What To Do With Dan? Predators Win 4-1

Tonight, the Nashville Predators took game one of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.  The Predators seem to have gotten under the skin of the Ducks, and Mike Fisher scores twice as the most experienced Predator when it comes to the playoffs. 

When it comes to getting under the skin of an opponent, it shows in several ways.  Tonight in the third period, the Ducks found themselves in the penalty box over and over again.  Six different players were penalized eight times, for a total of 40 minutes.  The frustration level was very high, and I do believe that the Ducks were surprised that the execution level wasn't where they thought it was going to be. 

Tonight Mike Fisher scored Nashville's fourth goal at 00:56 of the third period, and Dan Ellis was promptly pulled from the Ducks' net.  He was replaced by Ray Emery, who played for the remainder of the game.  As a fan, having the goalie pulled gets under my skin more than anything.  Sometimes it sends the right message to the team, and a turning point is reached.  Other times, the end of an embarrassment is all the coach is looking for. 

I keep wondering who will start in net for the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.  Will Dan Ellis return?  Will Ray Emery get the nod?  Coach Randy Carlyle evaded giving an answer to that question in the post-game interviews, and leaves me wondering.  I've decided to research the issue, and make my own decision.  On Friday, we can see what actually matches up. 

Dan Ellis:
Dan was born in Canada on 06-19-1980, and played with the Nashville Predators through the 2009-2010 season.  Through a series of trades, he ended up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he played 31 games with them this season.  In February, he was traded to Anaheim.

2010-2011 Season
With Tampa:       31 Games, .889 SV%, 2.93 GAA
With Anaheim:   13 Games, .917 SV%, 2.39 GAA

Ray Emery:
Ray was born in Canada on 09-28-1982.  Ray has not had an easy career by any means.  In 2009, Ray found out that he suffered from avascular necrosis, which is the same disease that ended Bo Jackson's career.  In August of 2010, Ray once again began workouts, and signed with Anaheim on 02-07-2011 as an unrestricted free agent. 

2010-2011 Season
With Anaheim:   10 Games, .926 SV%, 2.28 GAA


Momentum is an odd thing with a professional sports team of any kind.  A change could mean total destruction, or could be their saving grace.  My pick will be Dan Ellis for Friday; recent experience may prove to be a difference maker.  I predict that the Ducks will work on their defensive strategy instead of make a change in net.   "Gotta stay with Dan - or it smells of desperation." -EJ Mackie

Live From Hartsfield-Jackson Predators Playoff Update

While Nashville will make the playoffs no matter what, Chicago and Detroit will determine our final position when they play today at 11:30AM.  Can anything bad happen?  Not really in my opinion.  I have talked to several people about who the preferred matchup would be, and I seem to get a different answer every time the question is asked. 

My best case scenario is this.  If Detroit beats Chicago today, Nashville will earn the #5 seed in the Western Conference.  This means that they will face off against Anaheim (#4) in the first round, with Anaheim of course having home ice advantage.  Nashville finished the regular season at 3-1-0 against Anaheim, with a +6 goal differential.  Interesting fact about Anaheim...they currently have three goalies on their roster.  Jonas Hiller has recently been activated from the injured reserve list.  They also have Dan Ellis, who played for Nashville last year and was traded in the off season, along with Ray Emery who is 3-2 in his last 5 games. 

In the first round, it is also possible that Nashville could face off against Detroit or San Jose, of course depending on the outcome of the Chicago/Detroit game today.  We shall find out in a few hours!  The Chicago vs Detroit game will be on NBC today if you happen to be interested. 

Predators Look Ahead To First Round

In tonight's game, the Nashville Predators fell to the St. Louis Blues 2-0 in the final game of the regular season in St Louis.  I, along with several hundred other Preds fans, made the trip to watch tonight's game.  Tonight's story does not start with the game, or begin with the morning skate.  It begins with my travels; today has been an amazing day and I wish to share it with you.

I enjoy airports, airplanes, and traveling in general, and several months ago I decided to fly to St Louis to watch this game.  Several people have asked me why.  My answer has always been that I enjoy flying, and didn't have to pay much for the plane ticket anyway.  It would have been cheaper to take the 303 bus or drive my car, but I made my decision and stuck with it.  This morning I got up, headed to the airport, and started through security.  It made me feel good when several TSA agents started asking me about the game.  I felt as if the day was going in a good direction.  I got through security, headed to my gate, and arrived at B5 in Nashville's airport to find a family playing a mix of gospel and bluegrass.  It wasn't too loud, was soothing, and very enjoyable.  I had an hour to wait on my flight, which can seem like an eternity while waiting in an airport.  Today I enjoyed waiting, and even wished that I had gotten there earlier.  The time drew near for the boarding process to begin.  I watched a plane pull up to the gate, and the ticket agents announced that my flight to Atlanta would be on time, which meant that I could make my connection without an issue.  While sitting in a seat facing the window, I saw a young woman with a small child in the corner of my eye, just to the right of me.  They were headed my way, and I moved my feet to let them by.  The woman had a camera, and was taking several pictures of her baby that appeared to be just over a year old.  In the little boy's hands was a sign that said "Welcome Home Daddy", and it was then that I realized that these fine people had no interest in going to Atlanta.  I then started paying very close attention to the activities at hand, and observed several people exiting the jet way, heading on to wherever they happened to be going.  The woman and the little boy stood at the entrance of the jet way with the sign proudly displayed.  I observed every man woman and child exit that jet way, excited to see what was going to happen.  I also noticed that the entire group of people who were waiting to board the plane also had their eyes glued to that little boy.  One by one they came out...but no daddy.  The woman looked into the jet way with disappointment in her eyes, and I truly believe that the entire crowd broke into a cold sweat.  I heard in the background, "oh no, he has missed his connection", and then immediately afterwards the woman with the little boy screamed with excitement as she finally saw her soldier.  He was indeed home.  The crowd erupted in applause...it was truly a sight.  I could have driven my car.  I could have taken the bus. 

I did in fact arrive in St Louis and watched Pekka Rinne make 23 saves.  I watched the Predators fall 2-0 to the Blues, and for tonight it just doesn't matter.  After losing tonight's game, Nashville will be unable to clinch home ice advantage, but I'm ok with that.  Nashville ends the regular season with 99 points. 

How many people do not have the opportunity to hold up that sign?  To my friends and family:  you are appreciated.