Friday's notes: Preds fans enjoy shootout win

While many are just happy to see the Nashville Predators assure themselves a playoff spot this spring, their play of late has them contending for more than just an 8th-place finish in the West. On the heels of last night's shootout win over Phoenix, Nashville is now 8-2 in their last 10 games, keeping pressure on the teams immediately behind them, which all have games in hand.

After the jump we have reaction to last night's game, video of another unfortunate head hit on Florida's David Booth, and a whole lot more...

Predators News

Dan Hamhuis Talks About Nashville's Strong Defensive Play -- NHL FanHouse
Adam Gretz presents some interesting data which appears to show the Predators as doing a good job at keeping opposing shooters out of dangerous scoring areas.

Preds On The Glass: Game Recap: Predators Beat Coyotes 4-3 in Shoot Out
Buddy's got the video from Barry Trotz's post-game press conference, which was a treat. You don't normally see him crack a smile but he couldn't help it.

The View from 111: Predators Beat Their Mirror Image, Down Coyotes 4-3
It's nice to earn two points, yet still come away with things the team needs to work on. #1 holding a 3rd-period lead, and #2 creating shots on the PP.

See Puck City: Legwand Anvil Company Drops One On The Coyotes: Preds Win 4-3 In Shoot-Out
SPC digs Goc's play, and wonders how much it will take to re-sign him. I'm going to guess $775,000...

What The Puck: 3/25/10 - Phoenix at Nashville: W 3-4 SO
Rachel gives us a hockey photography lesson - no more close-ups of Jerred Smithson stretching his groin. Got it...

Phoenix FINALLY Loses A Shootout As Preds Down the Yotes 4-3- Brandon Felder
Brandon gets Pekka Rinne's thoughts on how stopped shootout dynamo Adrian Aucoin.

Predators let late lead slip but rally to defeat Coyotes in shootout - Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamond got David Legwand's commentary on the shootout-winning goal he scored.

Predators don't seem to want to win easily - Nashville City Paper
David Boclair writes that the win may not have been pretty, but it certainly had an entertaining finish.

Around the NHL

Having Hart: Who deserves to win the NHL's MVP award? - Puck Daddy
It's time to consider the seasonal award winners. I chimed in on this question last week.

Puck Prospectus - The Toughest Jobs In The NHL
Tom Awad jumps off my Least Valuable Player post to examine which NHL players have had the toughest workload this season. He wonders why I didn't "adjust for anything" in that article, and that's because I was simply looking at GF/GA results, not making a comprehensive judgment on player ability (you wouldn't adjust for PP vs. EV ice time in deciding a scoring champion, you just tally the results).

Upper Deck Renews Hockey Card License
Upper Deck has extended its agreement with NHL and NHLPA in a multi-year deal, and will continue to produce hockey cards.

You Love This Shirt, It Says Everything You Want To Say: Hawks 3 - Jackets 359 - Second City Hockey
Wow did the Blackhawks get stomped last night. Click through to see a great photo which captures the reaction of the typical Chicago fan.

Coyotes Comeback, But Can't Close in the Shootout - Five For Howling
Coyotes fans were at least glad to see their team make a comeback and force overtime.

March 25, 1982: The double century - The Copper & Blue
Yesterday marked the anniversary of a mind-boggling feat - Wayne Gretzky hit 200 points in one season for the Oilers.

The Complete History of NHL Video Games | Gunaxin Sports
Awesome stuff here (hat tip to Puck Daddy). My journey with video game hockey starts with #2 on this list, for Intellivision back in the early 1980's.

2009-10 Hit Leaders - Behind The Net
Who's hitting whom? Hawerchuk has all the details.

With support growing, Donald Fehr favoured for NHLPA executive director job - NHL.com
After attending the annual player agents meetings, Donald Fehr is sounding more and more like the future head of the NHLPA. Is this a good or a bad thing? The players' union has been hamstrung for decades by poor decision-making, mostly by its executive committee. If Fehr does get the job, I'm hoping they at least go through the proper process to decide he's the guy.

Lastly, you have to feel for Florida's David Booth; after missing much of the season thanks to a concussion suffered on a Mike Richards hit, he gets knocked out of last night's game on a hard (but clean) shot from Montreal's Jaroslav Spacek. He was taken to the hospital, examined and should be able to rejoin the team: