Mercalius Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Season officially started last night, but the Preds debut tonight at home against Ottawa and a returning David Legwand. Some interesting things to watch this season: Forsberg has been lighting it up during TC and preseason - will it carry over into the regular season? Also, he's been reported as getting some time at C as opposed to LW as of late. Is Borque a first liner? Recent line-pairings have him with Neal and Riberio on the right wing. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. What is Colin Wilson's future? He's had two disappointing seasons after what appeared to be a breakout at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. Can Lav get him back on track, or are his days numbered with the Predators? Will Craig Smith continue his upward momentum? Like Wilson currently, he was viewed as a bit of a letdown until a rather impressive 2013 season made him the key forward to watch. How will Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Pekke Rinne perform in this new system? As cornerstones of elite defense in past-season, will it translate in a more up-tempo offense where they could see less support on their own end of the ice? And finally, just how good/bad will the Predators be this season? No one is picking us to do much this year as a lack of overall talent at the forwards corp. However, no one is pegging us to be in the McDavid sweepstakes as of yet either. The development and production of young players like Seth Jones, Filip Forsberg, and Calle Jarnkrok could very well either make us a sexy sleeper pick to make the playoffs or very well have us in the thick of things for a really early pick in the 2015 draft. Also of note, the official goal song has been changed from Captain Pedophile Gary Glitter to a mashup of The Black Keys "Gold on the Ceiling" - so hopefully the home crowds will be able to get their chants switched up accordingly. Either way, I'm excited the season's back on again. Go Preds! Bink 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperFreak90 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 I'm also excited to see this team with a different coach. Should be a fun year. Their game day experience blows the Titans away all day. James Neal should break the Preds goal scoring record, which is 33. Going to see if I can get tickets to the game tonight. AFCman, and Mercalius 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bink Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 So excited! I'm in my first NHL fantasy league too, so I should be following more than the Preds. Mercalius 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bink Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Also, stoked that Barry Trotz has joined me here in DC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschool Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Also, stoked that Barry Trotz has joined me here in DC. I wasn't crazy about the hire at first but I'm on board now. I'm just glad GMGM is gone. He wrecked the team year after year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted October 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Forsberg has definitely upped his game. And Weber with the backhander behind the net? Pure Awesome. Good win! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted October 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 (edited) Going back and rewatching the highlights, Forsberg again really stood out. That toe-drag that deked Karlsson out of his skates that set up the Weber backhand was a beauty. Also, check out the new intro, pretty awesome stuff: Edited October 10, 2014 by Mercalius Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) 4-1 win. 2-0 to start the season with tonight's win over the Stars. I'm loving the pace of the team this year. We've dominated SOG and we're seeming to wear the other team out late in the 2nd. In both games the 3rd periods have been all Predators whereas in previous years the final 20 was generally us hanging on for our lives. Another great game by Weber (like that even needs to be said), Forsberg, Nystrom, and Gaustad. Edited October 12, 2014 by Mercalius SuperFreak90 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCman Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Man if I were still living in TN, I'd be buying Preds season tickets. I hope they kick ass this season. I'm WAY more pumped about them than the Titans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCman Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 I'm also excited to see this team with a different coach. Should be a fun year. Their game day experience blows the Titans away all day. James Neal should break the Preds goal scoring record, which is 33. Going to see if I can get tickets to the game tonight. I'm SO F'n glad they have a new coach! Now hopefully the Preds will SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK AND SCORE! !!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperFreak90 Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 I'm SO F'n glad they have a new coach! Now hopefully the Preds will SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK AND SCORE! !!!!! They look really good so far. Peter Laviolette was the right choice for this team. He sees where they are struggling early and make the right adjustments as the game goes on. Nystrom, Forsberg and Gaustad are playing better than I've ever seen them play before. Weber with 2 goals in 2 games too. With this new found offense to go with that great deffense, the skies the the limit for this club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCman Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 YES! Great win over the Stars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bink Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 This team is looking so good, like a legitimate sleeper. I know it has only been 2 games, but the tale is in the tape and the team is obviously playing with a different kind of urgency than ever before. If nothing else, it's going to be a fun season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakingeek Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 We have almost doubled up on both the Stars and Senators on shots on goal differential. Much different look. The interior passing in our offensive zone is impressive. We get the puck down low before we shoot. Lots more shots at close range instead of from the blue line. What I REALLY love is that our defense seems to have ratcheted it up a notch too. We're giving Pekka a lot more help than we used to. We're faster with much better puck handling. We defend the neutral zone very well. Granted it's only been two games but there is a definite buzz around the team that I haven't seen or felt before. And we haven't even had Fish, Cullen or Stalberg on the ice yet. The Nystrom, Gaustad and Beck line has been awesome. The Smith, Forsberg and Roy line is going to be deadly. I'm liking what I see. http://youtu.be/nlP9S9W-tWQ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercalius Posted October 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 Another solid win tonight. Rinne with the shutout, Forsberg's riding a 5 pt/4 game streak, and Neal netted his first goal as a Predator. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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