Wednesday's notes: Top o' the morning in Nashville

Despite the horrid officiating, perhaps the bagpiper and green warmup jerseys brought a little "luck of the Irish" to the Predators last night, as they pulled out two points against a Philadelphia team that dominated most of the game.

Either way, the Preds will take that victory and look ahead to the next game, and a chance to not just put some room between themselves and Detroit, but perhaps make a run at climbing higher in the Western Conference standings as well.

The Predators have two home games remaining this week, Thursday vs. the Minnesota Wild, and Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. For cheap tickets to these, or any other Nashville Predators home game, follow this link and use the special offer code "PREDS".

After the jump, we have a host of reaction to last night's win, retrospectives on two significant St. Patrick's Days in the NHL several decades ago, and word that two franchises might (read... might) be up for sale).

Predators News

What The Puck: Philadelphia at Nashville - W 3-4 SO
Rachel brings up a good point that I overlook last night; the Preds had 3 sticks break during play last night, each when a player was winding up for a good shot on net. I know guys love the new sticks, but they seem to snap like twigs an awful lot.

See Puck City: Preds Send Flyers Back To The City Of Brotherly Refs...er...Love With A Shoot-Out Loss: 4-3
SPC... going for the title of Poet Laureate for the Nashville Predators?

Preds On The Glass: Game Recap: Predators Defeat Flyers 4-3 In Shootout
Buddy's recap has your postgame audio from Barry Trotz and both team dressing rooms.

Preds Pek Away A 4-3 Shootout Win Over The Flyers - Brandon Felder
Brandon gives full marks to Pekka Rinne, and scolds Dan Hamhuis for his delay of game penalty in the 3rd period.

Predators line up another victory in return to home ice - Nashville City Paper
David Boclair credits the new lines Barry Trotz put together last week for the team's balanced offensive output lately.

The View from 111: Predators Win Ugly, Gound Flyers 4-3
Two points is two points, ugly or not. But the Preds do need to play better than they did last night....

Puck Daddy's 2010 NHL Beer Cost Matrix, Version 1.0
Nashville finishes in the middle of the pack on this survey of beer prices and availability. Note the eminent contributor to Puck Daddy's spreadsheet from Nashville... my only question is how he lugs those beers all the way up to the top of Section 303 without spilling!

Around the NHL

Report says Hawks and Thrashers may both be for sale | Jeff Schultz
Whoa boy, get the Canadian media fired up! Really, though, this is very premature. The money quote is that unspecified sports bankers believe that some teams are "thought to be for sale", including 4 NBA teams, and the Thrashers and Blue Jackets in the NHL. This sounds awfully fluffy to be trumpeting.

Ryan Miller deserves MVP recognition - ProHockeyTalk
Brandon Worley wonders where the Buffalo goaltenders fits into my MVP discussion from yesterday. I'll see if I can get to that this afternoon.

Official Word on Campbell’s Condition - Hockey Independent
It looks like the Blackhawks will miss Brian Campbell through at least the first round of the playoffs. Do they become the preferred opponent as compared to San Jose and Vancouver?

Todd McLellan adds a 10 a.m. practice to Sharks’ schedule after that 8-2 debacle in Dallas | Working the Corners
The San Jose Sharks got punked last night in Dallas, so the coach kept them in town for an extra practice this morning. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

The Rocket Richard Riot: 55 Years Later - Habs Eyes On The Prize
And you think Caps fans are getting fussy over Ovechkin's two-game suspension? Take a look back at Montreal in 1955...

Greatest Hockey Legends.com: Luck Of The Irish
Joe Pelletier shares the story of a unique St. Patrick's day in NHL history...

Lastly, and also in celebration of St. Patty's Day, a little beer pr0n (hat tip to On Frozen Blog):

Gotta get me a Guinness!