Red Wings - Predators Tonight

Detroit comes to Nashville night for another key game in the Predators drive for a playoff spot; this isn't a game that one would bank on the Predators winning, but after devastating losses to L.A. and Washington over the last week, there's precious little room for error left.

Barry Trotz has challenged his top line of Radulov/Arnott/Dumont to carry the team on their collective backs again, but to be honest, that's difficult when offensive support is few and far between. The lackluster play of late only underscores David Legwand's importance to the team. The key to victory is to come out and simply outwork the Red Wings; no mean feat, to be sure, but desperate teams need to play like their season is on the line (because, duh, IT IS) against more talented opponents.

I don't have time to post a full-scale preview, so I'd recommend checking On the Wings and Pred Joe for their insight. I'll be at the game tonight, however, and should have some thoughts tomorrow.

I'll leave you with two quick notes:

1) The new computer arrived yesterday, so hopefully I'll get back to full-scale number crunching next week (I've got in-laws visiting this weekend).

2) Thursdays are starting to get under my skin. Last Thursday I lost my job, today I found out my dog has cancer.