Five-Hole Friday: Dance, Dance

Winter Classic Officially Announced

The NHL held a press conference on Wednesday to “officially” announce the Winter Classic to be held at the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 2020.

Tickets will go on sale on April 23rd. The jerseys won’t be officially unveiled until the fall, but we can expect some cool sweaters for both the Predators and the Stars.

You can check out the official announcement here.

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds scored his first goal for the Nashville Predators on Tuesday evening against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Left exposed on Frederik Andersen’s stick-side, Simmonds was fed a rangy pass from Ryan Ellis and slammed the puck home.

He later told reporters he’d felt like he would never score again. His celebration was perfect. The Wayne Train is here, folks.

Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee

This week, three-year old Asher Collier was signed to a 2-day contract with the Nashville Predators. The youngster suffers from cerebral palsy and short bowel syndrome. It was a dream of his to hang out with the Predators, and once again, the organization finds a way to give back to the community.

The newest member of the “JoFA” line was able to attend a practice with the Predators and shoot some pucks with his favorite players. He was also in a team picture and got to hang out in the locker room with the team.

Young Asher led the Predators to the ice on Tuesday evening with superstar Pekka Rinne. Rinne, the 6’ 5” Vezina winning goaltender, held Asher’s hand as they marched toward the ice. More than a few of us were a bit teary after that.

The Predators posted an article and video about Asher here. Asher’s dad, Colby, posted some incredible helmet camera footage from the practice with the Predators here. I’m sure Asher was so excited to play some hockey with his heroes.

Nashville Predators Save of the Week

The honors this week (once again) go to the elder Finnish netminder Pekka Rinne. He stoned the Leafs on Tuesday for his 55th career shutout, the most by any Finnish NHL goalie.

The 36-year old Rinne manages to swing his leg up to close himself in on this bouncing puck. I don’t even know how he manages to do this regularly. I’d probably break a hip.

Hockey’s Big Dance

It’s almost playoff time, folks.

Right now, the Predators are holding onto second place in the Central Division. Their most likely first round opponents are the Blues or the Stars.

Nashville hasn’t fared well against the Blues this season, losing 4 of 5 contests. They’ve done a bit better against Dallas, taking 3 of 5 wins. St. Louis’s resurgence in the second half of the season has largely been due to the incredible play of rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. Dallas has a solid goaltending tandem of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin.

Both teams have some star power (yes, that’s a pun). The Stars have Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen, and John Klingberg. The Blues have sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn, and Colton Parayko. Both teams will bring a heavy kind of hockey.

What team would you prefer the Predators face in the first round?