Friday's news: Preds celebrate a win, but have busy days ahead

The home opener was certainly entertaining last night as the Predators fell behind, thought they had tied it only to have the refs deny the score, only to have them pull off a dramatic comeback before a rabid crowd. For your host of recaps, check out Preds On The Glass, See Pucky City, Brandon Felder at Hockeybuzz, Section 303, and What the Puck. Of course, the boys can't rest on their laurels, as the Buffalo Sabres come town on Saturday, and Edmonton follows them on Monday.

I'll have further analysis later on today regarding the big win, but until then, let's get to your morning dose of Predators and NHL news...

Predators News

Ellis staying the course in Predators' goal - The Tennessean
David Climer offers up a rare hockey column, crediting Dan Ellis for not playing second fiddle to Pekka Rinne and providing a strong start to the season.

Thursday night forecast calls for hair - Predators Insider
John Glennon notes a great change made by the Preds this season; allowing players to go helmetless during the pre-game skate, a nice way for fans to get a better look at them. I wonder if we'll see a Best Mullet competition blossom this season?

Hornqvist contributions critical - Predators Insider
Glennon also echoes many of the concerns that I have right now (and will get into later); the lack of production from Legwand and Erat, the banishment of Ryan Jones to 4th-line status, and poor special teams play.

Gospel of Hockey: Avalanche v. Predators - Scoring Chances #3
An analysis of the scoring chances generated in last night's game, and who was on the ice for each of them.

Weekend Update And Goalie Move - Admirals Short Shifts
Jeremy Smith heads off to Cincinnati, to relieve the 3-goalie logjam in Milwaukee.

Around the NHL

Edmonton - Calgary Post-Game: Even When We Win, We Lose - The Copper & Blue
The Edmonton Oilers (who come into town on Monday) lost in a shootout to Calgary, and there more than a few reasons for discontent...

Chris Chelios to skate with AHL's Wolves - Detroit Free Press
Chris Chelios goes from Nashville's greatest rival to Milwaukee's greatest rival, the Chicago Wolves.

Gaborik steals show from Ovechkin - The Battle of New York
They're giddy in Manhattan, after Marian Gaborik scored twice and the Rangers kept Alex Ovechkin off the board.

Did Flyers' Scott Hartnell Bite Penguins' Kris Letang? - SB Nation
Do the Flyers not serve enough at their pre-game meal? The one-time Predator is accused of dining on Penguin during last night's action.

Blues honour MacInnis with statue - The Globe and Mail
One of the hardest shooters in NHL history, Al MacInnis, will be honored with a statue outside St. Louis' Scottrade Center, a fitting tribute to an all-time great.

Frequently Asked Questions #3: What is a Corsi Number? - Behind The Net
So what's a "Corsi Number" and why is it so important in hockey? Behind the Net explains.

Frequently Asked Questions #4: Zone Starts (aka Offensive-to-Defensive Face-off Ratio) - Behind The Net
Here's another hockey stats how-to you should all read.

Canucks fans voted most annoying in NHL - The Globe and Mail
So Vancouver fans were voted the most hostile in the NHL? What do they have to get so worked up about, have you ever been to Vancouver? It's a great city...

Brad Staubitz Gets One Game Suspension - KuklasKorner
I'm sure no Preds fan will shed a tear over San Jose's Brad Staubitz getting suspended...

How Cap Geek turned salary pains into puckhead amusement - Puck Daddy
Greg Wyshynski interviews Matthew Wuest, the guy behind the very useful CapGeek.com. While the site provides wonderful information, the design is terribly unfriendly, as it features ads situated deliberately close to the buttons and drop-down boxes, making it all too easy for users to mistakenly click them. Booo... hiss....

Puck Daddy's 2009-10 NHL line combo rankings - Puck Daddy
This should be a very interesting line of analysis to follow throughout the season, but at this point we've only got a few games to work with, so I don't think it says very much.

Does Access Kill Blogging Creativity? " Puck The Media
Steve Lepore addresses the interesting question of what credentialed access actually does for hockey bloggers, and their readers.

May signed, Abdelkader to GR - The Macomb Daily Blogs
A bit of a head-scratcher as Detroit signs 37-year-old Brad May to play with the Wings, while they send Justin Abdelkader down to the minors. I guess they needed to keep their geezer quotient up after cutting Chris Chelios loose?