random facts, tidbits, articles and most importantly my thoughts about things that i find while aimlessly surfing the web...
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Architecture, College Football, Baseball, Hockey, March Madness, The Economy, Corporate Corruption, Incomptent Leadership, Tulane, Atlanta, Florida, etc.
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travacado's thoughts
or at least "others'" thoughts that I find interesting...
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Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Predators rip Chicago; could clinch Thursday
Two victories to history.
That's the position the Predators find themselves in this morning, following a dominating 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in front of 16,362 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center last night.
The triumph, combined with St. Louis' win over Edmonton, lifted the Predators back into an eighth-place tie in the Western Conference and means Nashville can clinch its first playoff berth by winning two of its final three.
Should the Oilers lose tonight in Dallas, the Predators could clinch a berth with a win in Chicago tomorrow.
''I don't even want to think about it,'' said Predators left wing Martin Erat, who collected a goal and two assists.''I just want to go out and play the next game 20 minutes at a time. If we end up getting into the playoffs, it will be great for us and great for the city.''
The Predators (36-28-11-4) had looked a little wobbly down the stretch before last night, producing just two wins over their last 11 contests and falling into ninth place. But the team looked as if it was shot out of a cannon last night, as the Predators scored 35 seconds into the contest and outshot the Blackhawks 18-6 en route to taking a 2-0 lead after the first period.
''(Predators Coach Barry Trotz) talked a lot about confidence,'' Erat said. ''We weren't afraid of Detroit or Colorado, so why be afraid of these last four games? We just went out and played.''
It was a big evening for the recently constructed line of Erat, David Legwand and Vladimir Orszagh, who combined for three goals and five assists. Adam Hall and Scott Walker also scored for the Predators, who beat Chicago for the first time in five meetings this season.
''Guys are starting to get a little more excited,'' Legwand said.
''A lot of guys had been scared to make mistakes. But tonight we got the monkey off our back and played loose.'' (By John Glennon, The (Nashville) Tennessean)
TIDAL 7:07 AM
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Preds halt winless skid at seven
CALGARY, Alberta — Only 24 hours after suffering one of the most devastating losses in franchise history, the Predators may have captured the biggest win of their six-year tenure.
Welcome to the roller-coaster world of the NHL's stretch drive.
The Predators proved remarkably resilient in front of a sellout crowd at the Pengrowth Saddledome, downing red-hot Calgary 3-1 to snap a season-high, seven-game winless streak and move into seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
''It was a big win for us after a heartbreaker last night,'' Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. ''We talked about the character we had to show tonight. That's what playoff hockey is going to be like.''
Martin Erat collected the game-winning score with 2:15 left in the second period, skating out from behind the Calgary goal, waiting for goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to fall and flipping a shot over the prone keeper.
The game was marred by a massive brawl in the closing seconds that involved both goalies, followed by a session of post-game screaming between Predators Coach Barry Trotz and Flames Coach Darryl Sutter.
It was the first win for the Predators since they beat Pittsburgh 9-4 on March 4, and it came one night after Nashville had tied a franchise record by allowing four third-period goals in a 5-4 loss to Edmonton.
The victory gave the Predators a franchise-record 82 points and also allowed the team to tie the franchise record for wins with 34. Calgary saw its seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end.
''It was great to get off a losing streak and get two points,'' said Greg Johnson. ''We needed that win more than anything. To come home with seven games left and be three points up is really big.''
The Predators had either held the lead or been tied in the third period of each of the past seven games, but had managed just four points during that stretch. This time, they refused to surrender the advantage, allowing Calgary just two shots on goal over the final 20 minutes.
''This time we didn't change anything from the first and second periods,'' Trotz said. ''We focused on straying our course and I though defensive we did a very good job. The line of Johnson, (Adam) Hall and (Scott) Hartnell did a great job on (Jarome) Iginla's line.''
It looked early on as if the Predators might still be suffering a hangover from their crushing loss the previous night, as they surrendered a power-play goal just 3:23 into the contest. With Vladimir Orszagh off for interference, Calgary's Jarome Iginla parked himself in front of the Nashville net and redirected Steve Montador's blueline drive past Tomas Vokoun.
The Predators answered by scoring just a fraction of a second before the end of the opening period. Center Sergei Zholtok dug the puck out of the boards behind the Flames' net and slid a pass to Scott Hartnell, who fired a puck between the legs of Kiprusoff with half a second showing on the clock.
It was Zholtok's first point in seven games with the Predators.
Trotz made a number of changes in his lineup from the previous night. He inserted forwards Jordin Tootoo and Jeremy Stevenson, along with defenseman Mark Eaton, while sitting Denis Arkhipov, Jim McKenzie and Jamie Allison.
In addition, Trotz pulled David Legwand from centering Steve Sullivan and Scott Walker, inserting Andreas Johansson there instead. Legwand centered Martin Erat and Vladimir Orszagh. (By John Glennon, The (Nashville) Tennessean)
TIDAL 9:46 AM
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