Fixing the PK, Spaling returns to the big club

 

Before Tuesday’s game against the Calgary Flames, Nashville boasted a league worst penalty kill-off rate at a little over 64%. After Marcel Goc suffered a separated shoulder, the Predators recalled Nick Spaling from Milwaukee to replace the German Olympian.

Spaling is considered to be a specialist on killing penalties. Despite the classification, Spaling does not feel any added pressure now that he has been recalled. “Not really, I don’t think so. They have the guys here that are really good at penalty killing. Sometimes it’s the way it goes. It’s only 4 or 5 games into the season. Sometimes the other teams get the bounces on their power play.”

The 22 year old impressed the coaching staff during training camp but couldn’t crack the roster and got sent to Milwaukee. Spaling did not have to go through waivers to be sent to the American Hockey League. His waiver wire ineligibility may have played a role in the decision to send Spaling to the Admirals, but Spaling isn’t going to spend any time worrying about it.

Predators injury troubles give opportunity to others to step up

First it was Pekka Rinne who had to leave the third period of Nashville’s season opener. Marty Erat was next, out with back spasms and placed on injured reserve. Matthew Lombardi then suffered a concussion against Chicago last Wednesday. And during Saturday’s OT loss to the Washington Capitals, the Predators lost Marcel Goc to a nasty hit from behind by Niklas Backstrom. Goc is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks.

Marcel Goc is the latest Predator to be injured this season (Photo: Yardbarker.com)

These are not minor losses for the Predators. Rinne is Nashville’s starting goaltender. Erat and Lombardi are two thirds of the Predators’ top line. And Goc is a defensive forward with an offensive upswing with two goals in four games. While injuries can prove to be devastating for a team, they also provide an opportunity for other, less prominent players to step up their game or, in some cases, to just get in it.

Predators enforcer protects more than just teammates, becomes a volunteer firefighter

Nashville Predators enforcer, Wade Belak, has already started preparing for life after the National Hockey League. In May, Belak applied to and was accepted into the Williamson County Fire Rescue Squad, an all-volunteer crew that has served Williamson County for over 40 years, having been established in 1966.

Belak’s application for the training was accepted in July and Belak completed 2 months of classes. When training camp opened in September, the former first round draft pick (12th overall, 1994) still had 6 classes left, which he has since been able to complete. Belak was officially accepted into the Fire Rescue Squad in early October.

O’Brien off to a good start for Predators

Just before the puck dropped on Nashville’s season, the Predators organization announced they had traded defenseman Ryan Parent and forward Jonas Andersson for defenseman Shane O’Brien. News of the trade was originally a surprise. Parent was a first round draft pick of Nashville’s, lost in the Peter Forsberg trade. The Predators regained the rights to Parent from the Philadelphia Flyers for the rights to negotiate with Dan Hamhuis. Nashville subsequently signed Parent to a two-year deal.

Shane O’Brien played a solid first game for the Nashville Predators Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks (Photo: Yardbarker.com)

O’Brien, set to make $1.6 million this year, resigned with the Canucks on July 12th as a restricted free agent. But on October 2, Vancouver put O’Brien on waivers. So you can’t blame the 27 year old for being a little happy about his new opportunity in Nashville as a result of being traded just three days after being placed on waivers.

What does “together” mean to the Nashville Predators?

At the start of each hockey season, the Nashville Predators organization adopts a motto that best exemplifies the team. This year, the Predators motto is the word together. As the puck officially drops tonight at Bridgestone Arena, Predlines talked to some of the Predators about what together means for them.

Colin Wilson is about to start his second NHL season, and expectations are high. Drafted 7th overall in 2008, Wilson is only 20 years old. Last season, as a highly touted prospect, Wilson had a roster spot penciled in despite the typical road to Nashville traveling through Milwaukee. But a nagging groin injury forced Wilson out of the lineup and down to the American Hockey League.

Expectations are high for Colin Wilson (Photo: Yardbarker.com)

For Wilson, together as a motto means forgetting about individual goals in favor of team ones. “If we all have individual goals we aren’t going to be able to accomplish much,” Wilson said, adding “if we all go out there with the same goals, together that’s what will help us go further and win the Stanley Cup.”

Predators leading scorer from last season, Patric Hornqvist, like Wilson, believes the Predators success is found and depends on the team’s ability to stick together. “We always play like a group of five. It doesn’t matter if you are in the neutral zone, your own zone or the offensive zone. Nobody can do it by themselves,” Hornqvist said, adding “We are a team out there and in the locker room and we stick together. If we do that we’ll be a hard team to beat.”