Wednesday's notes: Playoff picture coming into focus
It looks like some of the pieces of the NHL's playoff puzzle are finally falling into place, as a few more teams are getting settled into their seeding for the post-season which begins next week.
| Final - 4.3.2012 | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Wild | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nashville Predators | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Stories
Predators 2, Wild 1: A Giant Effort By Anders
The Nashville Predators earned two big points in their campaign for 4th place in the West by taking a shootout decision over Minnesota, 2-1.
Minnesota Wild vs. Nashville Predators: Game Recap
Minnesota Wild 1-2 (so) Nashville Predators: Dany Heatley adds to his goal total but the Wild come up short
Tuesday afternoon notes: Trophy Talk
Our around-the-league notes kick off with a few articles on various NHL awards, while here in Nashville, attention turns towards tonight's matchup with Minnesota.
Nashville Predators call up Chet Pickard
The Preds' 2008 1st-round draft pick has been recalled, presumably to take shots in practice and lighten Pekka Rinne's workload.
Tuesday's notes: Playoff anticipation building already
Sure, the Nashville Predators are still in the middle of a 3-team race for the #4 spot in the West, but elsewhere in the NHL, where teams are already pretty certain about their first-round playoff opponent, fans and players alike seem ready for the puck drop, which is still 8 days away.
Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators preview: Fine Tuning
The Wild have plummeted through the NHL standings over the last few months, so on paper this is a game which a hungry Predators team should dominate. I imagine it would be really hard to skate on paper, though.
GameThreads
Predators Fans GameThread on On the Forecheck
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Wild Fans GameThread on Hockey Wilderness
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Boxscore
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | 2OT | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nashville | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| First Period |
|---|
| - No scoring. Penalties - Ryan Suter, Nashville (Cross checking), 7:25; Justin Falk, Minnesota (Interference), 10:56; Brandon Yip, Nashville (Roughing), 16:42; Erik Christensen, Minnesota (Roughing), 16:42; David Legwand, Nashville (Interference), 18:53. |
| Second Period |
| - 1, Nashville Goal - Gabriel Bourque (7), from Nick Spaling at 12:31. 2, Minnesota Goal - Dany Heatley (23), from Nate Prosser and Mikko Koivu at 17:53. |
| Third Period |
| - No scoring. Penalties - Martin Erat, Nashville (Tripping), :42; Nick Spaling, Nashville (Hooking), 11:54; Jed Ortmeyer, Minnesota (Diving), 11:54; Andrei Kostitsyn, Nashville (Tripping), 19:48. |
| Overtime |
| - No scoring. |
| Shootout |
| : scores () : scores () : scores () : scores () : scores () |
Shots on Goal:
Minnesota 12 + 5 + 7 + 2 = 26.
Nashville 10 + 6 + 7 + 1 = 24.
Power Play Conversion: Minnesota 0-4. Nashville 0-1.
Goaltenders: Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom 1-24-.958. Nashville, Anders Lindback 1-26-.962.
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Dave Jackson
Linesmen: Don Henderson, Tony Sericolo
Power Play Conversion: Minnesota 0-4. Nashville 0-1.
Goaltenders: Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom 1-24-.958. Nashville, Anders Lindback 1-26-.962.
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Dave Jackson
Linesmen: Don Henderson, Tony Sericolo
