Thursday's notes: Perfect time for a party

Perhaps the timing couldn't be any better for the 3rd annual Petey's Preds Party, to benefit Peterson for Parkinson's and the Predators Foundation. After the events of the last week, this organization and its fans could use an opportunity to unwind.

Follow after the jump for all the scoop on tonight's affair, along with the usual exhaustive roundup of hockey news...

Nashville Predators News

Petey's Preds Party goes after Parkinson's - The Tennessean
Two big fundraisers have been combined this year, with tonight's "Petey's Preds Party" at Bridgestone Arena followed by the celebrity golf tournament tomorrow at Vanderbilt Legends Club.

Disease won't define Predators coach Brent Peterson - The Tennessean
Just because he won't be on the ice, that doesn't mean Brent Peterson is taking a back seat.

Nashville Predators Statement on the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Tragedy - NashvillePredators.com
Here you can find David Poile's statement expressing the grief felt throughout the organization over yesterday's disaster.

Statement from Team President Jon Greenberg - Milwaukee Admirals
Karlis Skrastins and Robert Dietrich both spent two seasons patrolling the Milwaukee blueline and will be missed by the organization.

Preds On The Glass: POTG Thursday Headlines, News and Links: We've Had Enough Already!
Buddy has your morning drunk elk update.

PredGold: How Long Does the Window Remain Open?
Defenestration might be in order within a couple years...

Smashville 24/7: Introducing ‘Smashville On The Glass’
Could this be the "chocolate meets peanut butter" of the Nashville podcast scene?

Do you need a welcome distraction from all the tragedy? Well, you can check in with the Ladies of the Preds calendar shoot, going on this week down in Florida:

Around the NHL

Good-bye Pavol, Good-bye Hockey - Hockey Rants
Back in the pre-lockout days, when Giants walked the hockey blogging Earth, Jes Golbez's "Hockey Rants" was a standard bearer, and Pavol Demitra was Jes's idol. I was wondering if we might hear from Jes after yesterday's tragedy, and here he posts an article for the first time in 3 years.

Tichonov: All teams should give players - Sports - Expressen.se
Run this one through your favorite Swedish-to-English translator, as Russian coaching legend Viktor Tikhonov advocates for a widespread contribution from the other teams in the KHL to help Lokomotiv move forward. Yesterday, I reviewed the NHL's plan for handling just such a scenario.

Greatest Hockey Legends.com: The Czechoslovakian Air Disaster of 1948
Joe Pelletier tells the tale of a mysterious air tragedy which claimed nearly half the Czechoslovakian national team.

Greatest Hockey Legends.com: Soviet Hockey Air Disaster of 1950
...and here's an accident which was pretty much swept under the rug during its time.

Let’s get this summer over and play hockey - All Things Avalanche
Adrian Dater voices a sentiment I think we can all agree with.

Brad McCrimmon: A plain-spoken guy with a heart of gold - The Globe and Mail
A rich profile of a hockey lifer. I remember McCrimmon as a veteran presence for Detroit in the early 90's, showing the way for guys like Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov on their way to NHL stardom.

Cory Stillman retiring for Panthers front office gig - Puck Daddy
The veteran sniper is hanging up the skates.

Video Game Reviews | RotoRob
Longtime hockey blogger Mike Chen provides a thorough review of EA Sports NHL 12.

The Dark Blue Jacket: Part II: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ
The Doug MacLean era, or "what any TV producer who wants to hire this guy as a studio analyst should have to read first".

Lowetide: The Tikk
Do the Preds have a "Tikk"?

Driving Play: Luck, Skill and Sample Size in Playoff Shooting Percentage
More evidence on how there is not much difference in ability for some teams to post a higher shooting percentage than others.