Get Your Game On

As we count down the final hours to faceoff for Game One, a few thoughts:

1) If you're watching the game from home, make yourself useful during the intermission and either call your favorite Metro Councilman at 615-862-6780, or email them using this directory to urge them to get moving on approval for the updated Sommet Center lease. This drama has dragged itself out far too long, and these folks need to step up and do the right thing.

2) Reports on the radio indicated that David Legwand participated in practice today, and may be able to return to action quite soon. I can't say I'm surprised, as I saw him last weekend pushing a cartload of stuff around the local Costco, wearing a boot to protect his injured foot. It was funny, actually - I was working my way through the store with the Mrs. and the Little Forecheckers, and when I got to the checkout, #11 was right in front of me paying his bill.

3) For Detroit, it looks like Brad Stuart, Tomas Holmstrom, and Mikael Samuelsson are all back in the lineup tonight, according to the Detroit Free Press' Helene St. James.

4) To get the Red Wings perspective from around the blogosphere, check out Abel to Yzerman (warning: high sarcasm content), Behind the Jersey, and Gorilla Crouch, among others.

5) Since I grew up in the Detroit area and followed the Red Wings from the NHL basement to those championship teams of the late 90's, I'm facing a true moral dilemma. I'm sure there's a Man Law about never cheering against the sports team from your childhood, but I'm genuinely torn here. Even before moving to Tennessee in 2005 I've always respected the Predators and enjoyed watching their steady progress. Up close as a partial season ticket holder this year, however, I've been struck by the character and fortitude of this group, and the openness and humility of the organization in general. Plus, this playoff means so much more to Nashville than it does Detroit. Face it, the Red Wings have been a top Stanley Cup contender pretty much every season going back nearly 20 years. This playoff doesn't have any more or less significance for them than last year, or the year before. For Nashville, however, this represents an opportunity to accomplish new milestones, and particularly with all the ownership drama and the infamous salary purge, postseason success would make this a season to remember.

There, that was easier than I thought.

Go Preds; I'm calling for them to win in 6.