Tonight the Nashville Predators try to wrap up an outstanding November (9-3-0) at home against the Calgary Flames, but until then, let’s get you started with some morning hockey news.
After the jump, we’ve got word that Jordin Tootoo‘s dad is lighting up the local rec hockey scene, a deal available to those of you who have a ticket stub from Saturday’s night’s 4-1 win over Florida, reaction to Brian Burke’s 1st anniversary as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and word that another young Russian is leaving the NHL to play in the KHL. There’s also the Nashville Predators 2010 Winter Olympic preview, posted earlier today.
And don’t forget, today is Cyber Monday
Predators News
Twitter / Dierks Bentley: Mad cows iceholes lost 4 – …
Looks like I picked the wrong year to sit out playing in the adult hockey league downtown. Country music star Dierks Bentley plays, and last night lost to a team that featured a bit of a ringer – Jordin Tootoo’s dad!
Twitter / cragcoolsprings: and because we LOVE the pr …
The Crag at Cool Springs, an indoor rock climbing facility, is offering a free guest pass to fans who bring their ticket stub from Saturday night’s Predators/Panthers game. The offer stands all week.
This Time Other ‘Cats’ Had the (Black and)Blues ” Pull My (Fang)Finger
AJ provides his take on Saturday’s win over Florida.
Preds On The Glass: Preds Rebound with 4-1 Win Over Panthers
Buddy covers a number of angles from Saturday’s game, and includes his usual post-game audio from the dressing rooms and Barry Trotz’s press conference.
Predators use abbreviated attacks to take down Florida – Nashville City Paper
David Boclair points out that Saturday’s 4-1 win boasted the first time Nashville had won by three or more goals since the famous 8-0 rout of Detroit last February.
Jason Arnott consistently finds net for Predators – The Tennessean
John Glennon points out that the Predators captain and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla stand alone in terms of long-term goal scoring in the NHL. Each are going for their 11th-straight season with at least 20 goals.
Casey Wellman putting up strong numbers for UMass – Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamonds checks in on Casey Wellman, who is an undrafted collegiate player who attended Nashville’s development camp as a free agent over the summer.
Road Trip Reality Check – Admirals Short Shifts
Ryan Miller sums up the Admirals’ recent 8-game road trip, and finds reason for both optimism and concern. Interestingly, it sounds like Ryan Jones is finally starting to produce, and Cal O’Reilly is leading the way offensively. Colin Wilson, however, “has been pretty much a non-factor.”
Foreigner to Perform at Ads Game March 13 – Milwaukee Admirals
That’s all we need is more Euros taking jobs from North American hockey players… huh? What’s that? Oh, Foreigner the band is playing at an Admirals game? Neat!
Around the NHL
“Unique” hockey gifts for everyone on your Christmas list… – Hockey Gal
Stephanie shares some decidedly different hockey-themed gifts for the holiday season, as opposed to my more conventional list featured here last week.
UPDATE: Tikhonov “loaned” to KHL, will play for Red Army – Five For Howling
As Scooby Doo might say, “Ruh Ro…” Another young Russian player heads back to play in the KHL, this time skipping out on the Phoenix Coyotes.
Oilers Roundtable Discussion, 1/3 of the way through the season – Part I – The Copper & Blue
A gathering of the Oilogosphere ruminates over Edmonton’s awful campaign so far. With Ales Hemsky out for basically the rest of the season, all hope is lost.
Jury still out on Burke – The Globe and Mail
With Brian Burke having passed the one-year mark as Toronto GM over the weekend, the reviews are coming in; Maple Leafs fans are getting restless over a lousy team that doesn’t even have a high 1st-round draft pick to look forward to.
Down Goes Brown: One year of Brian Burke: A look back
DGB brings the funny in its retrospective on Year One of the Burke Era: “Burke delivers his infamous quote about “proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence”. Confused Leaf fans rush to their dictionaries, and are disappointed to discover that every one of those words means “terrible goaltending”.”
Are the Rangers lacking heart? A picture is worth a thousand words – Blueshirt Banter
That headline’s right – the picture on this post says it all…
Time working against Canucks Vigneault – Faceoff.com
After seeing that most teams that win the Stanley Cup have a relatively new coach, Jason Botchford stands ready to dispatch Alain Vigneault if the Canucks don’t win it all this year.
Top 5: Best Shootout Snipers | Hockey From the Cheap Seats
Matt Reitz reviews the best shooters in the short history of the shootout; is Mike Santorelli on his way onto this list?
Minnesota Wild lost in mediocrity, Mike Green no Olympic hopeful – SI.com
Michael Farber writes about Minnesota decrepit state of hockey, along with assorted other topics. Hat tip to @leonwolf on Twitter for this one.
Top ten games in Ottawa Senators history – Silver Seven
The Senators have certainly enjoyed a wild ride in their 11-year run in the modern NHL, and Peter brings you their ten best games.
Pens’ Cooke suspended for two games – NHL.com
The Penguins‘ agitator will sit out two games for a head shot directed at Artem Anisimov of the New York Rangers. Here’s video of the shot in question; a clearly targeted, blind-side hit to the head: