Updated Odds for the NHL Stanley Cup from Lake Tahoe

This morning, we were somewhat surprised that the odds were yet to be posted for Sunday's NHL All-Star Game. The excuse given was they did not like the selection method for the teams.

In the meantime, here are the latest odds to win the 2012 Stanley Cup straight off the big boards at Harvey's Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.

New York Rangers          4/1
Boston Bruins                 5/1
Chicago Blackhawks 11/2
Vancouver Canucks          6/1
St. Louis Blues                 6/1
San Jose Sharks                9/1
Detroit Red Wings           10/1
Washington Capitals        15/1
Pittsburgh Penguins          18/1
Philadelphis Flyers           18/1
Los Angeles Kings          20/1
Colorado Avalanche        25/1
Nashville Predators          28/1
New Jersey Devils           30/1
Ottawa Senators              30/1
Toronto Maple Leafs       35/1
Minnesota Wild 35/1
Florida Panthers              40/1
Calgary Flames              60/1
Dallas Stars                    60/1
Phoenix Coyotes 70/1
Tampa Bay Lightning       75/1
Winnipeg Jets                 75/1
Montreal Canadiens        75/1
Buffalo Sabres               75/1
Anaheim Ducks 100/1
Edmonton Oilers 200/1
New York Islanders      200/1
Carolina Hurricanes       275/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 500/1

Well have more later with some the odds on goalies to lead in wins, goal leaders, and hopefully, the line on Sunday's All-Star Game.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

An All-Star Weekend Look Back: Western Conference

Yesterday, we looked back at our preseason predictions for the Eastern Conference and today we head to the Western Conference where we should have been able to do a better job due to familiarity with the Predators' opponents.

This has been an odd year in the West, where no one would have predicted that four of the top five records in the West and four of the top seven in the NHL at the break would come out of the Central Division. The potential was there but the reality is still hard to digest.

1.Detroit Red Wings (6) In spite of our lowly preseason predictions no one could doubt the Wings chances to win the Western Conference. The Wings' 20-2-1 record at home is phenomenal but will not be repeated down the stretch. It is still anyone's guess as to who will win the Central and the West.

2. Vancouver Canucks (1) As it turns out, the Nucks have little competition in the Northwest and the Wild are dropping like a rock. Unless Colorado makes a run, it is possible that Vancouver is the only playoff team out of the division.

3. San Jose Sharks (4) I expected great things out of the Kings that have not happened (yet) but also felt that the Sharks would push for the top spot in the Pacific Division. San Jose has the best road records in the league and could win the division if they improve their play on home ice, where they have excelled in the past.

4. St. Louis Blues (8) The Blues were not bad under Davis Payne but have been unbelievable under Ken Hitchcock. It is one of the biggest turn-rounds in the NHL in recent history.  The team had all the pieces in place at the start of the year but Hitchcock has been masterful in making the team click.

5. Nashville Predators (3) Anything that I would say at this point would raise allegations of bias but I predicted that the Preds would win the division and I will stand by that. Pekka Rinne is hitting his (career) stride, going 18-2-0 in his last 20 decisions. The team has balanced scoring with nine players with ten or more goals. David Poile promised a better second half so the Western Conference title and the President's Trophy is not out of reach. Ryan Suter will stay with the team and more assets will be added before the trade deadline.

6. Chicago Blackhawks (5) The Hawks have a fantastic team and have rebounded from their Stanley Cup hangover season. They have all the pieces in place to go deep in the playoffs. They currently are experiencing the injury bug but will be back to full strength in the near future.

7. Los Angeles Kings (2) The Kings are my most disappointing team in the West for the second year in a row. I have been predicting greatness for this team that is yet to occur. They are only two points behind the Sharks and have played well on the road. I maintain that they will win the Pacific ang grab the third seed.

8. Minnesota Wild (12) The Wild were an early season sensation but are 3-6-1 in their last ten and are suffering from the injury bug. I maintain that my preseason slot is close to where they will end up. The next couple of weeks will determine if they are buyers or sellers at the deadline.

9. Colorado Avalanche (15) The Avs have exceeded expectations but are still a ways away from a playoff berth. They have plenty of young talent and will not finish last in the West as I predicted but will not make the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what they do at the deadline as far as acquiring additional talent to build for the future. I hope they send Shane O'Brien back to the Predators.

10. Dallas Stars (11) In spite of a great run early in the year, the Stars are headed for a position more in line with the talent that they have. In the long run, they are a team that should improve in the future but it will not be in the second half of this season.

11. Calgary Flames (9) Of all the teams currently on the outside looking in, the Flames may be the one team that makes a move late in the year for a playoff position. Playing in the Northwest, I would put them as the second team in if they can finish in front of Dallas and Phoenix. Much will depend on what moves they make at the deadline.

12. Phoenix Coyotes (10) I felt that the Yotes would miss the playoffs for the first time in three years and still do but for different reasons. The long-time ordeal of ownership in the desert may finally be starting to take it's toll on the players since it appears that they will be on the move to Seattle, Las Vegas, or who knows where. The fans in Phoenix are the real losers but credit Gary Bettman for doing everything possible to keep the team in Glendale.

13. Anaheim Ducks (7) The mystery team in the West has to be the Ducks. After finishing fourth last season, they finished flat on their face coming out of the gates and managed to pick up Bruce Boudreau as the new skipper after Randy Carlilse was fired. The team is finally playing well and should finish strong. They are 12 points out of a playoff spot so it would take an incredible run to get in but my bet is that they will come close but not make it in.

14. Edmonton Oilers (14) The Oil are where they we expected them to be in spite of a strong start and a good early run by Nikolai Khabibulin. They have plenty of young talent but appear destined for another high draft pick.

15. Columbus Blue Jackets (13) The BJ's have proven to be the doormat of the NHL and despite spending up to the cap in the offseason they have less to show for it than any of the other 29 teams. The Jacket fans are planning a rally on Saturday to protest and they should.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Weber and Suter to Face Each Other in 2012 NHL All-Star Game

When the puck drops on Sunday's 2012 NHL All-Star Game, Nashville Predators Captain Shea Weber and Alternate Captain Ryan Suter will be on opposing teams for the first time in an official competition since the 2010 Winter Olympics Gold Medal game.

Weber and Suter were back to back picks on Thursday night at the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft. Shea Weber was taken in the eighth round by Daniel Alfredsson and Zdeno Chara countered with the next pick in the ninth round grabbing Suter.

Chara had the first pick in the draft and took Pavel Datsyuk while Alfredsson took his teammate and hometown favorite Erik Karlsson.

I am at the Harvey's Casino Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe and they have yet to post the odds on the game but if I was handicapping, I would say that Chara has a better squad but with Alfredson grabbing  all of his hometown players, there will be a distinct home ice advantage for the Ottawans. I'm thinking that they will be a slight favorite.

Predator Craig Smith who will participate in the rookie skills competition on Saturday was chosen by Team Alfredsson.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

An All-Star Weekend Look Back: Eastern Conference

Today we begin our annual All-Star Weekend look back at our preseason predictions to see how we have fared with our guesswork. We will start today with the Eastern Conference, then take on the Western Conference on Friday, and then look at our playoff and award prognostications on the weekend.

We will take the teams in order of the current standings at the break and put our prediction in parenthesis.

1. New York Rangers (5) In the preseason we said “This could be the year that the Rangers move from being a borderline playoff team to a contender.” The Rangers have remained healthy and have gotten a good array of scoring, with Marion Gaborik leading the pack with 25 goals.  Martin Biron has been great as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist, allowing him to take a few more games off to conserve energy. The Rangers will have their work cut out for them to remain at the top of the Atlantic Division for the rest of the year.

2. Boston Bruins (3) The expectation was for the Bruins to repeat as Northeast Division Champs and at this point they appear to be well on their way to doing so. After a slow start, they have played as well as anyone in the NHL and should cruise to a top seed in the playoffs. Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask have actually played better than their record setting season last year.

3. Washington Capitals (1) I really expected that this would be the year for the Caps and could never have expected the turmoil that led to Bruce Boudreau's firing.  The team appears to have righted their ship and should win the Southeast Division rather handily. It is unfortunate that Mike Green will probably not see much action for the as he was an important cog in their defense and would help them go further in the playoffs.

4. Philadelphia Flyers (4) Even without Chris Pronger, the Flyers have performed about as we expected. We had concerns about Ilya Bryzgalov “falling into the black hole” that seems to engulf netminders in Philadelphia and while he has not fallen completely in, he has danced around the edge. Sergei Bobrowski has been a lifesaver for the Flyers at times.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (2) Sidney Crosby was a point and a half per game player when he played but unfortunately, he only made the lineup eight times.  Evgeni Malkin is making a strong push for the Hart Trophy as he has been carrying the team on his back in recent weeks. James Neal was a great addition last season and is paying full dividends even without Crosby. The team should make the playoffs but their ability to go deep will rest on Crosby's return.

6. Ottawa Senators (15) “Little hope to escape the cellar in the East” was my preseason prediction for the Sens. They have had a great run but I'm still not convinced that they are a playoff team. Craig Anderson has been great as have their cast of “All-Star” performers. I doubt that the team will do as well down the stretch and put their chance for the postseason at 50-50.

7. Florida Panthers (14) The Cats are the other big surprise of the year and I will firmly predict that they will not make the playoffs unless they have a big injection of talent at the trade deadline. Kevin Dineen has performed miracles by bringing all the imported players together to make a team that performed well for a while but the smoke and mirrors that they have used so far will cease to work when the playoff push gets serious.

8. New Jersey Devils (9) The biggest challenge facing the Devils down the stretch will be their divisional opponents. However, like the Central Division in the West, I do expect the Atlantic to sneak four teams into the playoffs with the Devils bringing up the rear. Johan Hedberg has been a lifesaver, playing well enough to give Marty Brodeur a few games off to save himself for later in the year.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (10) At this point, I predict that the Leafs will be the team to move into the top eight and  bump out the Panthers or the Sens. They have been a marginally competitive team so far but I don't expect Brian Burke to be sitting on his hands at the deadline. I predict that Toronto will be one of the more active trade partners in the next five weeks for better or worse.

10. Winnipeg Jets (12) The Peggers have been great at home and have been one of the fun stories of the season but are horrible on the road, winning only seven games so far. As the season wears on, the travel will wear on them as well. It is too bad that the re-alignment has been delayed, returning them to Southeast Division purgatory for another year next season.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning (6) The Bolts have been one of the bigger disappointments of the year in the NHL. They have played well at home but have been miserable on the road. Their reliance on the aging Dwayne Roloson as the number one goalie caught up with them and Mathieu Garon is a quality backup but cannot lead them to the promised land this season. Picking up a goalie at the trade deadline will help the future but will be too little, too late, this season.

12. Montreal Canadiens (8) The Habs have had an unexpected fall from grace and it has truly been a team effort. I had predicted that they were the best of a group below the top seven in the East and I was way off base. Little has gone right for the team and the fans have turned on them. They will be sellers at the deadline and hopefully will be able to pick up a few assets for the future.

13. New York Islanders (13) The Isles are exactly where I predicted them to be but have made strides lately with Evgeni Nabokov in net. Despite being in a tough division, I think that they will finish higher than their current position at season's end.

14. Buffalo Sabres (7) I predicted that “Lindy Ruff may have his toughest test yet” before the year started and was not a believer in buying a team, but I had no idea that things could go this wrong. Ever since Milan Lucic nailed Ryan Miller the Sabres have been in a tailspin and I don't see a soft landing. They will be sellers at the deadline and Ruff will survive the fall and be back next year.

15. Carolina Hurricanes (11) The Canes have been worse than expected and after seeing them in person, I can honestly say that they are indeed not very good. Injuries have not helped their situation and hopefully they can pick up a few assets at the deadline.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

The Morning After Round-Up: Predators 3, Blackhawks 1

The Nashville Predators were fortunate to catch the Chicago Blackhawks during a bit of a lull in the great run that they were on when they surged to the top of the Western Conference. Without Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp they are not nearly as daunting an opponent.

Conversely, the Predators may be playing the best hockey in franchise history. Certainly, Pekka Rinne's 18-2-0 run is unprecedented. Barry Trotz indicated that the All-Star break could not be coming at a better time. Despite the current momentum, he indicated that all were looking forward to the time off.

The primary complaint that pundits expressed in the preseason was that the Predators did not have enough scoring. Currently, only Vancouver, Detroit and Chicago have more goals per game than the Preds in the Western Conference.

The Predators have balanced scoring across all four lines and that has been a strength in that they have been able to frustrate opponents who have not been able to match defensive pairings effectively.

You have to go all the way down to #77 in the goals ranking to find the Preds top goal scorer in Patrick Hornqvist, but they are one of only two teams (Flyers are the other) that have nine players with ten or more goals.

It is hard to imagine that the Predators will continue at the same pace after the break as they have last six weeks but they are in perfect position to continue to move upward in the Western Conference standings.

Here is our game story from last night with the comments from the couch.  Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...

Predators Move into Third in the Central with 3-1 Win over Hawks

The Nashville Predators bent but did not break as the Chicago Blackhawks did everything they could to try to come back and beat the Nashville Predators with a big third period push at the United Center on Tuesday night.

Nashville survived the pressure and came away with a 3-1 win that moved them ahead of the Blackhawks into third place with 64 points in the highly contested Central Division. The Predators entered the All-Star break just three points behind division leading Detroit and a point behind the St. Louis Blues, who picked up a point earlier in the evening in a shoot-out loss to Pittsburgh.

Nashville got first period goals from Craig Smith and Mike Fisher and carried the 2-0 lead into the final period. Dave Bolland cut the lead in half at 7:20 in the third and the Hawks were like sharks smelling blood for the remainder of the contest.

Colin Wilson's empty net power play goal with 13 seconds remaining sealed the victory.

The real hero of the game was Pekka Rinne, who stopped 24 of 25 Hawk shots and withstood many other scoring chances. Corey Crawford was much better than he was last Saturday in Nashville as he stopped all but two of the Predators 26 shots.

Rinne extended his own team record of eight wins in a row and is now 18-2-0 in his last 20 decisions.

With the exception of All-Stars Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, and Craig Smith, the rest of the team will have some much needed time off before they regroup at Centennial Sportsplex next Monday to prepare for Tuesday's game in Minnesota.

Make the jump for more details and comments from the couch...

Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks: Pre-Game Primer

TV-Radio...

7:30 p.m. CST   TV: Fox Sports Tennessee.  Preds Radio Network (102.5-FM The Game)

Stage Setter...

The Predators continue on their amazing run and make one last pit stop on the road in Chicago to play the Blackhawks before getting some deserved time off over the All-Star break. The Predators are 9-2-0 in January while Chicago has cooled slightly and are 5-4-2 for the month. With a regulation win, the Preds could move past the Hawks in the standings and into third place in the Central Division.

Make the jump for everything else...

The Morning After Round-Up: Nashville 4, Columbus 1

Last night's Predators' game with Columbus ended the season series with the Blue Jackets with Nashville picking up 11 of a possible 12 points against their divisional rivals with the only blemish being an overtime loss where the 17 game home winning streak against the Jackets was snapped.

The Predators played well in the first and last period against Columbus with a loss of intensity in the middle period that was revived with 29 seconds left with Mike Fisher's second goal on the power play.

Matt Halischuk and Ryan Suter played well in their returns and Suter appeared to be at 100%. Pekka Rinne was outstanding as usual as he has now gone 17-2 in his last 19 starts.

The Predators just completed a critical stretch with 14 home games since December 10 and re-established home ice dominance with a 12-2 run after going 4-5-3 at home to star the season.

Nashville remains in the thick of the Central Division race but are still five points behind Detroit, who like the Preds, are 8-2-0 in their last ten games. As of this morning, four of the top seven records in the league are held by Central Division teams.

The Preds will have a chance to pull ahead of the Blackhawks with a win in Chicago tonight.

Here is our Goo-Goo game story from last night and Barry Trotz's postgame presser.  Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...

Goo-Goo Game Winner by Mike Fisher Leads Predators to 4-1 Win

For 25 home contests, fans in Smashville flocked, in record numbers, to Bridgestone Arena with the anticipation that the Nashville Predators would score in the last minute of the second period and that everyone in the building would receive a free Goo-Goo Cluster.

Twenty-five times, fans went home without the scrumptious treat that is made with "real milk chocolate, caramel, peanuts and marshmallow nougat."

All that changed on Monday night in the Predators 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mike Fisher picked up a rebound off of a Shea Weber slap shot and slipped it past goalie Steve Mason for a power play goal with 29 seconds remaining in the second period to reward the 14,310 folks in attendance with the long awaited Goo-Goo Goal.

The higher probability for the deed was set in motion with two minutes remaining in the period when Columbus was called for two many men on the ice giving the Predators the man advantage for the remainder of the period.

Anticipation was building as the clock ticked toward the one minute mark. Hearts stopped when Marty Erat banged a shot off the crossbar as the one minute mark was approaching. Many thought that the puck had crossed the red line and that the goal would come prematurely, before the magical 60 second mark.

Barry Trotz Speaks after Nashville's 4-1 Win over Columbus

  To be continued... More Goo-Goo goodness to come.

 More Later...

 Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Columbus Blue Jackets an Nashville Predators: Pre-Game Primer

Tonight's game between the Predators and the Blue Jackets is "Service Industry Night" anyone can get half price tickets by going here and use the offer code "service". For additional information, go here.


TV-Radio...

7:00 p.m. CST   TV: Fox Sports Tennessee.  Preds Radio Network (102.5-FM The Game)

Stage Setter...

For the second time in a week, the Predators are playing the Columbus Blue Jackets, this time in Music City. Were it not for the intensity of of the Western Conference race, this could be considered somewhat of a "trap" game but I do believe that Barry Trotz has the attention of the entire team that there will not be any evenings off for the rest of the season. Expect the Blue Jackets to make a valiant effort but the Predators depth should prevail in the end.

Make the jump for everything else...

The Morning After Round-Up: Predators 5, Blackhawks 2

Saturday night's 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks was a big win for the Predators who are trying to run with the pack in the unbelievable Central Division that is dominating the NHL this season. The fact that they improved their intra-division record to 9-2-2 is astounding.

The Blackhawks were at a distinct disadvantage coming into the game having played the night before and then running in to trouble getting out of Chicago after the game. However, the Predators did play a solid sixty minute game and held the Hawks to only two shots in the opening period.

The game was tied heading into the second period but an odd dump in goal by Kevin Klein at 5:15 in the middle stanza seemed to break the spirit of Hawks goalie Corey Crawford and he continued to look shaky until he was pulled after Sergei Kostitsyn's goal at 16:03 that extended the Preds lead to 4-1.

Pekka Rinne continued his stellar play and is now 16-2-0 since December 8.

The Predators have Sunday off and then complete their pre-All-Star game slate with Columbus at the Bridgestone on Monday and then a trip to play the Hawks again in Chicago on Tuesday.

Here is our game story from last night, Barry Trotz's postgame presser, and a video and comment from Kostitsyn on his highlight reel shot.  Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...

Sergei Kostitsyn Comments on His Highlight Reel Goal in Preds' Win

The play of the game in Nashville's 5-2 win over Chicago came late in the second period when Mike Fisher sent a pass to Sergei Kostitsyn who drove in one on one against Blackhawks' goalie, Corey Crawford.

Kostitsyn showed great patience by waiting for Crawford to commit and then shooting at an almost open net  from a sharp angle to put the Preds up 4-1. Crawford was replaced by Ray Emery after the goal.

Kostitsyn gave full credit to Preds' goalie coach Mich Korn. "Our goalie coach showed us video before the game so I kind of know what he's going to do, so I tried to do what other people that scored on him did."

Kostitsyn also had an assist on Craig Smith's power play goal in the opening period. He also connected on another goal earlier in the contest that was disallowed due to having been played with a high stick.

Kostitsyn has now scored seven goals on ten shots during the month of January and has 12 goals and 14 assists for the season.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

Predators Take Advantage of Tired Blackhawks with Balanced Attack in 5-2 Win

The Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 to improve their record against Central Division teams to 9-2-2 for the season.

Chicago was noticeably tired as they beat Florida 3-1 on Friday night and were delayed getting to Nashville due to the snowstorm that pummeled the Midwest.

There was a playoff-like atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena with a huge contingent of Chicago fans that were raucous before the game started with their traditional cheering during the national anthem .

Coach Barry Trotz appeared to enjoy the visitor's presence. "I don’t know if we came out with more intensity but the building was ramped up from the get go and that doesn’t hurt the home team. I know that. It means this is a good rivalry and Nashville is a great destination to come to."

Barry Trotz Speaks After Nashville's 5-2 Win over Chicago

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Adam Jahns Previews the Preds-Hawks Game on Smashville on the Glass Radio (Podcast)

This week on Smashville on the Glass Radio we had Adam Jahns, Blackhawk's beat writer for the Chicago Sum-Time on as our special guest to give us all the information we need to know about the Hawks as we head into tomorrow's big game at Bridgestone Arena.

Adam talked about this year's team and how they have come back from last year's post Stanley Cup letdown to be of the top teams in the league once again this season. We talked about their new players and what we should expect to see tomorrow night.

We also had Amanda DiPaolo as our special co-host since Ryan Port was on assignment. Amanda and I discussed a wide variety of Predator related issue that you will find interesting.

Listen in the following player or go to Blog Talk Radio or iTunes to download...

Listen to internet radio with SmashvilleOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

The Morning Alter Round-Up: Predators 3, Jackets 0

The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 at Nationwide Arena last night with a very workman-like effort from the opening puck drop until the clock wound down at the end of play.

Pekka Rinne was outstanding as he stopped all 38 Columbus shots. It was Rinne's fourth shut out of the season and the 24th of his career. He is 15-2-0 since December 8 when his run started in the tremendous comeback in Columbus.

When the Predators scored in the second period, they had gone in excess of six periods without a goal since Ryan Suter left Monday's game against the Islanders.

The Predators are scheduled for practice this morning at Centenial Sportsplex at 11 a.m. You may want to check Twitter for updates before you trek downtown as it seems like one that could become optional.

Here is our game story from last night and comments from the couch. Make the jump for the full round-up of everything from the game...


Main Stream Media...

Josh Cooper: (The Tennessean) Game story - Notes - Postgame Ponderings
David Boclair (The City Paper)
Jim Diamond (Preds.com)
NHL.com

Digital Media...

Ryan Porth (Smashville 24/7)
Amanda DiPaolo (Inside Smashville)
Mark Willoughby (The View from 111)
Robby Stanley (Hockey Night in Nashville)
Jeremy Gover (Section 303)
Dirk Hoag (On The Forecheck)
Kris Martel (Predatorial)

Columbus Media...

Jackets.com
Columbus Dispatch
The Dark Blue Jacket
The Cannon

Audio from the Predators comes from....

Coach Barry Trotz
Mike Fisher
Marty Erat

From  Columbus, we hear from...

Coach Todd Richards
Derick Brassard
Antoine Vermette
Ryan Johansen

Three Stars of the Game...

1. Pekka Rinne
2. Marty Erat
3. Antoine Vermette

Highlights come from NHL.com....



More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Rinne Holds Firm and Throws a 3-0 Shutout at The Blue Jackets

Despite a 38 shot Columbus barrage, including 18 in the final period, Pekka Rinne stopped everything that came his way as he picked up his fourth shutout of the year as he led the Nashville Predators to a 3-0 victory at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night.

Marty Erat and Mike Fisher scored second period goals that would have been plenty but as time was ticking down and the Preds were on the penalty kill, Shea Weber launched a shot 160 feet into the Jackets empty net to rub salt into the open Columbus wound.

Columbus played as well as they have in any of the games against the Predators this season and put pressure on Rinne and the Preds' defense all evening. Rinne made save after save all evening on plenty of Jacket scoring chances.

Steve Mason was the hard luck loser for the Jackets as there was little he could do with either of the two shots that found his net as he stopped 23 of 25 Nashville shots.

When the game ended, Nashville had 58 points and were still in sixth place but had pulled within four points of the Western Conference leading Blackhawks.

The Predators returned home immediately after the game and will play the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

Postgame Audio from the Columbus PR Department comes from Barry Trotz, Mike Fisher, and Marty Erat.

Make the jump for more detail and a few comments from the couch...

Predators Simplify Saturday $10 Ticket Policy

If you haven't been to Bridgestone Arena lately, you may or may not know that almost every game is a sellout. The Predators have sold out nine of their last ten home contests and 14 of 24 for the season.

The game that did not sell out last Thursday against Colorado was a couple of hundred tickets shy on a night when schools had been called off and all the local media outlets were fear-mongering that folks should not leave their house. Under the circumstances, it was amazing that 16, 905 people were willing to risk life and limb to get their hockey fix.

Bridgestone Arena has been averaging 16,712 per game for a 97.7% of capacity rate, which was unimaginable before COO Sean Henry took control and made filling the building the job of every employee. The Preds are well on their way to breaking the records of 20 sell outs and an average of 16,600, with both marks being set in the first couple of years of the franchise.

With all that being said, the demand for the 100 special day of game tickets for $10 has exploded. After the jump, you will find a new plan being implemented by the team to provide a more equitable solution to the distribution of those tickets that does not require camping out or lining up at the crack of dawn...

Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets: Pre-Game Primer

TV-Radio...

6:00 p.m. CST   TV: Fox Sports Tennessee.  Preds Radio Network (102.5-FM The Game)

Stage Setter...

Anytime the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets hook up, expect to see fireworks. Tonight's game will be no different in spite of the lop-sided look on paper. The Predators should not feel potential effect of a "trap" game as they are coming off a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday and Columbus is a special rivalry for them. On the flip side, the Blue Jackets do not dislike any team as much as the Predators. It should be an exciting game to say the least.

Make the jump for everything else...