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HEAD COACH
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Barry Trotz
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ROSTER
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C - Darren Turcotte, Greg Johnson, Jeff Nelson, Patric
Kjellberg, Sebastien Bordeleau, Cliff Ronning. LW - Andrew
Brunette, Scott Walker, Denny Lambert, Ville Peltonen, Jeff Daniels,
Vitali Yachmenev. RW - Sergei Krivokrasov, Brad Smyth, Tom
Fitzgerald, Patrick Cote, Rob Valicevic. D - Joel Bouchard, Bob
Boughner, John Slaney, Jamie Heward, Jayson More, J.J. Daigneault,
Drake Berehowsky, Jan Vopat, Kimmo Timonen. G - Mike Dunham, Eric
Fichaud, Tomas Vokoun, Chris Mason.
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INJURIES
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Too long to list . . . .most guys are hurt, most for the
rest of the year, Sebastien Bordeleau fractured two vertebrae and
might not be back for training camp.
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TRANSACTIONS
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None.
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GAME RESULTS
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4/07 at Colorado L 4-1
4/09 at Phoenix W 4-3
4/12 Los Angeles L 4-3
4/14 at Detroit L 4-2
4/15 at Chicago L 4-2
4/17 New Jersey L 4-1
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STANDINGS
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Central Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
y-Detroit 82 43 32 7 93 245 202
x-St Louis 82 37 32 13 87 237 209
Chicago 82 29 41 12 70 202 248
Nashville 82 28 47 7 63 190 261
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TEAM NEWS
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by Jeff Middleton, Nashville Correspondent
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Well, it's been awhile since we've spoken - much has transpired, but
not terribly much in terms of the Predators. They continue on their
"smarter than the average bear" first year, exceeding the
expectations of most hockey fans and critics.
The only NHL franchise ever to go undefeated at Maple Leaf Gardens
(0-0-1) has given the city of Nashville much to cheer about the
past nine months. From the excitement of Opening Night's shutout
loss to the excitement of Saturday night's season-ending loss,
there was one constant -- the excitement. Well, there was also the
constant of sporadic play and the constant of injured players (most
notably the constant of Mike Dunham's weak groin). But the
excitement was the thing that everybody talked about. Nashville
took to hockey like a fish takes to water.
While everybody wondered how it would go, Nashville answered loud
and clear: We love our Predators. They can do no wrong. They score
a goal - we cheer. They make a big hit - we cheer. They get
called for too many men on the ice - we cheer. They ice the puck -
we . . . wait a minute . . . . what is icing again? Aw, who the
hell cares - yee-haw!!!
Point being, the Southern fan is, quite frankly, devout. Being from
New Jersey, I am quite familiar with Frankie from the Bronx
(long-time listener, first-time caller) on WFAN, bitching and
moaning about how the two-line pass Wayne Gretzky made in the
second period while the Rangers were on the power play last night
cost them their shot at the Cup. No matter that it was the 15th
game of the year against the first place Red Wings, who the Rangers
happened to beat 6-2 on the strength of Gretzky's five-assist
night. (By the way, Rangers fans, you wish!) I am not as familiar
with Carol from Smyrna calling to say how proud she was of "her
boys" after they got smoked 8-1 by the Boston Bruins, who were
sucking pretty bad right about then. It is truly a phenomenon.
SEC football is something I still do not get, but when I see people
cheering a team simply because they are "their team," I am
impressed and I understand the word fanatic a little more. What
other team gets a standing ovation with 1.7 seconds left in the
last game of the year...losing 4-1, no playoffs ahead, and barely
60 points. Well, the Predators did. And the best part is that
they recognized the fans for their devotion. Hanging in the rafters
of the Nashville Arena is a banner for the Seventh Man - the fans
of the Nashville Predators. There are now somewhere in the
neighborhood of 40 folks strutting around Middle Tennessee in the
jerseys worn by the Predators in the last game of the year - taken
off the players' backs and presented to those lucky folks on the
ice right after the final horn sounded. Maybe they smell a little
(the sweaters, that is), but it says something about the franchise
that they would go out of their way to honor the fans that much.
All in all, a great year for the Preds. One more thing ..... Let's
go Devils.
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