Apparently, a perfect formula for a 6-6-1 record.

Who knew?

In a true illustration of Jekyll and Hyde, the 2009-10 Predators have played up to their potential on certain nights, and then just flat-out phoned it in on others. But that’s exactly why it’s so frustrating as a fan who watches this team game-in and game-out. We know what they’re capable of, so why don’t they play like that every night? A 3-1 loss when they’ve fired off 40 shots and their goalie has stood on his head is a lot easier to swallow than the same 3-1 loss when only 13 shots were generated and they spent the entire 60 minutes chasing the other team around the rink like it was a pee wee game.

For those of us who watch this team every single night, it’s no secret that they’re better than the national media gives them credit for. Shea Weber (a/k/a “The Beast”) is not only second on the team in points (9) but is also tied for the league lead in goals by a defenseman (5). JP Dumont leads the team in points (11) despite missing four games with concussion-like symptoms and is even the leagues highest scorer for players with less than 10 games played. Pekka Rinne, last year’s should-have-been Calder Trophy winner, has battled back from his 0-3-0 start to finish the month at 4-3-0. In addition, if you take away the 6-1 and 6-0 losses, Rinne would be second in the league with a .934 save percentage.

That’s not even mentioning the fact that sophomore Patric Hornqvist, who failed miserably as a top line winger last season, looks like a totally different player this season, posting three goals (two of them game-winners) and five assists.

Or Jerred Smithson who, out of seemingly nowhere, is tied for the lead among Nashville forwards in goals (3), one of them being a gorgeous short handed tally that proved to be the game-winner against Minnesota.

Looking back on a .500 month is easy to do when your team won four of it’s last five to get to .500, as opposed to the other way around. But, just two weeks ago, the Predators were playing some of the worst hockey in the franchise’s 12 year history. Not only were the losses lopsided, but the score was indicative of the way they were playing. No one was hustling, defensemen were out of position, forwards weren’t back checking and only a handful of players were busting their tails on every shift.

Kevin Klein, who was the heir apparent to Greg deVries as the #4 d-man, was on the ice for all six opponent’s goals between October 15 and half of the second period of October 21 (3 games).

Giving new meaning the term “inept power play,” the Predators went 0-for-32 during a stretch that started on opening night and ended October 22 against Ottawa. And yes, inside that cavern of incompotence was a span of seven games without a single man-advantage tally (23 chances).

Martin Erat, the $4.5 million man, has just one point so far, is a minus-9 and is on pace for a HUGE eight point season (which, by the way, breaks down to $562,500/point). Oh, and that one point he has? It was a goal that actually went off a defenseman in front of the net so, really, he’s earned zero points this season. And, almost as if to prove they don’t need him or his monstrous salary, Nashville is 2-0-0 without Erat in the lineup.

The six game slide from October 10-21 caused a lot of Predators fans to call for Head Coach Barry Trotz’s head (including this guy) but, per usual, the organization stuck by their coach to see if the team could weather the storm. Trotz, with a career record of 370-348-60-55 through the month of October, is the only head coach the Nashville franchise has ever had and looks to have survived another scare, rumored mainly because of his long time friendship with Predators General Manager David Poile. But, in a season where the Preds are rumored to be actively looking for a big name acquisition to help boost ticket sales (Phil Kessel, Alexander Frolov), one has to wonder just how short Trotz’s leash is.

If the 3-1 Chicago loss on October 15 had’ve been a 6-1 loss, making it the third consecutive game the Preds would’ve allowed six goals, would that have been enough? If the Ottawa game on October 22, where Nashville squandered a 3-0 lead in the 3rd period only to eek out a 6-5 win in overtime, had’ve indeed been a loss, would that have been enough? Or what about the 6-0 loss at Dallas on October 14? If that game had been at home, would that have been enough?

All the “what if’s” are silenced for now, with the team winning four of it’s last five and, even in some of the recent losses, seemingly having righted the ship.

The bottom line is, there are plenty of good things to rally around and, of course, there’s plenty of areas in need of improvement. But there’s one thing, above all else, that fans want and that’s consistency. We know this team can be a playoff calibur team. We see flashes of brilliance and chemistry often enough to know that. It’s the times they come out uninspired, uncommitted or unwilling to shoot the puck that get the fan base up in arms.

If you get beat by a better team, fine, but you’d better go down swinging.

Or shooting in this case.

Why the ex-alternate captain, of course!

JP Dumont netted his second goal of the season and then helped out on four others to lead the Nashville Predators over the Ottawa Senators 6-5 on Thursday night. It was Nashville’s first win since October 8.

Yep… that was two weeks ago.

But all is right with the world now as, not only did the Predators get back on the winning track, but they continuted their strong overall play which has brought their confidence back.

The Preds did make it harder than was necessary, however. They scored three goals in the opening 11:00 and held that lead until the third period. In the opening minute of the third stanza, however, both Ryan Suter and Steve Sullivan were sent to the penalty box for seperate infractions, giving the Senators a 5-on-3 power play. On the insuing two-man advantage, Ottawa got the first of what would be five – count ‘em FIVE – goals in the third period.

After two more scores in the next 7:00, Ottawa had knotted it up 3-3.

Nashville would again take the lead on a quick rebound shot by Shea Weber with under 9:00 remaining. The Predators have killed the Senators’ momentum.

Or have they?…

In a move right up there with Dan Ellis’s pass to James Neal in the first game of the year, Pekka Rinne comes way out of his net (at one point it almost looks as if he wants to check Jason Spezza into the boards himself) which gave pinching defenseman Anton Volchenkov an empty net to shoot at. Needless to say he buried it, tying the score at four a piece.

After Ottawa was assesed penalties for delay of game (shooting the puck over the glass) and too many men on the ice, the Predators went on the man advantage with less than 2:00 remaning. And, for the first time since opening night in Dallas, they notched a power play goal. Suter’s extra man marker with exactly 1:00 left on the clock was going to be the difference maker.

Or was it?…

In a moment where they probably thought the final horn was going to sound any second, every Predator on the ice was staring at the puck in the corner. All the while former 1st overall pick Chris Phillips is sneaking into the crease area to blast home a random centering pass with less than 0:02 remaining.

In the extra session, boo’s rained down from the Ottawa stands after Matt Carkner was called for interference. The Predators were on the man-advantage once again and finally put home the winner on a Weber slapshot from the point.

(It’s a good thing overtime in hockey isn’t played all the way through, otherwise Nashville would’ve found yet another way to squander the lead.)

After his performance tonight, Rinne played himself right out of starting goaltender contention. The first Senators goal slid under his pads, he went down too early on the second (albiet a serious mis-communication between Colin Wilson and Suter actually led to this goal), he basically waved at the third goal as it just flat out beat him stick-side and then, on the fourth goal – well… we already talked about that.

The blame on the fifth goal is squarely on the shoulders of Weber, who made up for it by tallying the game-winner in overtime.

This was the first game in which a Nashville goaltender has been anything less than solid but, just as they deserved to win the Buffalo game back on October 10, they probably deserved to lose this one yet pulled out a victory.

Regardless of whether they deserved it or not, the Predators will take it. And, hopefully, will build off it. They travel to Chicago this Saturday to take on the Blackhawks for the second time this month.

GAME NOTES:
* Suter’s first goal of the game was actually deflected off of the leg of Ottawa defenseman Alexandre Picard.
* Cody Franson scored his first NHL goal tonight, also off of – you guessed it – Picard. He now has points in each of his two career NHL games.
* Dumont had two points coming into Thursday’s game. Now he’s tied for the team lead in scoring with seven.
* Martin Erat finished the game with a minus-3 rating.
* Despite the minus-2 rating, David Legwand continued his strong play as of late. He was positionally sound, logged some very important minutes during the penalty kill and even created some space in the offensive zone.
* Weber not only scored two goals but also fired seven shots on goal.
* The Predators scored more power play goals in Thursday’s game (2) than they had all season long coming into the game.
* Much maligned defenseman Kevin Klein was on the ice for two of Ottawa’s five goals.
* Not someone you’d exactly call a “thug,” Jerred Smithson finished the game with 12 penalty minutes.
* Philips, who scored the game-tying goal in the waining seconds of regulation, finished the game with plus-4 rating. By contrast, Carkner finished with a minus-4.
* The next 303:30 will feature special guest John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting. It will be released Saturday, October 24 around 3pm.

Dirk’s take at On The Forecheck, Buddy and Jackson Video at Preds on the Glass, and Mark’s take from The View from 111.

Before the much-discussed town hall meeting, the Predators hosted quite a few different events to keep the crowd buzzing:
-Used Equipment Sale (featuring $40 sticks, as well as gloves, skates, helmets, and pads)  I walked out with a Martin Gelinas and Ryan Suter sticks.
-Steve Sullivan with the Masterton trophy, posing for pictures with fans.
-J.P. Dumont, Cody Franson, and Mark Dekanich all signing autographs for the fans.
-and last but not least, free popcorn and soda!

Predators radio personality Tom Callahan was floating around, as was the emcee for the evening Pete Weber.  Gnash was being his usual playful self, spending time with everyone he came across.

The real event of the evening though, was the Town Hall featuring David Freeman, David Poile, Ed Lang, Steve Sullivan, and J.P. Dumont.  Questions were submitted by the crowd during the other events, and the crowd didn’t hold back.  Detailed description after the break…

David Freeman
- It was two years ago that the journey began, and the team is much stronger that it was then.
- He began with giving credit to the scouts, and how we draft.  This led into building the team the “Predator Way”, by drafting well, and developing our players.  Once they’re developed, finding ways to keep them in the Predators system.
- The crowd pleasing answer to another question about putting up more money, was “We’re not New York…” which the crowd agreed with by applause and cheering.  We know we have to be responsible with the funds we have.
- Regarding the Boots bankruptcy, Freeman assured the crowd that at this point, the damage has been done, and it is not going to effect this franchise more than it has.
- Free Agency signings: “It may not be as sexy to bring your own players back” but keeping Sullivan and Ward were the targets this year.
- Third Jersey notes:  Going to take design from the Original Six, and keep a very traditional approach.  We’re hearing September for an unveiling.  New tradition will attempt to be established on Saturday nights “Hockey Night in Nashville”, and will likely have the third jersey featured in those games.

Ed Lang
- Ticket sales are holding steady with last year’s numbers.  Additional sales staff have been added so more cold calls and opportunities to talk to customers are happening.
- FS Tennessee is going to be carrying 55 games for the Predators this season.  There will be more games in HD, but understand this is an expensive undertaking.
- Military Mondays, Fellowship Nights, and Family Nights will continue.  A fresh approach on promotions this year, possibly less, but much more emphasis on getting them right.
- The new convention center is going to pose possible parking issues, but discussions with Metro, MHDA, and parking companies are ongoing to ensure the communication goes out about where people can park in downtown Nashville.
- If you thought Fangtastic February was interesting last year, wait until March in this year’s schedule.  17 games in March.  Sully’s response was priceless.

David Poile
- Winter Classic: Neyland Stadium, January 1, Predators v. Red Wings. 8-0 would be a nice way to handle that.
- The entire defensive core of the Nashville Predators this season, will very likely be draft picks that have developed in our system.  Re-read that. Wow.
- Alex Radulov is not coming back to Nashville.  What’s happened, has happened.  It’s frustrating, but it’s time to move on.
- This is the year for Legwand and Erat to step up.  (Where have we heard that lately?)
- Ryan Ellis (while not the crowd’s choice initially) is going to develop into the defensive version of Steve Sullivan.
- He expressed a lot of faith in Steve Sullivan being healthy, and being a major factor in the first line.  Also thought the Twitter regarding Sully not selling his house got out before Poile could tell anyone that Sullivan was re-signed.
- He’s thrilled to be a grandfather.

Steve Sullivan
- He doing the exact same exercises that he did to get back from September to January, except he’s doing heavier weight and more elaborate workouts.
- Said a lot of great things about Pekka Rinne in net, including how frustrating it is in practice to try to get a puck past him.
- Expressed a lot of good reviews of Cal O’ Reilly including some chemistry that instantly developed.
- Legwand, Erat, among others are all going to find their peak soon, they’re young, and still have many years of hockey left in them.
- When he became a free agent, he had no intentions of leaving Nashville, he just had to see what he was worth.
- When he retires, he sees himself sticking around the Nashville area.
- Oh, and those TV timeouts?  They love that.

J.P. Dumont
- J.P. expressed a similar love of Nashville that Sullivan mentioned, while his family is from Montreal, they love the city of Nashville.
- The TV timeouts?  Yeah, he gets chill bumps too.  Other teams ask why we’re doing it, they’re impressed that we support our team so much.
- When asked about the power play, Dumont looked at Sullivan and pointed to him being one of the big reasons that will improve this season.
J.P. had to leave early, so he didn’t get the barrage of questions that the others did.

All in all, a very successful event.  I had the opportunity to speak with David Freeman afterward, I told him immediately “Thank You” for his involvement in keeping hockey in Nashville.  After breaking the ice, we had a great conversation about the future of Nashville and laughed over a possible Winter Classic at Bristol Speedway.

Pictures and additional notes will likely turn up later today…

Tuesday: Preds dispose of Edmonton in Overtime 6-5

Goals: Legwand with two, Suter with a PP goal, Sullivan with two, and Cap’n Arnott with the game winner during OT power play.

Arnott, Sullivan, Dumont each end Tuesday night with three points on the scorecard.
Sully, Legwand and Arnott are your three stars.

Wednesday: Trade deadline.  Satan clears waivers, Antropov to NYR, and Upshall to PHX.  Nashville makes the calls, but doesn’t find a deal worth making.  When momentum and chemistry are finally starting to happen, I can respect that.

Thursday: Calder Cup preview leaves many singing Pekka’s praises in 4-2 Preds win.

Goals: Fiddler, Jones (actually Russell from CBJ), Sullivan, and Erat (all during even strength)
Congrats to Marin Erat for his 100th NHL goal.
Sullivan, Rinne, and Nash (CBJ) are your three stars.

Your Nashville Predators end a home stand 6-0, carrying a six-game winning streak to Philadelphia (aka Nashville East) on Saturday.  With the win against the Blue Jackets, the Predators also find themselves sixth place in the Western Conference.

Oh yeah, and before I forget, Shea Weber’s been busy as well having fighting majors in three straight games.

Jason Strudwick vs Shea Weber (courtesy of HockeyFights.com)

R.J. Umberger vs Shea Weber (courtesy of HockeyFights.com)

And that ladies and gentlemen, is your Friday Flashback for the week of March 6th.  I hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Cellblock Day on March 3rd (03/03) and we’ll see you next time.