video online in 1998. Buffering! It wasn’t our Internet connection either, because Netflix streaming worked fine. It was madly frustrating. I ended up watching most of the games at my desk on my 13-inch laptop, which is not what I paid $200 for. I haven’t read many experiences like this, but I won’t pay for it again until they do some serious, serious improvements to the streaming quality.
I had the same problems with GameCenter on the Roku. I stopped my subscription within the 4 days you get to cancel when you begin it. I called their support number who was manned by a nice guy, but said there wasn’t anything he could do to fix the problem. He said the Roku was their most stable service but because iit’s such a basic device, there isn’t any troubleshooting for it. I have no problems watching live games on my MLS Live app, so this is strictly a GameCenter thing. I wound up buying Center Ice through my cable company which sucked because I didn’t get to choose which feed I wanted to watch, watch highlights or old games. And yet it was the same price. Grr.
But I just wanted to confirm it wasn’t your internet connection, your Roku or any other variables. I would suggest trying it again next season, because it’s a great service, but remember you do have a few days to cancel it if it’s crappy again.
Even though I am not in Nashville, this is MY team! Thank you for giving them the props they deserve! I’m a fish out of water being a die hard hockey nut in Utah but I keep up with my guys via Center Ice. Tonight’s game will be a fun one to watch!
Your blog is fun and informative, keep up the good work!
Go Pekks!
Thanks Lori! Keep reading!
Unfortunately, we don’t watch nearly as must Western Conference as we should, but we try.
Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day…
I love the Preds love from way up here in Boston!! I’m up here for school, and do many people give me funny looks where they great I’m a Predators fan… it’s always nice to see someone who has come to appreciate them even though they don’t watch them play often. Great post!
Wow, doing this via mobile… sorry for all the spelling and word errors.
Better late than never!!! 🙂 I adore this team for a lot of reasons. I highly recommend visiting Nashville and going to a game because there really is nothing like seeing a game at Bridgestone. I can’t begin to describe it. They’ve got their own thing going and while it’s obviously not an “Original Six” vibe, it’s just as worthy and I love that they’ve forged their own identity without being righteous about it. A special team in a special city. It’s crazy easy to like this team if you pay attention. Some teams make it tougher for you to root for them if you’re not a homer.
I quit being a homer when my team was taken away from me many moons ago. There’s something very liberating about it!
I’m a displaced “Smashvillian” and now in Northern VA. There is NOTHING like hockey night in Nashville! Highly recommend it and as long as you are a good natured traveling fan, the worst thing that is going to happen to you is a set of bruised ribs…..from all the hugging. The place is electric.
Your site is a ton of fun and love the postings. Be good, y’all and LET’S GO PREDS!! Who’s next?!!!!!