Crank up the hype machine, folks, as center Craig Smith popped in 4 goals and added an assist tonight in a 7-3 spanking of Tampa Bay’s rookies. Goals also came from Taylor Beck (along with 3 assists), Brent Andrews, and Austin Watson, and Charles-Olivier Roussel Gabriel Bourque added four assists. Chet Pickard started the game and gave up two goals, switching out at the mid-point for Atte Engren, who gave up one late after the game was well out of reach.
At this scoring rate, Craig Smith would blow away existing NHL records with a 328-goal regular season, along with 82 assists for 410 points. Bow down before us, Central Division!
Kudos to @rinkside and @NHLPredsInsider for tweeting live updates throughout the contest. As you can see in the @rinkside Twitter feed, there are a few really good looks at the new road uniforms for the Preds this season.
Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Central, Nashville takes on Florida’s rookies, before returning back for a practice at Centennial on Wednesday afternoon to conclude Rookie Camp. The big boys open regular training camp on Friday, September 16.
Cue the video, thanks to the Preds!