Friday's notes: Preds ready for a spotlight game

As the Nashville Predators face off with the Red Wings tonight (6:30 p.m. Central on FS-TN), the eyes of the NHL will be watching to see if the Preds can put an end to the home-ice winning streak which has been the talk of the league lately. In fact, the NHL Network has picked up tonight's game, so fans around North America will get the chance to catch Smashville's best in action.

In this morning's hockey notes, it sounds like Nashville's captain is more than ready to take his shot...

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Nashville Predators News

Nashville’s Trade History: A Long Strange Trip – Part Three – 1999-2000 | PuckScene.com
Harken back to the Stewart Malgunas Era.

Smashville 24/7: What should be the Preds’ trade deadline approach?
The last sentence here is the moneymaker - "But if the Preds believe they are a Stanley Cup contender, and if this is the last go-round with both Shea Weber and Ryan Suter patrolling the defense, Poile has to strongly consider making an upgrade, and possibly overpaying a bit – if it’s out there."

Nashville Predators out to end Detroit Red Wings' home winning streak - The Tennessean
Shea Weber welcomes the challenge which tonight's game represents.

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

Morning Skate: Is This The End? - Winging It In Motown
Here's our opposite number's preview.

Red Wings' Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar get new roles with Henrik Zetterberg out | Detroit Free Press
A discussion on how injuries and callups will affect the Red Wings' lineup tonight.

Coldhearted on the Red Wings' win streak, looming trades, and the rest of the week in the NHL - Grantland
Katie Baker launches her weekly column with a look at the streak which the Preds hope to end tonight.

Agents of Change: Ritch Responds - The Day Glen Sather Punched Me
Ritch Winter shares an interesting story about what happens when tempers flare between an agent and a GM.

Trade! Philadelphia Flyers acquire Nicklas Grossman from Dallas Stars for two picks - Broad Street Hockey
It sounds like they're pretty happy with the new toy that Paul Holmgren got for Flyers fans.

Sharks acquire Dominic Moore and a 7th for a 2nd - Fear The Fin
The mood in San Jose also appears positive, keeping in mind that Moore will fill a depth role.

The Success of the Red Wings | Bobby Holik - Holik on Hockey
For those of you who heard Pete Weber's segment on 102.5 The Game this morning, here's the blog post he referred to about Detroit's two decades of dominance.

Jeff Skinner is Triangle's Sports Person of the Year - Canes Country
You know hockey is doing well in Carolina when a Hurricanes player beats out Mike Krzyzweski for a local honor.

In which people theorize of the return of the Dead Puck Era, and take pot shots at the Sedins - Nucks Misconduct
It's the drop in power play opportunities which is behind the goal-scoring decrease.

Pizzo’s Points: Will Iggy’s streak continue? | Backhand Shelf
Will Jarome Iginla hit the 30-goal mark yet again?

Jamie Benn leaves game with leg cut, listed as day to day and could play Sunday - The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Stars' top player was cut by a skate last night, but it sounds like he'll still face the Predators this weekend.

2012 NHL Trade Deadline: Utter Blasphemy (Or Why I'd Take Jeff Carter Over Rick Nash) - Matchsticks and Gasoline
A good hook here - "The popular opinion seems to be that Jeff Carter is a whiny baby quitter who's injury prone and signed to an awful contract while Rick Nash is an elite player who's worth the world. Nothing could be more wrong."

2012 NHL trade deadline - What makes Pavel Kubina expendable? - Raw Charge
They're ready to gift wrap Pavel Kubina in Tampa Bay, but not because they're down on him.

NHL will keep closer eye on arena clocks - latimes.com
The league washes its hands in the L.A. vs. Columbus affair, but enacts a few measures to help make sure it doesn't happen again.

Moore wins the first battle against Bertuzzi - Mile High Hockey
The long-running legal saga of Steve Moore vs. Todd Bertuzzi moves one step forward, and it doesn't sound good for Big Bert.

Party like it’s 1993: Seattle may make itself cool again with a $500 million multisport stadium | Backhand Shelf
The money is lining up to build Seattle a new arena, but actually getting it done and filling it with pro teams is a long ways off. A guy can hope, though.

Mikhail Grabovski Trade Rumors - Pension Plan Puppets
The thought of Toronto putting this guy on the market is really enticing, but you have to wonder if an old feud with Sergei Kostitsyn would rule out interest by Nashville.

Stu Hackel Week on Arctic Ice Hockey: Faceoff Specifics - "Stats the NHL Ought to Keep" - Arctic Ice Hockey
I've looked at this stuff before, but admittedly didn't examine the "enduring skill vs. variance" angle for things like zone-based performance or head-to-head matchups.

Turn The Page - Hawks 4, Rangers 2 - Second City Hockey
The Chicago Blackhawks finally ended their losing streak by beating the New York Rangers.

Phoenix Coyotes Shutout L.A. Kings to Move Into 7th - Five For Howling
The Blackhawks needed that win, because the Coyotes are right on their heels.

Blues handle business: take two points from the Islanders - St. Louis Game Time
St. Louis got back to winning, topping the Islanders on home ice.

Sharks own Lightning, lose in OT anyway - Fear The Fin
Oddly enough, the Sharks & Lightning played each other right after completing the Moore trade.

The Afterburners: The Winnipeg Jets Excel at the Xcel, Defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in a Shootout - Arctic Ice Hockey
A win here, a win there... the Jets are still hanging around that Eastern Conference playoff hunt.