Moved

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Predators vs. Blue Jackets, the (barely) live blog

Santa decided to bring me my 4th case of strep throat this year, so I've been out of commission for the better part of a week now. How better to boost one's spirits than by catching tonight's Predators/Blue Jackets battle and passing along my observations, since the game won't be carried on local TV?

The Preds come into this one after having laid an egg in Chicago the night before, losing 5-2 in a game that saw them dominate the shooting totals (32-22), but fall due to inferior goaltending. On the opposite end, Nikolai Khabibulin shut most everything down, while the Nashville power play continued its stunningly ineffective run, going 0-for-6 and giving up a shorthanded goal to Patrick Sharp to boot.

Will the Predators be able to keep their successful streak against Columbus alive, having won 11 in a row against their Central Division rival? For Nashville, no Shea Weber or Ryan Suter tonight, while Columbus goes without Rick Nash.

1st Period
Chris Mason gets the start in goal for Nashville as does Fredrik Norrena for Columbus. Mason's last start was a 30-save victory in Columbus last Sunday, and boasts a stunning 7-1 career record against the Blue Jackets.

The festivities get started just a minute into the game, as Jordin Tootoo steps up and drives a shoulder into Columbus' Jiri Novotny, who had his head down as he approached the Nashville blue line. Adam Foote came to his teammate's defense and threw the gloves with Toots in a spirited but basically even battle. Foote got the instigator and earned an extra two minutes in the box for starting the fracas, so Nashville got the first power play opportunity but failed to convert despite a couple decent shots. About seven minutes later, Novotny gets a measure of revenge by drilling Preds defenseman Greg Zanon into the boards after he chipped the puck down the ice. Both these teams are ready to scrape & claw for any advantage in this one.

That temper gets the best of Columbus around enar the 12:00 mark, as both Adam Foote and take minor penalties at the same time, giving Nashville a full 2:00 5-on-3 advantage. Surely even the dormant Predators PP could make the Blue Jackets pay, right? Well, Columbus came within seven seconds of killing it off when Jason Arnott teed up a one-timer from the faceoff dot to Norrena's right and put Nashville up 1-0.

Kris Beech put the Blue Jackets down a man yet again just moments later, resulting in yet another Nashville power play and stifling any chance Columbus had to get some lines rolling and establish momentum. While killing off that penalty David Legwand draws a holding call for Nashville, and Nikolai Zherdev does one of the best jobs I've seen in a long time ragging the puck, waiting for the Blue Jackets power play to expire before putting Legwand in the box, thus maximizing Columbus' upcoming PP time.

That man advantage gets turned into a 5-on-3 almost immediately as Greg Zanon hauled down a streaking Sergei Fedorov. By and large Nashville does a good job killing of the penalty, and it seems by now that the whole period has been nothing but a special teams war, with very little continuous 5-on-5 action.

That trend continued at the end on an icing call as Jason Chimera took both a slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, giving Nashville 4:00 of 5-on-4 time. For Columbus that's not much to fear, however, as the Predators remain among the NHL's least dangerous teams with a 5-on-4 advantage (from Behindthenet.ca). What the numbers there say is that given 60 minutes of 5-on-4 action, Nashville would only score 3.4 more goals than they'd give up, tied for 4th-worst behind the Islanders, Devils, and Thrashers. Top PP teams like Philadelphia and Montreal, for example, outscore their opposition by 8.1 and 7.9 goals per 60 minutes, respectively.

Anyways, the period ends without a serious threat by the Predators and the teams head into the locker room for the first intermission.

2nd Period
Nashville starts with 39 seconds of PP time left over from the first, but never sets up shop or establishes a scoring opportunity. The penalty box parade continues as Alex Radulov heads in for hooking, after a mad scramble in front of the Predators net as Columbus had multiple whacks at a loose rebound.

The Blue Jackets capitalize on that chance in just the manner that many fans are dying to see the Predators do; Chimera sends a wrister in on net as Kris Beech charges in, and has the rebound go in off his skate. There's a brief review to determine whether Beech kicked the puck (he didn't), so the goal stands and the game is tied 1-1. When you have a combination of putting quick shots on net and having supporting players drive to the crease, good things tend to happen.

After allowing the teams to skate 5-on-5 for just over a minute, the refs crave yet more face time so they whistle Radek Bonk for tripping, put the Blue Jackets a man up as the game approaches the halfway mark. The Predators gamely kill off that penalty, although along the way a rather mysterious offsetting call was made. Preds defenseman Dan Hamhuis knocked Jared Boll's skate from behind, and Boll threw his arm out as he went down, so the ref called him for embellishing the foul; fortunate for Nashville, really.

Once back to even strength, the Predators get some good pressure in the Columbus zone with a line of Legwand with Radulov and Martin Erat. Ultimately Radulov took a long wrist shot with Legwand screening in front and it slipped by Norrena for a 2-1 Predators lead. The Bonk/Smithson/Fiddler line follows right up with a good backdoor chance that just fails to connect, and Nashville appears to finally have some extra skip in their step.

While the Blue Jackets have Nashville scrambling a bit in their own end, Marek Zidlicky high-sticks Jared Boll, and a minute later, Greg Zanon sends a puck directly over the glass, giving Columbus a minute of 5-on-3 time. The Predators kill off that 5-on-3, but with Zanon still in the box Ron Hainsey takes a point shot that just barely gets through Mason, dribbling slowly over the line to tie the game at 2-2. David Vyborny is later credited with goal, presumably for a tip in front of Mason.

3rd Period
Early on coach Trotz digs into his bench and gives the Gelinas/Nichol/Hordichuk line a lengthy shift, and they reward him with a solid effort, including a nice turnover generated by a Nichol hit down by the Blue Jackets net.

Jordin Tootoo gets the crowd buzzing (and the Columbus announcers complaining) after he levels Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda with a shoulder to the chest. Hejda had played the puck stood there watching his pass for 2 seconds as Tootoo came right at him. A cheap shot? I don't think so, Toots came right from the front of Hejda, and you see guys follow through on checks all the time under such circumstances.

Both teams step up the hitting in the minutes that follow, as Zherdev lays a hit on Tootoo. Neither side wants to risk another penalty however, with both teams desperate for points in the standings.

For what seems like the first time, we're finally treated to an lengthy period of 5-on-5 hockey, and the Blue Jackets get a couple dangerous shots which Chris Mason turns aside, including a one-timer by Kris Beech from maybe 15 feet as he crossed in front of the net.

Columbus takes a 3-2 advantage on a very similar play to their 2nd goal; Zherdev sends a pedestrian shot on net but Jiri Novotny charges the net and knocks in the rebound for a quick score, giving the Blue Jackets a lead with just over five minutes left in the game...

After less than a minute, however, Tootoo ties it up at 3-3 as Marek Zidlicky feeds him pass that Toots blisters past Norrena for the goal. I'm telling ya, putting Tootoo up on the top line with Arnott and Dumont is a fine way to stretch out the talent. #22's taken a major step forward in becoming a complete NHL player this year.

The action really starts to pick up, as Curtis Glencross sends a dangerous pass to Jared Boll who finds himself in all along on Chris Mason, who stands tall to make the save.

Then, with 1:45 left in the third, Nashville takes the lead on Ville Koistinen's first NHL goal; he came in from the point to take a feed in the slot from David Legwand, and hung around to follow up with a rebound shot after his initial shot was stopped by Norrena.

Conclusion
All the penalties early on made this a very uneven game to watch, it just seemed like there was very little natural flow and instead merely of a contest of special teams. The Nashville power play remains a gaping flaw on this team, and leaves them with a preciously slim margin for error given the lack of consistent goaltending and sporadic offense at even strength.

All the same, this represents a huge victory for the Predators, not just for the two points they earned, but also by avoiding overtime and letting Columbus steal away with a point as well.

My Three Stars:

1. Marek Zidlicky, 3A, +3
2. Ville Koistinen, GW G, 2 A
3. Jordin Tootoo, 1G

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Why Am I Here?

All the cool kids have been doing this lately, and since I'm unable to number-crunch until later in the week, I thought I'd take this opportunity to respond to the questionairre posted by the gang over at Interchangeable Parts:

1. What was your motivation for starting blogging? Has that changed at all in the time you’ve been blogging?
At first, it was just an opportunity to exercise some creative urges and participate in the broader discussion of hockey online; as a father of three little folks, it's not like I can sit at the barstool like Norm and chat about the game on a regular basis. Once I got bitten by the stats bug, it's been more of a quest to see how we might increase our understanding of the game and unearth unexpected, yet useful, knowledge.

2. What do you think your blog contributes to the hockey conversation?
I try to bring two things in general; first, to point out areas that might represent new facts about the game (such as a strategy to use when selecting shooters for the shootout), and second, an informed analysis following the Nashville Predators, a grossly underreported and misunderstood franchise.

3. What do you want to get out of the blogs you read?
What the best blogs provide is a sense of background, a familiarity with the NHL and perhaps a specific team that provides depth and perspective to whatever's being written about. Whether reflected in the smug arrogance of some of the Red Wings bloggers, or the hopeful patience of those covering the Coyotes or Blue Jackets, blogs can provide a "history on the fly" for their teams, and in that sense tell the reader so much more than merely what happened in the latest game or who deserves to get promoted to the top line.

4. What determines which blogs you read and which you don’t?
Quality of writing, plain and simple. Far too many bloggers think that being edgy by liberally tossing expletives around makes them sound clever and witty, but for me that's a huge turnoff. One particular pet peeve is when a blog resorts to homophobic insults; they're simply moronic, and are part of the culture that kept guys like Sheldon Kennedy quiet while they were being abused.

5. How important is the issue of gaining press access to you as a blogger?
Not at all right now. I'd have to really work at defining what press access would allow me to do that I don't already do today. I had press access a long time ago as an ur-blogger (covering the McCarty/Lemieux brawl and the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals), and found myself merely aping the newspaper guys, rather than bringing something new. The possibilities are there, but it's not a priority of mine right now.

6. To what extent do you feel accountable for the content of your blog? How concerned do you think readers should be about the authority and accountability of your blog?
The nice thing about blogging is that people do pay attention to what's written, and don't hesitate at all to call things out. I've made mistakes in the past when presenting certain data, and readers were quick to fire me an email or comment, after which I'd post the correction and credit them. Since I don't claim to have any inside information and merely aggregate and analyze publicly available info, everything I do on the stats side is verifiable. In some instance, I've even posted spreadsheets at Google so people can just work with the data themselves, as with the 2007-8 NHL Schedule and the Penalty Plus/Minus data.

7. How concerned are you about the authority and accountability of the blogs you read? Do you find it difficult to judge the authority and accountability of the blogs you read?
I guess this question breaks down into three areas for me; as regards statistical analysis, as long as bloggers are clear about the data they're using and their methods, their work can be verified. For general commentary, I don't worry so much about authority or accountability, since we're talking about opinions. When it comes to rumors, I just don't follow them much. I prefer Spector's approach of bringing together published reports, avoiding the rumor-spinning that so many despise Eklund for.

8. What value, if any, do you think blogging brings to the NHL?
First, I think blogs provide the fodder for turning a casual NHL fan into an informed, diehard fan; the level of discussion is generally much deeper than what is seen in traditional media, and especially with some of the divisional or rivalry blogs, fosters rivalries between fans in different cities.

Secondly, I truly believe that some of the statistical work being done on various sites will find its way into the operating environment of the NHL. Whether applied to Salary Arbitration, in-game strategy, player development, or personnel decision-making, there are plenty of low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked for teams willing to push the envelope. After all, just like any competitive multi-million dollar business, Research & Development should be a critical part of how a team continually improves their performance. It's really no different than UPS figuring out a way to route their trucks to avoid the delays associated with left-hand turns. NHL teams should constantly be looking at ways to improve every aspect of their operation.

Ho Ho Ho, Two in a Row

The Predators head into the holiday break having ended their five-game losing streak with back-to-back victories over Los Angeles and Columbus, so while nobody should be popping champagne over a 16-16-2 record, things are certainly more hopeful than they were a few days ago. It's good to see Jason Arnott popping in goals again, and Jordin Tootoo's cameo on the top line has been impressive. Saturday's game against the Kings may have been Tootoo's best of the season, and while he only tallied one assist, he made several good crisp passes to set up scoring chances and put a wicked shot through Kings goaltender Jason Labarbera's glove that dribbled just wide of the net.

When the action resumes next Thursday, we'll have to see whether this momentum can be maintained. Personally, I think this team needs a top-six forward desperately, and there's still no definitive sign that Steve Sullivan will be ready soon. By carrying eight defensemen on the active roster, both Kevin Klein and Ville Koistenen have been healthy scratches most nights, which certainly doesn't help them develop as NHL players. Simply put, there's an abundance of some assets and a paucity of others, and GM David Poile is caught in an awkward position. Ideally, a healthy Sully would allow Poile to address other concerns via trade, and I expect that as long as the team stays within shouting distance of the playoffs he won't make a significant move prior to a thumbs-up or down on Sullivan, or the trade deadline forces his hand.

My humblest apologies for a lack of updates lately, but our move into the new digs took longer than expected, and one casualty along the way was my computer desk, so the Forechecking Data Center has yet to rebuilt in our new home. Then to boot, I got hit with a double-wammy case of pink eye and a respiratory infection. I even missed Saturday night's game even though I had tickets, because I wouldn't have hardly been able to see the action anyway. I'm on the mend now, but of course the next couple days will be busy ones, so I hope to pick up with posts towards the end of the week.

Here's to hoping all of you have a happy, safe and healthy holiday season!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Pardon Our Dust

It's been a long time since my last update, for which I apologize, as we've been moving (and are still not 100% complete), so times for watching and analyzing hockey has been few and far between.

On the positive side, however, Santa arrived early at the Forechecker household, and with the help of a friendly neighbor, we have now entered the glorious age of HDTV, and yes Virginia, everything you've heard about hockey being better in HDTV is TRUE. I was able to catch Nashville's craptacular come-from-ahead defeat last night in Minnesota in vivid detail and color on our new 50" Panasonic plasma. We went with plasma because from everything I've read and seen, it performs better for high-motion content (like sports). The picture is AMAZING, and Mrs. Forechecker likes the fact that it's mounted on the wall, so it doesn't take up precious floor space.

A picture so clear and sharp is worth any price...

Once hooked up, of course I tried to find some HDTV hockey, and flipped by a Chicago Blackhawks game.

Mrs. Forechecker: "Wow, you can even see the acne on that guy" (sorry, Jonathan Toews)

Me: "Give him a break, he's a rookie."

I guess those NHL Center Ice HD commercials are pretty bang-on after all...

Anyways, please be patient as boxes get unpacked and the Forechecking Data Center gets rebuilt; it'll be a couple more days before I can string together a coherent post about hockey again.

Monday, December 10, 2007

The Red Army Comes Calling

The posting will be especially light this week, as we're busy packing boxes and decluttering in anticipation of moving into our new house starting Friday. Toss in the hassles around having one of our cars totalled and 2 out of 3 kids being sick today, and we've got ourselves some busy times. In the meantime, I have updated the Penalty Plus/Minus spreadsheet to be found at over at Google. Notably Sidney Crosby has pulled back ahead of Alex Ovechkin (+21 vs. +20), while Edmonton's Steve Staios holds down the bottom at -14.

A few quick thoughts about tonight's Detroit game; while it sounds cliche to say that it will take a full 60-minute effort for Nashville to win, it's a remarkably apt aspect to note when facing the Red Wings. If you look at team records when they give up the first goal of the game, Detroit is the only team in the NHL with a winning record (.556), and they also are at or near the top in winning percentage when trailing after one or two periods. In other words, you can't count them out until the final horn sounds. Interestingly, when the shoe is on the other foot Detroit has dropped a few games, so expect the 3rd period tonight to be a wild one regardless of who's winning going in.

According to the Tennessean Dan Ellis will start in goal for the Predators as Chris Mason continues to recover from an illness picked up last week in Canada. For crying out loud, when will these guys learn to avoid the parboiled otter bars up there???

In their two previous meetings this season, the Predators fought back in Detroit from a two-goal deficit in the third before losing in a shootout on November 7, then beat the Red Wings 3-2 on Thanksgiving in Nashville.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

A word from my better half

So the other night when the Predators were playing in Toronto and the Rogers SportsNet commentators bashed Nashville as a hockey market, little did I know that my wife, who was in the room but occupied on our Tablet PC, was as honked off as I was about their lack of tact. It turns out that she wrote up her thoughts on the matter as well and asked if I wanted to post them here. So now, I present to you the words of the lovely and talented Mrs. Forechecker...

This is Mrs. Forechecker and I have been feeling the need to speak for those who are not often heard in the hockey world. I grew up in Indiana where folks love corn and high school basketball. If you ever saw Hoosiers you know what I mean… I have been a casual fan of hockey since before I met Mr.Forechecker about 12 years ago. We had the Indianapolis Ice and the Fort Wayne Komets to watch and I occasionally would go to games, but it was not something I grew up watching. After I moved to Ann Arbor and was able to go to college hockey games and Detroit Red Wings games I was much more aware of the proud history of hockey. I learned of the Stanley Cup and all of the lore of the Original Six. I learned to appreciate the skill of the players and the love of the game. Fast forward to our move here to Middle Tennessee… I was again in a NHL town and had pride for my adopted team, the Predators. Comments have been said that not only equate the Predator fans as hillbillies that are unable to grasp hockey, but also as undeserving of a team as well. I find that both the television broadcasts and the NHL as a whole are unresponsive to wanting to grow a market here. The fans that are here know the sport and have a passion for their team that is virtually unrivaled around the league here in the States. I know that Canada’s history with hockey is rich and I respect that fact, but I continue to wonder does the NHL want to grow new fans? When you continue to send out the message that some cities do not deserve to have a team, the casual fan decides that they want to take their money and support to a league and a sport that appreciates them. I will continue to stand as a fan of hockey for now. As much as the league and the fans up north don’t like to admit it, they need us in order to make a profit and be successful. I am not going anywhere hockey fans and there are more like me out there. You have not made it easy to hang in there but I am here to stay!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Hot Swedish Twins Tonight in Nashville

Once again the Nashville Predators catch an opponent who's had to travel after playing the night before, as Vancouver won in Chicago 3-2 last night (follow the link to Canucks Hockey Blog, a fine Vancouver resource whose author is my opponent this week in Mirtle's pool). Since uber-goalie Roberto Luongo got the victory in that match, the Preds might not have to face him tonight, or at least if they do, he'd at least be battling fatigue. Hey, you take whatever break you can get against him. Vancouver currently stands at 15-10-2, in a tie for first place in the Northwest with Minnesota, and they're 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Preds come in with a 13-10-2 record and 6-3-1 in their last 10, so we're looking at a battle of solid teams that are playing well currently.

For Nashville, one of the major factors will be how well they shut down Henrik Sedin (5G, 21A), the playmaker to twin brother Daniel's goal-scoring (9G, 16A). Last year, out of Daniel's 36 goals, 20 of them (55.6%) came off a First Assist by Henrik, the highest such figure in the NHL for any player with 20 or more goals. Basically, if you can deny Henrik the puck, it should also choke off Daniel's production as well.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks

Stop #33, and you shut down #22 as well.

After the Sedins, team captain Marcus Naslund is enjoying a resurgent season (good for me since I picked him in the 6th round for my fantasy hockey team) as he leads the team with 11 goals, with secondary production coming from Brendan Morrison and Ryan Kesler. Mattias Ohlund leads their defensemen in scoring, and has been particularly hot since coming back from a four-game suspension, with two goals and two assists in his last four games.

On the Nashville side, Vancouver will try and take advantage of depth issues for the Predators, as Scott Nichol sits out his suspension, Vern Fiddler is likely out with a groin (I sure hope he has a good time), and Radek Bonk is questionable. Will Barry Trotz dress extra defensemen to fill out the bench, and put Marek Zidlicky up on the wing like he did a few times last season? That didn't work out particularly well, so I would hope not. This may be one of those nights where you try double-shifting your leaders (Arnott, Erat, Dumont, Legwand) and see what they're made of.

Regardless, it should be a good time tonight as this is the first home game since the Freeman group's purchase of the team was approved by the NHL's Board of Governors. The actual sale hasn't closed yet pending the resolution of crossed t's and dotted i's, and assorted financial maneuverings as detailed by the ever-thorough Richard Lawson, now of the Nashville City Paper.

NOTE: Many thanks to Joe Pelletier for recognizing this blog's coverage of the six-month ownership saga. It's greatly appreciated.

Labels: nashville predators, vancouver canucks

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Leafs Commentators Kiss Up To Balls

As if watching career knuckle-dragger Wade Belak score a goal as Toronto topped the Nashville Predators 3-1 Tuesday night wasn't bad enough, the intermission commentators on the Rogers SportsNet coverage of the game couldn't resist taking another round of shots against the hockey market in Nashville.

In the first intermission, Gord Stellick established his Bozo-like credentials while discussing the recent spate of suspensions for the Philadelphia Flyers with his astute observation that "at least they've got an identity, most teams don't." I'd sure like to see the Mission Statement in Philly that's led to all those head shots...

Anyways, in the second intermission the topic of ownership change in Nashville came up, and both Stellick and his comrade Bill Watters launched into a diatribe repeatedly calling Nashville a "false hockey market", and offering their sage prediction that in three years Boots Del Biaggio will move the squad to Kansas City. Of course they were probably just playing to the home television audience, but the utter lack of class towards the Nashville organization and its fanbase was insulting.

I've decried most of that business before about Nashville being written off as a hockey market, so I won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say that first of all, just because Craig Leipold couldn't make things work here doesn't mean another ownership team can't; business fortunes often turn around under new management, and this mostly local group is well positioned to build stronger support among the corporate community.

As to the judgement of whether Nashville is a "false hockey market", I think I'd trust the assessment of a group of successful businessmen from various backgrounds that has vetted the numbers, obtained bank financing, and is willing to put their own money on the line over a guy who was a GM for all of 16 months. Bill Watters then chimed in saying that in three years "you put the flowers, all that's necessary to say goodbye to them, treat them with dignity [gee, Bill, why start then?], they've given it all they can, but the market will not support it."

Those Leafs Commenators Really Love Their Balls

Watters then went on to suggest that Craig Leipold will soon buy the Minnesota Wild, in a payback from Gary Bettman for holding off Jim Balsillie's rogue bid, while footage of the Wild rolled in the background. Afterwards, of course, he feined a backtrack, saying "I don't mean to suggest this is the case, but..." But what? Either you mean to suggest this conspiracy theory, or you don't; with the footage in the background it was clearly a planned piece of commentary, so it hardly counts as idle speculation.

Look, I can understand why they love Jim Balsillie up there; he's a titan of 21st century industry (and I dig my new BlackBerry 8830, by the way), and a celebrated philanthropist to boot. But his antics regarding the Predators deal clearly stepped outside the bounds of established NHL process. With Jerry Bruckheimer waiting in the wings and Boots Del Biaggio seeking majority ownership of a team at some point in the future, Balsillie needs the NHL much more than the NHL needs him. It's too bad that his boosters on Toronto television can't understand that point, and simply congratulate Nashville and the Freeman group on a job well done, and wish them good luck.

Labels: nashville predators, toronto maple leafs

Time to find out who's Naughty & Nice

It's time once again to review the NHL's Penalty Plus/Minus leaders, as I've refreshed the data up through the games of Sunday, December 3rd. Alex Ovechkin continues to lead with a +20 mark, followed by Sidney Crosby at +17 and Pavel Datsyuk with +14. Again, we see big-name talent leading the way here, as expected. All of these players give opposing defenses fits, so it's no surprise to see them getting hauled down more than other players.

On the opposite end of things, we see the lower part of the rankings dominated by defensemen, whose job it is to prevent scoring chances, and thus are sometimes forced into taking penalties when beaten by an incoming forward. In fact, 11 out of the 12 spots at the bottom of this list are defensemen. The rarity here is to find defensemen who are drawing a significant number of penalties more than they commit; that list is led by Calgary's Dion Phaneuf, Nashville's Dan Hamhuis, and the Islanders' Chris Campoli, who are all at +4.

As to the leading forwards who are taking excessive penalties and leaving their team shorthanded, Washington's Chris Clark (-11), Nashville's Jason Arnott (-9), and Phoenix's Dan Carcillo (-9) head the penalty box parade. Clark has managed to take charge here even though he's played only 17 games so far, so clearly someone needs some Anger Management counseling.

Feel free to pull down the data from the Google Spreadsheet and see how your favorite team shakes out; as to the Nashville Predators, Radek Bonk comes in at +7, followed by Hamhuis, Vern Fiddler, and Jordin Tootoo who are all at +4. The previously-mentioned Arnott holds down the bottom at -9. Scott Nichol, who just drew a five-game suspension for cross-checking Montreal's Patrice Brisebois in the face, is the next-lowest forward on the team at -4. In the past coach Barry Trotz has emphasized the need to stop taking more penalties than the opposition, but they can certainly do a better job there, starting with the team captain.

Labels: penalty, statistics

Monday, December 03, 2007

Blogger Night in Nashville

Fresh on the heels of CBC's profile of hockey bloggers on Hockey Night in Canada, word comes that tonight's Sportsline show here in Nashville (hosted by Eric Yutzy) will feature Brandon Felder, a blogger who covers the Preds for Hockeybuzz.com. It's "Hockey Monday" on Sportsline, and it can be seen either on cable channel 50 locally, or via an online video stream at www.newschannel5.com beginning at 8:00 p.m. Central time tonight.

Last week's show had Eric hosting with Paul McCann, the PA voice of the Predators and also a contributor at Hockeybuzz. I've only just started watching the show, but I can tell you that I saw more informed discussion about the Predators and the NHL on that show than I've seen in the last two years of local sports television coverage here in Nashville combined. I highly recommend you check the show out tonight.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

A Dream for Some, a Nightmare for Others

Saturday night's astounding comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens has drawn some strong reaction from around the hockey world. In Nashville, however, the Tennessean chose to stick the game recap on page 9 of the sports section. Apparently not even consecutive heart-stopping victories over two of the Eastern Conference's top teams can rouse the local daily into action. Here's some of the juicy bits from around the Montreal-oriented portions of the web this morning;

"Know something? The better team from start to finish won last night, despite trailing badly in the game." - Red Fisher, Montreal Gazette

Christobal Huet, who kept the Predators at bay through the first two periods, had some harsh words for his squad; "We're a fragile team. We're a little weak between the ears."

And this, from the wonderfully wordy Theory of Ice:

"See? I was right. The game in New Jersey last night wasn’t the worst thing ever. This game, however, was. Because they had it. They &%!$ing [ed] had this game, they had it tied up, duct taped, and bolted to the floor; they had it wrapped up like a Christmas gift from an OCD grandmother. Up 3-0 with all the momentum, they were flying- good energy, good offense, good defense, good goaltending, the works. And then it turned out that they’d only wrapped it up so neatly in the first half so that they could give it away in the second. Welcome back, Radek, have two points and twenty-one thousand peoples’ collective will to live. Hope you like it."

What gets lost on the drama of an outstanding comeback (Nashville was down 4-1 with 9:19 left in the 3rd and tied the game in the final minute) is a series of horrible lapses on the Predators' part, ones that I'm sure head coach Barry Trotz will address so that his charges don't get complacent during the early stages of games, on the presumption that they can always make it up later.

Chris Mason got off to a horrid start, and can hopefully put it behind him prior to Tuesday's game in Toronto. Shea Weber continues to look a bit out of sorts; his decision-making still appears tentative at times, but hopefully that's something that gets worked out over the next couple weeks. Scott Nichol's double-minor for high-sticking in the 2nd period, however, is the kind of selfish, retaliatory cheap shot that cost this team so severely in the playoffs last year. Captain Jason Arnott took at least one unnecessary penalty as well, which made Nashville's comeback even more remarkable. Toss in the multiple prime scoring chances that were blown in the first period, and coach Trotz should have plenty of material with which to keep his team focused on how to avoid 3-goal deficits in the first place.

That said, it's amazing how this team continues to work the gameplan down to the bitter end. A quick check at NHL.com this morning shows the Predators have outscored the opposition 34-25 in the 3rd period, the fifth best record in the NHL so far, and I'd bet that would look even better if I screened for the amazing run (9-2-2) they've been on since November 1st. More things are right than wrong with this team, but there's certainly potential for better.

So on Tuesday, when the Predators take on the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre, can we just a have a nice, boring, 3-1 victory for a change?

Further reaction to last night's game can be found at Eyes on the Prize, Pred Joe, and Four Habs Fans.

Labels: montreal canadiens, nashville predators

Blogger Night In Canada

There was a very nice piece yesterday on Hockey Night in Canada about the rise of hockey blogs, focusing in particular on the group centered around the Washington Capitals (where owner Ted Leonsis has fostered their growth), and ending with host Ron McLean giving some of our favorite sites some coveted face time on hockey's biggest stage.

It's a wonderfully comprehensive and balanced piece, and there's a few points that are worth responding to.

They spoke with Kevin Allen to get the professional sportswriter's view of the growing impact of hockey blogging, and he spouted some of the more obvious arguments about the whole sector being in its "infancy", and decrying the fact that bloggers don't have a particular editor or publisher to answer to in the event that they cross the bounds somehow.

First off, amateur online sportswriters have been going at it for over 10 years now, as Spector, PJ Swenson, myself, and others can attest. The field is hardly in its infancy, but rather, full-blown acne-ridden adolescence at least. I received full press access from the Red Wings back in 1997 and 1998 while writing for In the Crease, under terms which both parties agreed to; act like you belong there (no asking for autographs), and let the deadline-guys get their quotes first. It's not that hard, folks.

As to the accountability issue, the point has been well made on other blogs that while we don't enjoy the benefits of editors (and believe me some of us could really use one), the accountability comes from our audience. If writers get reckless and start spewing garbage, their readers and fellow bloggers won't continue to support them. A common sense step for any team to go through when considering whether to grant a blogger's access request is to review not just their traffic numbers, but the extent to which their peers value their work. Hopefully the work that Eric McErlain has launched will help the NHL's teams figure out how to do this in a fairly standardized fashion, but the lack of such standards shouldn't hold up the show today. If anything, a team-by-team approach can help to develop best practices on how to credential amateurs.

All in all, though, it was a very fine piece and well worth a few minutes of your time.

And yes, I know there was a heck of a Predators game last night; I'll get to that later!