It’s been a while. With the holidays, traveling, and all of us taking a much needed break, it’s been a few weeks since the last Hockey Tonkin’. A lot of has happened between then and now. The Preds got healthy and then got injured again. They went on a six game losing streak. Preds Twitter had an absolute meltdown over losing those games. Finally, the Preds figured things out and seem to be back to their winnings ways.
It’s a long season, guys. The Preds will go through slumps and they’ll go on streaks where they can’t be beat. That’s what I think a lot of fans don’t understand. It’s an 82 game season and we just now reached the halfway point. There’s half a season left. Even with the losing streak, the Preds are still only one point back from the Jets for first in the Central. They’re sitting in a good spot right now. So if they go through another slump, don’t panic because it will all even out in the end. The Preds are too talented of a team to be worried about things like that. Now that my mini-rant is over, what stood out for the Predators recently?
ROCCO’S MODERN LIFE
You can’t stop Rocco Grimaldi, you can only hope to contain him. Rocco is riding a 4-game point streak currently. You can’t help but feel good for the guy. I’ve said this before, but Rocco is pretty much Viktor Arvidsson with less skill. The guy goes all out every single shift. Real easy to root for a guy like that. It’s good to see him find some success.
NASHVILLE GETTING HEALTHY? HOPEFULLY?
Since the last Hockey Tonkin’, there’s been a few transactions with IR. Arvidsson, Subban, and Sissons were activated. Turris was activated and then sent right back to IR. Currently, the Preds have Forsberg, Turris, and Weber on IR, but David Poile said he expects all to be back within two weeks. That’s huge news for the Preds as they try to get healthy for the second half of the season.
ALL-STAR ROSTERS ANNOUNCED
While P.K. Subban’s streak of being the Central Division captain will come to an end, the Preds will send two of his teammates to San Jose for the All-Star Game. Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne will both represent Nashville in the annual game. Both are very deserving of the honor. There’s the possibility of another Predator joining the game as Filip Forsberg is up for the final vote. I don’t expect Forsberg to win it however since he just hasn’t played in enough games this year to put up the stats worthy of an All-Star selection.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Very busy week for the Preds as they continue their longest road trip of the season. Monday night they’ll face off with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then it’s a back to back on Wednesday and Thursday with the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets. They’ll wrap things up on Sunday afternoon as they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. The road trip didn’t start the way the team wanted, but they bounced back against the Canadiens. They’ll need to keep that going and finish off the road trip strong.
Be sure to check out the Talking Preds Podcast. New episodes almost weekly. Be sure to follow along on Twitter and Facebook for live tweeting during the games along with something new we’re trying out. For certain games, I’ll be jumping on live during intermissions, pre-game, or post-game with thoughts on the game. Love to have some good hockey discussion so follow along and let me know what you guys think.
Herbie Brooks is the Lead Nashville Predators Analyst for SoBros Network. He knows three things: beating Commies, winning Gold Medals, and having great hair. Follow him on Twitter: @SoBroHerbie_B
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