Tuesday's news: Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 19, 2010 7:48 AM EDT

The Calgary Flames come to town tonight, posing a serious challenge to our wounded Preds and their 3-0-1 record. Shouldn't the team have some kind of firefighting-related promotion tied to Calgary visits? Anyways, Chris has your Game Day Preview all lined up, and of course we've got your morning hockey news right here.

After the jump, we have two looks at the uncertainty surrounding Calgary's on-ice fortunes this season, a young Pred who has taken up the shameful habit of blogging (there ain't no future in it, kid, trust me), and word that Pekka Rinne's threads apparently have The Right Stuff...

Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames come to Smashville tonight, while Sidney Crosby & the Pittsburgh Penguins play here Thursday. Use this special offer for OtF readers to save money on Nashville Predators tickets for these, or any other home games this season.

Nashville Predators News

Marcel Goc and Tin Foil Hats | PredsBlog
Sam proposes the idea that Nicklas Backstrom's elfin appearance and demeanor may be why he hasn't drawn discipline from the league for his boarding of Marcel Goc. But don't discount the tin foil hat - that may be what protected him from a concussion... I'll bet Matthew Lombardi wishes HE was wearing one in Chicago last week.

Pekka Rinne jersey set to make historic journey - Nashville Predators Examiner
A #35 Preds sweater (not mine? *sniff*) is boldly going where no goalie's jersey has gone before (I presume)...

Cal O’Reilly Gets Some ESPN Love | PredsBlog
Sam highlights some fantasy hockey hype for O'Reilly.

The Sky Is SO Not Falling " Pull My (Fang)Finger
AJ notes that the depth we were all so excited about a few weeks ago is exactly what is carrying the Preds through these injury issues.

What The Puck: Your Morning Jed: Locker Room Re-do
Rachel highlights the Preds' video documenting the flood damage at Bridgestone Arena, and the work that went into rebuilding their dressing room.

Roussel Named to Team QMJHL for Super Series - Nashville Predators.com
Sure, he may have been suspended recently, but Charles-Olivier Roussel has been selected (again) to participate in a series that will pit QMJHL stars against a team of Russian junior prospects.

Wilson back to middle - Predators Insider
Colin Wilson is back centering Martin Erat and J.P. Dumont, and will have to mind things defensively.

Setting my scoring goal - Predators Insider
Colin Wilson also contributes a blog entry, and includes his offensive goals for the season.

Around the NHL

Has the window to win closed on Flames? - Elliotte Friedman
Elliotte's 30 Thoughts should be a staple of your weekly hockey reading.

Tanguay and Twitter – everybody’s talking about the Flames - The Globe and Mail
Nobody really knows how Calgary will shake out this season, but their ups and downs will draw plenty of attention.

Two Shots Is All He Needs: Blackhawks 3 - Blues 2 (OT) - Second City Hockey
The Blues let a 2-0 third period lead get away from them, losing the game to Chicago in overtime. What kind of team does that?

David Shoalts Strikes Back, Calls Coyote Fans Idiots on the Radio - Five For Howling
As a Phoenix Coyotes sale nears completion, Toronto reporter David Shoalts sounds increasingly batty.

Record Crowd For Outdoor Hockey Game - KuklasKorner
Man, I wish I could go back to Ann Arbor for this one. Over 105,000 tickets have been sold for Michigan vs. Michigan State on December 11.

Riled-up Richards punishes Wild for "unacceptable" effort vs. Jackets; Burns injured | StarTribune.com
Former Admirals coach Todd Richards is in a sorry situation in Minnesota, but he's doing what he can to get the Wild moving in the right direction. You've got to read this detailed account of a nasty, nasty practice.

Clean Up your Act, Madison Square Garden - Behind The Net
Shall we just exclude the Rangers from some of our advanced statistical analysis? Based on the job their official scorer is doing, you just might have to.

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Comments

4-0-1?

by rusherman on Oct 19, 2010 9:04 AM EDT reply actions

That's what I get for writing before having enough coffee in the morning!

Thanks…

On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 19, 2010 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

No no...

…I’ll take it. You have been pretty good with predictions. I’ll consider that a predicted record.

by rusherman on Oct 19, 2010 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions

I’d hope that 40 points for Colin Wilson is the floor this year, not his goal.

by Chris Burton on Oct 19, 2010 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

My inner nerd..

approves of the Tolkien headline. But I’d go Bradbury for the “firefighters” thing.

by DonBorvio on Oct 19, 2010 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

Calgary Ringwraiths?

A small matter, but ringwraiths are afraid of fire. A Balrog reference might have been better. But full props regardless!

by WestSideDrew on Oct 19, 2010 10:35 AM EDT reply actions

I apologize for my god-awful skillz in advance:

The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Alberta!

On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 19, 2010 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Tin Hats

Let’s not overlook the fact that the “tin hat” reference came from an OtF blogger apparently characterizing his own readers/respondents and that the insulting reference did not, in fact, reflect the views expressed in the thread. I highly recommend the author of ProgsBlog reread this entry from keepellisingoal:

No One Is Suggesting a Conspiracy Here….no one (and I just re-read this story and the comments) said this was a consiracy. the "theories" mentioned above aren’t a "conspiracy" but an effort to find an explanation why Hossa can dump Hammer into the boards, why Backstrom can dislocate Goc’s shoulder and both are done blindsided into the boards but nothing gets done about it. here’s why nothing is getting done: these are highly paid players pushing guys into the boards, and they play for flagship teams taking cheap shots at players who are not like them, playing for small market teams. What’s disfunctional about the NHL disciplinary process is the double standard that favors big market teams, and esp the high end salaried players on those teams. the above isn’t a conspiracy theory, just a theory. There are natural economic reasons for the NHL to do this: they are hesitant to set in motion having a high end player on a high profile team be on the brink of "repeat offender" status if they can avoid it; and for both reasons they seek to avoid it for high end players or key players on high profile teams. there are times when they cannot avoid it (see Ovechkin’s gratuitous kneeing of another player last season). its the difference btwn negligent driving and and a DUI accident for some famous kid of a well known celebrity. the cops can overlook the negligent driving for that person (when they wouldn’t for another person). The DUI accident is simply too hard to ignore. Should it be this way? Of course not, but until the NHL realizes they need to make a few more examples by evenly enforcing the rules (by treating rule breakers everytime like their name is Jordan Tootoo, regardless who they are), they’re going to have to continue to overlook incidents like what occured to Goc because players like Backstrom know they’re likely get away with it.

That summarizes the sentiments of many Predators fans, including this one.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Oct 19, 2010 10:49 AM EDT reply actions

Everyone check out ProgsBlog, where we discuss Progressive Rock 24/7

So you agree with me?Did you just read the title? No, I don’t think everyone who posted in that thread had one opinion, if that’s what you’re suggesting.

by Sam Page on Oct 19, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

I read this:

Unfortunately, the conversation in the comments has turned as to whether the NHL is perpetrating a deliberate conspiracy against the Predators.

I am suggesting that you are mistaken.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Oct 19, 2010 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

A part of the thread, maybe I should have clarified

but even the people who took the tempered approach seemed to be responding to a straw-man argument of there being a deliberate conspiracy, which is even reflected in your comment above.

by Sam Page on Oct 19, 2010 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Please reread

Let’s not overlook the fact that the "tin hat" reference came from an OtF blogger apparently characterizing his own readers/respondents

Dirk Hoag cited a series of egregious non-calls, which he correctly expanded from four to five, that indicate a definite pattern. TitanPredBearFan rightly concluded, “I would love to think all these no-calls are coincidence, but c’mon man…” keepellisingoal posited a logical explanation. None of these comments reflected the lunacy implied in the derogatory term “toil foil hat crowd.” As keepellisgoal observed: “Words like ‘conspiracy’ can be a tool to discourage or criticize a discussion without facts.” In this case, the facts are quite obvious.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Oct 19, 2010 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Guys, that's enough

You’re just chasing tails here. There’s a game to be played tonight…

On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 19, 2010 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

For $25.

Love it.

by rusherman on Oct 19, 2010 1:50 PM EDT reply actions

I second this notion, I’m driving up from Chattanooga w/ my younger brother for this one and we are hoping to get similar tickets. College nights are the single greatest promotion they offer.

by Joel Ward is my Homeboy on Oct 19, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions