Wednesday's notes: To be the man, you gotta beat the man in the NHL's Central Division

It's game night in Motown as the Nashville Predators prepare for battle against the Red Wings, who are once again King of the Hill in the Central Division. Can the Preds continue to scratch and claw their way back up through the ranks against their ancient rival? Remember to join us in the Game Thread for this 6:30 p.m. Central start.

And don't forget to enter the OTF Facebook Contest! Join our crew on Facebook, and you just might win a fleece hoodie from Easton Hockey just in time for all this cold weather.

In this morning's hockey notes, we have rumors of another expedition of Predators fans into an enemy arena, a look at the implications of David Legwand's return on the Nashville lineup, and analysis of what is hoped to be a reliable scoring line between Sergei Kostitsyn, Marcel Goc, and Martin Erat...

The Preds' next home game is Saturday vs. Tomas Vokoun, Mike Santorelli, and the rest of the Florida Panthers,  so take the OtF discount and save $8-24 each on your Nashville Predators tickets. Remember, Preds tickets can make a great holiday gift, so you can also look through the schedule, and buy tickets for any other home game!

Nashville Predators News

Hockey Night in Nashville: Pep Talk
Robby is getting his bile worked up for tonight's game... maybe he can record this and have it played in the locker room before the Preds hit the ice?

Atlanta Needs a Cellblock " Hockey-Tonk Angels
Rachel shares her perspective on Monday's road trip to the Thrashers game.

Join the 303 Road Trip to St. Louis on 4/9! | Section 303
Drunk with power after having launched a successful assault on Atlanta, Patten plans an invasion of Blues territory.

Kids Come First in Smashville! (Part One) | The Hockey Writers
Jas puts the spotlight on some of the good deeds the Preds do off the ice, particularly related to kids.

Preds On The Glass: Predators Seek Atonement In Detroit and Wednesday Wrap-Up
Buddy's got all his notes from around the web, along with his game preview.

Paul McCann - Game Night... and Remembering John
Paul has a look ahead to tonight, and a look back to 30 years ago.

If Legwand plays ... | Predators Insider
David Legwand's potential return means someone else watches from the press box... but who?

Kostitsyn catches on to Predators' way of doing things - Nashville City Paper
David Boclair sees the 20-shift mark as a milestone that validates the trust that Barry Trotz is now placing in SK74.

Nashville Predators' European line bonds easily - The Tennessean
Yup, those Euros sure like to play together. 

Nashville Predators work to match Detroit Red Wings' success - The Tennessean
It's amazing to consider the Red Wings' long run as a championship contender. What are the Predators going to have to do finally win a Central Division title over Detroit? Let's turn to the thoughts of a great American philosopher:

To keep up with all of our coverage of the Nashville Predators, you can follow us on Twitter (@Forechecker, @predatweeter, @SLakePreds & @AdsRoundtable) and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at the.forechecker@gmail.com.

Around the NHL

Morning Skate: Let's try that again - Winging It In Motown
SB Nation's Red Wings blog looks ahead to tonight's game.

Forget the JumboTron -- Startup YinzCam Gives Fans Control Over Replays - Mashable.com
Pittsburgh's innovative in-arena video system gets some pup in one of the leading tech & social media blogs, but for some reason when they post screen-shots, they're from a football game. Boooo....

DJ Steve Porter remixes HNIC - CBC.ca
Whoa boy, this Saturday night should be really interesting...

DIRE STRAITS ON LONG ISLAND – Is The Latest News Reason To Hit Panic Button?| Hockey Independent
A pack of Islanders bloggers discuss the state of that franchise. The sky isn't falling in Long Island, it's fallen.

Islanders Fan Throws His Tickets In the River - Blueshirt Banter
...I rest my case.

Lowetide: Horcoff Hurt
The Oilers, already struggling along in last place, have now lost two key players in recent days to injury. This time it's their captain, Shawn Horcoff.

Jones making most of Hemsky's absence - NHL.com
Injury has opened an opportunity for former Predator Ryan Jones on a scoring line in Edmonton.

Alex Tanguay is critical of how he was handled last season by Tampa Bay Lightning | Lightning Strikes
Alex Tanguay probably couldn't have gotten much farther away from Tampa by signing with Calgary this summer, and it sounds like he prefers it that way.

Call Off the Ove-geddon: The Washington Capitals and Ovechkin Usage - Behind The Net
Is Alex Ovechkin having an off-year?

Presentation On MSM/Toronto Sun and PPP At Rutgers University - Pension Plan Puppets
An SB Nation contributor uses the kerfuffle between Pension Plan Puppets and the Toronto Sun as the basis for a scholarly project on mass media.

Down Goes Brown: A hockey fan's guide to modern TV technology
Just in time for the first 3D Hockey Night In Canada broadcast...

NHL team grades: Where all 30 clubs stand after the first quarter of the 2010-11 season - ESPN
I wonder how much Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun have actually watched the Preds this season. Any discussion of their performance which doesn't note all the injury troubles the team has had to cope with seems ill-informed.