Latest / Predators Official Podcast / Pred Hot! Fights, Comebacks, and More on the POP

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Pred Hot! Fights, Comebacks, and More on the POP · Predators Official Podcast

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Santos across right side. Marshall so shoots and scores.
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It's the podcast that loves the hockey team you love.
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Sorrow stops him with the blocker.
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This is the Predator's official podcast with Cara Hammer and Max
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hers. Santos left, circle Rooster his
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scores on 102.5 and 106.3. The game at
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nashvillepredators.com. Welcome into the Predators
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official podcast here on ESPN. One O 2 five and one O 6 three.
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The game. My name is Max Hers from Preds
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Radio along with Kara Hammer from Predators TV.
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Preds are on the road and the Preds are hot.
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How about this week, Kara? Five wins in a row for your
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Nashville Predators, including two instant classics against the
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San Jose Sharks. Fight Night against the
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Minnesota Wild. It's been a fun week to be a
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Preds fan. There's been so much to talk
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about that. I mean, I think this has been
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the greatest week of hockey that we've seen this season.
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Let's start with Minnesota because there was so much hype
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going into that game. Obviously Zach LaRue, we talked
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about it, made a lot of noise in their last game at Minnesota.
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He got called for the slew foot, had the game misconduct.
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So you knew the Minnesota Wild were gonna come in and have a
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little bit of chip on their shoulder.
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They were talking quite a bit before that one.
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Yeah, it seemed like the Wild were a little bit too focused on
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Fight Night and we're focused on it a little bit too early in the
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week. We talked about last week on the
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podcast what Marcus Felino said in the media in an article in
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The Athletic. He was already talking about it
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two games in advance and the message from the Preds the
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morning of that game was clear. Basically we heard what he said.
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We're not happy with it. We're going to take care of
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business on the ice when you're supposed to take care of
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business. And I I think it fired the Preds
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up for this game. And we had two fights in the
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second minute. Zach LaRue, I think had a pre
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arranged bout with Yakov Trennan, the former Pred.
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They were talking in warm ups. LaRue comes off the bench, goes
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and tries and gets Trennan. Yak definitely won the fight.
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That was a size mismatch to be sure, but LaRue paid these
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pennants and then right after that the heavyweight battle,
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House Shen against House Felino. Round ten of the brothers in the
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NHL, more than half of those have been Luke Shen against
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Marcus Felino. That was the press best scrap of
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the three for sure. I thought it was interesting,
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Max, because before that game, you told me we're gonna see
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three fights in the first period.
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That was your guess. And I kind of spread this around
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to the other broadcasters that that that was your pick.
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And I feel like Skillzy and and Willie both looked at me like, I
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don't know, it seems a little hefty 3, you know, maybe, but I
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don't see it. So props to you, Max, that you
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called it. You called it correctly.
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Thank you. I thought it was pretty obvious,
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but yeah, Hal Gale continues to doubt me.
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And I love proving him wrong. So glad to be right on that one
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again. The third fight was Ryan Hartman
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against Mark Jankowski. Shout out to both of those guys
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for being born in the same week as me.
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So taking that one personally. But two guys who were born a
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week apart in September 1994 going at it.
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And I think we saw why Mark Jankowski had not fought as a
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pred before. He took that one on the chin and
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actually only took one more shift after that and has gone on
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the injury. So I don't know if that means
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the Preds have to start this whole process over again and go
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after Ryan Hartman next time they play.
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Just kidding. That's only how the Wild think.
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That's not how the Preds think. But yeah, three fights in the
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first period and then once we got back to hockey, the Preds
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took care of business. The Wild got the first goal, but
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then the Predators got four in a row to lead 41 in a game that
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they would end up winning pretty easily, 6:00 to 2:00.
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Can we go back to the fighting because I'm not ready to move on
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to the goals yet. Max, I'm still stuck in the
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first period on the fights because I thought one of the
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most interesting things was you knew what was going to happen
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with Zach LaRue. First Yak off training came out.
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He was the Yak attack, like his nickname was still stuck with
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him. But watching Luke Shen and and
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Marcus Plano have the conversation that they were
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having on the ice before they fought it, it was so fascinating
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to see because they were really going, OK, you want to go now?
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Do you want to go now? Do we go now?
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Do we go now? OK, you want to go now?
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OK, let's go now. Like it was very much an adult
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conversation of, hey, this is when we're going to go.
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Let's drop the glove now to get back into it.
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It's a matter of when, not if. For those guys who have fought
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twice this season and six times in their careers, Luke Shedd and
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Marcus Filido. I think Shen deserves a lot of
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credit as kind of the fight captain of how the Preds have
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handled this. I the the Preds have different
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captains I like to determine in different areas of their own ice
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play. Luke Shen is the fight captain.
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Ryan O'Reilly is the face off captain.
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Everybody has an area where they're kind of the veteran and
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the top dog, and I think Shen was the one talking everybody
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through that week and that game, especially Zach LaRue, who's
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going through something like that at the NHL level for the
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first time and knows that he's going to have to face the music
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against the Wild and that he's a marked man.
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And postgame, we saw the Predators giving out their party
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favors, their player of the game, the shovel for digging in
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and the rope for pulling on the rope.
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And Zach LaRue got the first party favor and he goes across
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the room and he goes, no doubt this is going to Shener, a guy
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who helped me a lot this week. So that's a big reason why Luke
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Shen is on the team. You can't just manufacture that.
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You need someone who has been through the woods before when
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something like this happens. And I think because this went
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the way it did this week and the Predators didn't succumb to the
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noise and beat A-Team toward the top of the division pretty
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easily once the fighting subsided, I think that has a
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positive effect on Zach Larue's career going forward.
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Definitely. I know after the game Bruno
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thought that Zach LaRue handled the situation very well.
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Obviously, we talked previously just now the noise surrounding
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it, you know, he was probably feeling a little bit of nerves.
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But then Max, to know that you have Luke Shen and a guy like
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Michael McCarron and now look at at Mark Jankowski, guys that
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have your back going into that situation just shows what type
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of a team this is. And I think, you know, to start
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this season, they were searching for the their identity.
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Who were they? Who were they going to be?
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Things weren't really coming together.
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Now they're riding this five game win streak, a huge win
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against Minnesota that night, But you really start to see this
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team bonding and this team building and it was so evident
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in that game with Minnesota. Well said.
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This was the first four point game for a Preds player this
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season. Philip Forsberg had two goals
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and two assists. All four of those points were
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primary points for Phil. He was in on four of the
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Predators six goals and man was he close to a hat trick with the
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empty net at the end. Oh, you know, Brady Shea wanted
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to give him that one, right when Brady Shea takes the last empty
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net goal and he's looking, He's looking, but he's not available.
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You know that just, you know, good props for for Brady for
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getting it in the net because you know, in that situation, you
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have to score. You can't take the risk of not.
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But you know, that's what I was looking for on the ice.
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Yeah, big shout out to all the star power in the house.
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It was Keith Urban Bobblehead Day in the Music City Bobblehead
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series presented by our friends at Visit Music City Bobblehead.
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Two of four Keith Urban national anthem, Keith Urban getting
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everybody hype. I think it was the perfect way
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to ring in Fight Night with a celebrity sighting, so everyone
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was excited for that one. And then along the way, the
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stars continue to come out. Jelly Roll was in the building
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and was performing on Broadway afterward, and Barry Trotz's
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favorite singer, Noah Kahan, was in the house.
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I I've heard that we saw the video come out of who people's
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favorite musician was right now, and I believe he's also Roman's
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favorite or Phil's. I know one of those two guys.
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Also a big fan of Noah. Noah Kahan is apparently friends
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with both Philip Forsberg and Jake Middleton from the Wild, so
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that's what brought him out. He was just hanging.
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Only in Smashville. Only in Smashville.
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And only in Smashville do you see Keith Urban recreating his
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bobblehead by holding up the catfish to get things.
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Started the bobbling catfish part of the bobblehead is just
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incredible. So well done by the Preds
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marketing squad. Yeah, that was such a fun night
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and good for the boys to pick up the win.
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You know, they took that one six to two.
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And then Max, you take on the San Jose Sharks and they were
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riding the win streak. It had been three in a row.
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And you go against the Sharks and a team that has kind of
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found themselves in a similar situation to to how Nashville
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started, struggling to put some wins together, even though they
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have some really, really good young talent on that squad.
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Yeah, going into this game on Tuesday, I think the friends
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were guilty of thinking this would be a cakewalk, knowing
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that the Sharks deserve to be at the bottom in a way that the
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Preds probably no longer do with the way they're playing.
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And the Sharks made him pay for it.
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Macklin Celebrini, the 18 year old first overall pick on his
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first ever shift against the Preds, scored a beautiful goal
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going top shelf on UC Soros. Then the former Preds starts
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scoring Luke Cunnan with Kyle Grandland.
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Reds got one back but then gave up Tuffy at the end of the 1st
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and trailed 4-1 after one to the worst team in the NHLUC.
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Soros gets the hook. Don't really think any of that
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was his fault. The boys left him hung out to
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dry. But then things turned.
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The Sharks went up five one and then the Preds put their foot on
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the gas. Yeah, they came out and this
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not, this is not even the top power play unit that we're
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talking about, Max. This is this second power play
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unit who has seen not very much ice time together.
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But how about our guy Federer Speshkov with the power play
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goal? And you know, at that point,
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they only have two goals on the board.
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You're down 3, but you start to feel like they're coming back
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into this one. Then 53 seconds later, how about
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Justin Baron, who brings it within two, cuts the lead in
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half, And you kind of feel like the pressure starts to go on San
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Jose at this moment. Yeah, none in the third period
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the Preds came out so hot. Scored on the 1st shift to cut
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it to 1 and then the massive game tying goal 5 minutes into
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the third period on the power play.
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Long power play shift for the first unit.
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Just working it around. Roman Yossi knocks the puck down
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with his hand at the point. Ryan O'Reilly knows if I touch
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that puck that is a hand pass and a whistle.
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So he sets a pick allowing Yossi to be the next Pred to touch the
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puck. He was the only guy who could
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have touched illegally. Really smart play by O'Reilly.
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Nothing out of character for the factor.
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And then Philip Forsberg sets up Roman Yossi for an 89 mile an
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hour game tying one timer. It's 55 and the Preds just kept
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on chugging in the comeback. Yeah, 55 and this was a huge
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moment in the game because Lucian hits the puck over the
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glass. This is your favorite, the dog
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pug. The Preds go on to challenge
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this one, the new role with the puck over the glass 'cause you
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know if they lose this, they're going to go into a A5 on three.
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So a big situation for the Preds to be in of whether or not they
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want to challenge this play. This was dog POG history, Kara,
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and there's nothing better than dog POG history.
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Sure you love a great comeback. Sure you love A5 game-winning
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streak. But dog Pog history is what you
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listen to the Predators official podcast for.
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We love the dog Pog. We love dog pogs and we had a
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dog pog that the Preds would have challenged in pre season
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under the new rule, but it was in the final minute of the game.
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When you cannot issue a challenge it has to be a
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situation room review. So finally the Preds got to have
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the first dog Pog challenge in team history.
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It took so long to review this. There was 1 angle that made it
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very obvious that the puck hit the top of the Dashers and
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leaped out. But it was just the third
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challenge all season in the NHL under the new rule.
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It's the kind of thing where you only challenge if you know
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you're going to win. So all three challenges have
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been successful. And the craziest part of this is
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that both the second and the third challenge in the entire
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league for this rule. And how many games have there
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been so far this season? We have had over 700 games of
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the NHL this season. Going into Tuesday night, there
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had been one challenge for delay of game puck over glass under
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the new rule. Then on Tuesday, January 21st,
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there were two. The Prince missed being the
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second by an hour. Oh my gosh, 2 on the same night.
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Yeah, the Stars had one and they were successful.
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So a big shout out to our friends at the NHL stats
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department for help with that, because that's the type of thing
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that only they can track. And I just thought it was so
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funny. We had one in the first three
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months of the season, then two in the same night.
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That's wild. I know you know it.
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It went over it. It was tough to tell.
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But obviously shout out to the video guys, La Filoni, great job
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by them to know it. And I think nobody knew it more
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that it hit off that stanchion and went up And Zach LaRue, I
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mean, he was definitely giving his case that that Lucian did
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not purposely hit that puck over the glass.
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Yeah, and I I think that's the pure part of the challenge.
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I kind of like when you just kind of have to listen to the
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guys on the ice. What do you think what you see?
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And that's not really how challenges in pro sports work
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because people looking at footage or making those calls,
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really. But yeah, that was a very pure
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hey, challenge, challenge, challenge from Zach LaRue.
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I mean, there was a, what is it? There's a little boy stuck in
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the, well, kind of reaction. So he led you right to the
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disaster and the right answer jumping up and down.
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Yeah, that was so fun. So the game is is tied at 5, and
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how about our guy Nick Blankenberg grabs the
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technically game-winning goal to make it 6:00 to 5:00 at this
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point in the third period. This was indicative of the
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entire game for the Preds and the comeback.
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They had a great chance coming in.
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Stamkos and Blankenberg together, two on one, couldn't
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connect on it, but they reloaded, got the cycle game
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going. Blankenberg did well to set up
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his angle and I think surprised Yorgiev, who maybe was surprised
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every time the Preds shot the puck the way he was looking in
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goal for the Sharks and it leaked on through Blankenberg,
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assisted by Novak and Marsha so who each had three points in the
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game. Nick Blankenberg only scores big
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goals. He has three goals as a Pred.
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One of them is the overtime goal against the Kings in December.
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Then on the back end of Christmas he scored one of the
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goals of the year, driving the net on his backhand against the
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Blues in Saint Louis. And now the game winner in what
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would be the largest comeback in Pred's franchise history.
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Big goals for Blankie? Well, Max, that's because he has
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belief. I know Bruno says it all the
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time, like keep fighting for that feeling.
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And I think that's just really good for us and just having that
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belief for us. And I know I quoted Ted Lasso
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once before, but that's one of my favorite shows ever.
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Like just that believe sign. Like I think it's a word that's
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very underrated. And just believing in the team,
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believing in yourselves and just believing in our own abilities
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and just going out there and playing.
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So tonight was a fun one. So good, so good.
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I think Nick Blankenberg fits the Ted Lasso mold as much as
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any professional athlete in real life.
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I believe it and I think it was special for our broadcast team
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because you know, there's been some rough moments in the
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season. And before this home stand on
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our first meeting back to to kick off the five game home
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stand, we were having a conversation that we need a
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little Ted Lasso. We we need some Ted Lasso to to
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get things inspired, to get things going.
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So it was neat to see him make that quote to have the belief.
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And that was a big game. You know, talking with Derek
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McKenzie in the second period when the Preds were down, going
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into that third period, he had even, you know, starting to push
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the comeback. He said, hey, there are moments
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in the season that you can do something that defines the
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outcome, that when it's over, you can look back and say that
16:21
was what turned the table. And I think coming out in that
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third period, Max, and finding a way to win that game.
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I think when it's all said and done and you look back, you can
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look at that game against the San Jose Sharks on that, hey,
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maybe that maybe that's what got things going.
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Maybe that's what turned the table.
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Lasso level inspiration from Nick Blankenberg, the
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game-winning goal scorer and assistant coach Derek Mackenzie,
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who dressed as Ted Lasso for Halloween this year and has some
16:46
Lassoisms up his sleeve. But I hate to admit it, Kara,
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I'm I'm not the Ted Lasso guy. You're not Max.
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Who are you? I this is really embarrassing,
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but I thought Wrexham was the team from Ted Lasso.
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Turns out it's a non fictional team owned by American
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celebrities in Ireland somewhere in the UK.
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Yeah, I got. I got no clue on this one.
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Well, Ted Lasso is great. Highly, highly suggest it.
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So when you're not watching the Predators on FanDuel, please
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take a moment to spend some time with Ted Lasso.
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All right, Nick Blankenberg and I will sit down and do some
17:22
episodes here on the road trip. The seventh goal actually may
17:25
have been the most important because Philip Forsberg had a
17:27
goal streak to extend. So why not do it from away
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downtown to make it 75 Preds? The largest comeback in
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Nashville Predators franchise history.
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First time ever they won a game that they trailed by four goals.
17:44
Simply an unreal effort across the board and a special night in
17:47
Bridgestone in front of a really fun Tuesday night crowd.
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Yeah. And you know, Max, I think at
17:52
the end of that game, I think as much as the press wanted that
17:56
comeback, they were more disappointed in the start to
18:00
that game than they were in finding a way to come back and
18:03
win. That was evident as they headed
18:05
out to San Jose, that they knew that they needed to go into that
18:09
game against the Sharks and find a way to start on time.
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And it turned into another legendary win against the
18:14
Sharks. Prince have won five in a row.
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We'll recap Thursday night's victory in California, which had
18:20
a little bit of everything. Perhaps the most entertaining
18:23
game in the NHL all season. She's Cara Hammer from Fred's
18:26
TV. I'm Max Hurst from Fred's radio.
18:29
You're listening to the Predators official podcast here
18:31
on your radio home for Fred's Hockey ESPN 102.5 and 106.3 the
18:35
game. Welcome back to The Predator's
18:57
official podcast here on ESPN. 102.5 and 106.3 The Game I am in
19:03
California with the Predators on the road.
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Predators and Ducks on Saturday night to finish up this two game
19:09
California road trip after a big win Thursday night in San Jose.
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Cara 2 crazy wins this week against the same team.
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back-to-back on different sides of the country. 75 in Nashville
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over the Sharks on Tuesday, then 65 over the Sharks in San Jose
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on Thursday, in a game that between two teams in the bottom
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five in the NHL, was one of the best games, if not the best game
19:36
in the league all season. Incredibly entertaining in every
19:39
way the entire way through. Yeah, it was definitely must be
19:43
TV. You know, we we just talked
19:45
about in the last segment that the Preds wanted to come out and
19:48
have a better start in Max. They got things going quick in
19:52
the first period. Yeah, Prince were playing really
19:54
well from the jump. They they knew that they did not
19:57
play well at the beginning and it's the Sharks last game and
20:00
specifically wanted to correct that and very specifically did
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they got. Three goals in the 1st 7 minutes
20:07
of this game. Two of them were generated by
20:09
Tommy Novak, one on the second power play unit.
20:12
The first unit had tons of chances and somehow did not
20:15
score, and then the second unit took the baton for the final 20
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seconds of the power play and scored instantly.
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Novak on the rush entry. Friends get settled.
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The Novak passes across to Gus Nyquist who scores a
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long-awaited goal. It had been 36 games since
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Nyquist had scored a goal that was not an empty netter.
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He hadn't scored a goal against a goalie since October 28th in
20:40
Tampa. That's a long time ago and you
20:43
can see the release from Gus who has deserved much better in the
20:47
goal scoring department this season.
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That made it 1. Nothing that Novak got a goal of
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his own and even strength working with his rookie line
20:53
mates Zach LaRue and Fedor Svechkov.
20:56
That line looked great all week long as the Preds third line and
20:59
then Philip Forsberg a crafty tip in from a tough angle to
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beat former Pred Yaroslav Asgharov who went on an
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adventure as usual on that goal and through the whole game.
21:11
And just like that it was 3 nothing Pred 7 minutes in.
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Yeah, this is kind of what the Predators had needed.
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They needed their goal scorers to start scoring, and you kind
21:19
of needed some of those secondary points coming as well.
21:21
And that's what they're getting. But can we just talk about how
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hot Bill Forsberg is right now? He's on a nine game point
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streak, Max 9 goals, 8 assists and 17 points.
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I mean, is it February yet? Are we ready for February?
21:34
Because do we even know what's coming?
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Unreal. And we got the Four Nations in
21:38
February this year too, so the Trey Kronor may be the real
21:42
benefactor of February this year.
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Forsberg has now scored a goal in seven straight games.
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Funny enough, that's after he didn't score a goal for a month.
21:53
So he's turned the goal scoring back on.
21:55
And he has tied his own record, set last season for the longest
22:00
goal streak in Pred's history with a goal in seven straight.
22:03
Maybe, yeah, maybe this will get Gus going as well.
22:06
Have a little bit of a scoring drought, get one to go and start
22:09
to turn the page. So it's 3 nothing.
22:13
Maybe we think the game is going to settle down and things can be
22:15
normal and there'll be no back and forth.
22:18
And we were proven wrong instantly because after that
22:22
third goal we had three fights, 1 by 1 by 1 in short succession.
22:30
Cole Smith against former Pret Luke Cunnan, Michael McCarron
22:34
against Barkley Goodrow and then Zach LaRue against Ty d'landrea.
22:39
Three fights in four seconds of ice time.
22:43
And I think the Prides held the decision on all three of those
22:46
fights. I mean, not a lot from the
22:48
Sharks defensively to start that game and not a lot from the
22:52
Sharks, I guess, in the boxing ring to start that game either.
22:58
We did have an incredible referee announcement from
23:01
referee Kyle Raymond after the second of those three fights.
23:05
It's not 5 minutes each for fighting anymore.
23:09
Nashville 47, settles 823, eats Chuck and Nux 5 minutes. 5
23:16
minutes for Chuck and Nux Kara. Incredible.
23:21
That's what they were doing. I think when my favorite was
23:24
when Mccarran got the sweater up over the head.
23:26
I mean, that instantly is going to stop a fight.
23:28
But it it felt like a little bit of a little giant's moment
23:31
there. You know, you pull the sweater
23:33
up, the guy can't see. He's spoiling his arms.
23:37
Sparkly Goodreau, Yeah, that could have ended a lot worse for
23:40
him. So that's what the linesmen are
23:41
there for, I guess. But yeah, Mccarran relented a
23:44
little bit to give the guy a break.
23:47
Yeah, but but at the end of that, Max, you know, one of the
23:52
reasons players dropped the gloves is is to look for a
23:54
little bit of a spark. And San Jose got it after that.
23:57
They came out and scored two goals and and closed that first
24:00
period out within one. Yeah, this game was always
24:04
within arm's reach for the Sharks, so it was three to two
24:06
Preds after one Preds got another goal from Steven
24:10
Stamkos, a wrap around with the Arslav Asgharov just floating
24:14
out in space, which I think the Preds were really able to
24:17
exploit his weaknesses in this game.
24:20
Forsberg the wrap around and Steven Stamkos with a power play
24:23
goal on one that leaped through Asgarov and just sat in the
24:26
crease. So the pretzel had five.
24:27
Two. But then the Sharks got three in
24:29
a row, including one on a 5 minute power play with Cole
24:33
Smith getting 5 and a game for a check to the head that sent Ty
24:38
de Landria to the showers. And all of a sudden this was a
24:42
brand new hockey game. 55 going to the third.
24:45
Yeah, it felt like similar territory, but then how about
24:48
our guy Fedor Spechkoff, the game-winning goal on the power
24:52
play and Max also defensively at the end of this one?
24:57
I mean, can we just recap the save Nick Blankenberg had in the
25:00
net because he kept this a one goal game to keep Nashville in
25:05
it. Celebrini breakaway robbed by on
25:08
and then puck still loose on and on his back at the top of the
25:12
blue back. Headshot saved by Nick
25:15
Blankenberg. Fred's still ahead, Puck's still
25:19
alive. Celebrity shot blocker save on
25:22
and then, who has no stick, his twigs at his feet.
25:25
He can't even pick it up. Sharks power plays still
25:28
cycling. Celebrini Rister save on and
25:31
then back in front. Another save by Eustis on and
25:36
then and he covers that puck. What a shift by Eustis on and
25:43
then and goal for the Breads on and and and and and and again
25:50
and again and again. That was remarkable.
25:54
And Blankenberg saves the day when on and then was out.
26:00
He went right there. Blankenberg went right down on
26:03
both knees, just got as low as he could and just ate a shot
26:06
right on the the goal line. I mean, how many saves is that?
26:13
How many shots was that defensive shift of the year?
26:16
Eustis on it and I think had five saves in the sequence.
26:19
And then Nick Blankenberg, the defenceman had one more.
26:23
And Alex Doherty from the Tennessee and Fred's writer
26:27
posted on Twitter that Nick Blankenberg went with the
26:29
reverse VH common goalie technique on the save.
26:32
And I actually think he did. He did, He did.
26:35
He definitely did. So good, so good.
26:40
But yeah, that game-winning goal from Svechkov, unbelievable
26:43
stuff. Just ranging up high on the
26:44
power play, using traffic, perfectly placed shot to beat
26:48
his buddy Yaroslav Asgharov and score the game-winning goal.
26:52
Goals in three straight games for Fedor Svechkov.
26:55
I told him after his scores on Saturday, all of his points and
27:00
all of his goals have come on Saturday.
27:02
He's a prime time player, but he said finally score on Saturday.
27:08
I'm not going to score enough my whole career.
27:09
So now he's scored on a Tuesday and on a Thursday.
27:12
OK, perfect. Sounds great.
27:14
Also, let's mention that Yaroslav Asgharov.
27:20
Am I saying it correctly, Max? Because I know before going into
27:22
this one he asked to have his last name pronounced differently
27:26
than what we had referred to him during his time with Milwaukee.
27:30
Yeah, he pronounces his name Yaroslava Skarov, which is what
27:33
we determined when he was on the Preds.
27:35
But he, even though that's not how he says his name, he wants
27:38
to be called Asgharov, apparently.
27:40
So we're just going to go with that.
27:42
But I think the Preds were really able to exploit their
27:44
former teammate. We know what he's good at.
27:47
We know the areas where he still needs some maturing in the NHL.
27:51
And Andrew Brunette hinted in our pregame interview on Preds
27:54
Radio, we know he has some weaknesses and I think they were
27:58
able to get him moving laterally, confuse him and take
28:02
advantage of the areas where he struggles throughout this entire
28:05
game as they beat the Sharks 65 for their fifth straight win.
28:09
Yeah. Did you have weaknesses calling
28:11
that game on the radio with with the name change?
28:13
I mean, was there difficulty in that?
28:15
Yeah, I think, I think I messed it up once or twice.
28:18
But yeah, it's tough. You got to retrain your brain a
28:21
little bit there. But I figured he'll be in the
28:23
NHLA long time. We can't just kind of roll with
28:25
the old one forever and maybe he changes it back.
28:28
You never know. But what it would have been nice
28:30
to get to see Asgharov and interview him from a Prince
28:34
perspective. Unfortunately, the Sharks
28:36
schedule this week didn't allow that.
28:38
They're on a back-to-back Monday and Tuesday.
28:40
I was really disappointed they didn't start him in Nashville.
28:43
Not great feel from the Sharks coaching staff, but he did get
28:47
the start against the Preds. His first start at Bridgestone
28:49
Arena will have to wait till next season.
28:51
But the Sharks have their morning skate at a different
28:54
place. They don't.
28:55
They're one of the few teams that has their morning skate at
28:57
their practice facility. So I was unable to go to that.
29:00
And we did get to hear from him in an interview with San Jose
29:03
writers talking about the Preds. But yeah, it would have been
29:06
nice to ask him some questions and catch up and hear about the
29:10
why and the when and why he asked for a trade.
29:13
But they'll have to wait for it down the road and the Preds win
29:17
round one against their former first round pick.
29:21
Yeah, it's been must see TV this weekend.
29:24
Now the Preds are taking on the Anaheim docs, the team similar
29:27
record, similar situation in the standings.
29:29
And Max, I don't know if you know this, but Anaheim to me has
29:33
the coldest building in the National Hockey League.
29:36
So next week can you report back on how you feel the temperature
29:39
is and hopefully the Preds go in and can heat things up a little
29:41
bit? I did bring a sweater, so I do
29:44
have a sweater to wear and also I have worn the same suit each
29:48
of the last five games and that will not be changing.
29:51
Oh, OK. Principal five in a row got to
29:55
roll with it got. To roll with it.
29:58
The season, yeah first game against the Ducks all year, will
30:01
be on Saturday night at 9:00 Nashville time. 8:00 pre game
30:05
show on Preds Radio, 830 on Preds TV.
30:09
Preds and the Ducks coming your way from Socal where we are
30:13
right now. So that'll be a fun game on
30:15
Saturday night. Then the Preds are back home
30:17
next Wednesday, January 29th against the Vancouver Canucks
30:22
for the final home game of January.
30:24
We'll take a break, tell you what else is going on in
30:26
Smashville because there is a lot of it coming up over the
30:29
next month and we want you to have fun with us.
30:32
She's Karen Hammer from Fred's TV.
30:34
I'm Max Hers from Fred's radio. Fred's have won five in a row on
30:37
the Predators official podcast. Welcome into the podcast.
30:58
I'm here along with Max. First, Max is out in sunny
31:02
California. Hopefully you're getting a
31:03
little bit of break from this Nashville weather.
31:05
Max, it's been cold down here. Yeah, it looks nice outside here
31:11
in the Anaheim area. I'm very excited.
31:14
I think I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of the
31:17
television show Arrested Development, the cult comedy
31:20
classic of the early 2000s. And I believe if I play my cards
31:24
right today, I will get a chance to visit Balboa Bay for the
31:27
first time in Newport Beach and get myself a world famous Bluth
31:31
family frozen banana from the banana stand.
31:34
So Chris Mason and I are very excited for that and we will try
31:39
and check back in or tweet out a picture if it happens later
31:41
today on this Friday, January 24th as we record out West.
31:46
All right, big fan. Well, as you're out West, I'm
31:49
getting set to make my way N Max.
31:51
I'm going up to Milwaukee on on Friday, February 7th.
31:55
I'm excited about this. So I want to put out this link
31:57
for any young ladies who are listening to the podcast or
32:02
listening on the radio. But the Milwaukee Admirals,
32:05
we're hosting a night where we're connecting women in
32:08
sports. It's called Breaking the Ice.
32:09
I believe there's some tickets still available.
32:12
So if you're interested at all, you have a daughter, a young
32:15
girl, anybody you know who may want to get into the sports
32:18
profession. This is going to be a great
32:20
networking event up in Milwaukee.
32:22
You can go to Milwaukee admirals.com and get a ticket
32:26
there. So I'm excited, Max, to go up
32:29
and kind of talk about what I get to do for the Nashville
32:32
Predators and meet some other women who are in the industry.
32:35
That's awesome. And first of all, props to the
32:37
Admirals for having you as part of the event and anyone who is
32:41
interested in working in the field, talk to Kara.
32:44
Do not hesitate, talk to Kara. I know we have a lot of great
32:47
listeners up in Milwaukee. I'm sure a lot of them will be
32:49
at that game. But regardless of where you live
32:51
and whether you can make it or not, let Kara be the one to talk
32:55
you through this. And you know, Max, I I'm going
32:58
to do something I've never done before.
33:01
I'm going to be the PA announcer and call the starting lineup for
33:04
the ads. So I'm going to meet with, well,
33:07
obviously Paul McCann is going to help give the assist on this
33:10
one. But I think I'm going to have to
33:11
catch up with Phil Forsberg too. You know, we saw his NHL video
33:14
of how to how to announce himself in the starting lineup.
33:18
So I might have to ask Phil, like what suggestion do you have
33:21
for me? The best part of that whole
33:25
thing is that Paul did Phil's announcement in the Forsberg PA
33:30
Guy cadence for a three stars announcement the week after that
33:34
came out on Twitter. Yeah #9 but #1 in your hearts.
33:39
From Lexan, Sweden. Phillip Forsberg.
33:44
Maybe I need to get, maybe I need to get with Ryan O'Reilly
33:46
here. You know, his brother Kyle plays
33:48
for the Ads if he comes out as a starter.
33:51
I don't know, Maybe Factor needs to give me some advice on how to
33:53
call Kyle's name. Well, Ryan O'Reilly too is one
33:57
of my favorite Paul McCann name styles with the So good.
34:07
The only advice I've been given so far and if you're listening,
34:10
please tweet me if you like or or dislike how people call out a
34:13
starting lineup. But Pete told me he said don't
34:15
get silly, just call the name correctly so you don't get
34:18
yourself in a situation where you're looking back and and
34:20
you're embarrassed of what you did.
34:22
But I worked in minor League Baseball.
34:24
I called the starting lineup before.
34:26
I've already been embarrassed. So wish me luck.
34:29
I think the thing that I was always told about being on a
34:32
like an in person PA Mike talk really, really slowly because it
34:40
echoes. Yeah, and I've never been to
34:44
Milwaukee, so I'm excited about this to go up and and check out
34:47
the arena and meet some of the ads.
34:49
And obviously, you know, we've worked with Carl Taylor before
34:52
in the past and, and I think it's going to be a great night.
34:56
I'm excited about it. That's awesome.
34:58
When is the game again? Friday, February 7th.
35:01
All right, Hammer will be in Milwaukee two weeks from now.
35:05
It'll be Odds Women in Sports night.
35:07
So really awesome stuff that the Admirals are doing putting that
35:10
together. Fred's AHL affiliate.
35:12
We got a lot going on in Smashville.
35:14
We want you to be a part of as well.
35:15
The Fred's next home game is this Wednesday night at 8.
35:18
The game is at 8:00 because of Canadian National TV as the
35:22
Predators welcome in Kevin Lanken and Kiefer Sherwood and
35:25
the Vancouver Canucks for their only visit to Bridgestone Arena
35:28
this regular season. It is Asian and Pacific
35:31
Islanders music Heritage Night with our celebration of Lunar
35:35
New Year. You can get a ticket plus either
35:37
a voucher to Zoo Illumination at the Nashville Zoo who is
35:41
presenting the celebration, or AT shirt with the logo designed
35:45
by local artist Melissa Francis. Our Lunar New Year Preds logo
35:48
this year, It's an awesome one. Again, go to
35:51
nashvillepredators.com/API. Those ticket packages with
35:55
either AT shirt or a zoo pass start at just $59.00 for upper
35:59
level seats. So looking forward to seeing
36:01
everybody on Wednesday night there will be a jersey auction.
36:05
Still, the Preds cannot wear those specialty jerseys for
36:07
warmups because reasons, but the sweaters are awesome.
36:11
Make sure you bid on those with the Preds Foundation.
36:13
And if you want to buy a ticket package through the Asian and
36:15
Pacific Islanders Music Heritage Night Lunar New Year
36:18
Celebration, go to nashvillepredators.com/API on
36:24
Wednesday night and then the week after that.
36:27
Sorry, go ahead. No, I'm, I'm, I'm cool.
36:30
I'm excited about this. I think the graphic is awesome.
36:33
The next Tuesday night is the annual Nash Vegas Casino night
36:37
with the Predators. The entire Preds team will be
36:40
there on the floor at Bridgestone Arena dealing cards
36:43
at the tables, serving you beverages, food and other
36:47
libations. This is an annual event and
36:49
there's a ton of fun. It is a week and a half from now
36:52
on Tuesday, February 4th. Limited spots are still
36:56
available. Act quickly.
36:57
Nashville predators.com/nash Vegas.
37:00
That is Nash Vegas starting with AG like the mascot Nash
37:05
Nashville predators.com Nash Vegas.
37:07
Your entry fee is a donation to the Preds Foundation.
37:11
All the money goes to charity. You will get a ton of goodies
37:14
for signing up. There are casino chip hockey
37:18
pucks that have been signed by the Preds that you will get.
37:21
You will get pictures with any spread you want autographs along
37:24
the way. It is our biggest charity event
37:27
during the season and the entire team will be there on Tuesday,
37:31
February 4th for Nash Vegas Casino Night presented by King
37:34
Jewelers. I'll be there.
37:37
I will be there as well, looking forward to it.
37:40
Me too, but not as much as I'm looking forward to the Music
37:43
City Bobblehead series that continues on February 23rd.
37:46
That's a Sunday night, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, I mean just
37:51
Max the 90s for me. I'm so excited.
37:54
I love these two huge supporters of the Nashville Predators,
37:58
obviously big Preds fans, but their bobblehead series night
38:01
that will be handed out on, as I just mentioned, Sunday, February
38:04
23rd. That game is against the Devils,
38:06
so visit nashvillepredators.com/theme
38:09
Nights if you need more information.
38:11
Yeah, looking forward to more bobbleheads getting given out
38:14
and Vince Gill, the number one Celebrity Preds fan, I think.
38:17
Pretty fair to say, yeah. And like a Day one Pets fan.
38:23
Yeah, he had the early start. And I can I give a shout out to
38:26
Amy Grant too, while we're talking about it.
38:29
Yeah, so my always shout out Amy Grant.
38:31
My little cousin is an exceptional dancer.
38:34
She's in middle school and she was selected to be part of the
38:37
Amy Grant Christmas special, OK for Christmas 2023.
38:41
And they filmed it in the auditorium at Belmont and it was
38:45
incredible and it aired on national TV.
38:48
But it was her and one other young dancer behind Amy Grant.
38:52
And the song was I'm going to butcher the name, but my adult
38:56
Christmas wish or list, whatever it was, I forgot the exact name,
39:00
but it was so well done. And the whole family came away
39:04
saying Amy treated us all so exceptionally.
39:07
She wanted to talk to the girls who were dancing behind her.
39:10
She gave them more than the time of day and encourage them and
39:13
was so great to work with on what was a massive Nashville
39:17
production. I just thought that was so cool,
39:20
so sweet and so kind of her. That is awesome.
39:23
That's a great story, love to hear stuff like that.
39:26
So come get a bobble head. That's the moral of the story.
39:29
Then one other thing going on that same weekend.
39:31
This is a full month away now, but we want you guys to plan
39:33
ahead. Saturday, February 22nd is USA
39:37
Hockey's Try Hockey for Free day as they visit Nashville at the
39:41
Ford Ice Centers in Bellevue and Antioch.
39:43
If you have kids between the ages of four and nine who have
39:46
not played hockey before and want to try, you can do it for
39:50
free. USA Hockey will get you there.
39:52
Go to fordicecenter.com and we'll see you with USA Hockey on
39:57
Saturday, February 22nd at Four Dice Centers.
40:00
Awesome job that USA Hockey does.
40:02
They tour around the country and try hockey for free.
40:05
Day hits Nashville late next month.
40:08
We love USA Hockey, we love it and we're counting down Max.
40:12
Four Nations face up. The countdown is on for me.
40:15
Let's go. Yeah, we are three weeks away.
40:18
Awesome, we'll take a break and come back with our Interview of
40:21
the Week. Fight confidential and a good
40:24
laugh from Zach LaRue for our Interview of the week.
40:26
This week, Preds have won five in a row.
40:28
Fun times in Smashville as the Preds make a push to get back in
40:31
this thing. They're 10 points out of a
40:33
playoff spot. As we talk here on Friday,
40:34
January 24th. Anything is possible.
40:38
Over 30 games still left for the Preds.
40:40
So long way to go. Games are long, as we saw in the
40:44
comebacks this week, and the season is longer.
40:46
This is the Predators official podcast.
40:48
She's Cara Hammer from Fred's TV.
40:50
I'm Max Hurst from Fred's radio. This is the POP on ESPN 102.5
40:55
and 106.3. The game you gotta fight fire,
41:03
right? Welcome back to the Predators
41:10
official podcast Hammer. The fight team continues on a
41:14
week where we had six fights in three friends games in two sets
41:19
of three, all very, very close together.
41:23
It's the time of year for fighting.
41:25
Everybody's getting ornery. Even the broadcasters, Max, are
41:30
we getting a little ornery there too?
41:33
I will not confirm or deny that. Things are getting heated up.
41:38
Everybody's looking for a spark. You know, some teams are trying
41:41
to get their season turned around, obviously the Preds, so
41:44
hey, it's part of the game. Thursday night against the
41:47
Sharks, we had three fights back-to-back to back after a
41:51
goal, and there had already been 2 by the time that Zach LaRue
41:56
got on the ice. But he wanted #3 and he was
41:59
actually not the guy that initiated it.
42:02
Time for a fight Confidential with journalist Hal Gale getting
42:06
the scoop here on The POP with our interview of the week.
42:09
All right, let's I'm not sure where to even start, but but
42:13
let's start with the fight. How did that one come?
42:15
I mean, three fights, bang, bang, bang.
42:18
And you were part of it. Yeah, I mean, I was kind of on
42:20
the bench looking and I saw, you know, Big Mac and and Goodrow
42:24
join at each other and then next thing you know, Smitty's
42:26
fighting. Then I was, you know, not sure
42:29
if Coach is going to put me out there with those guys and then
42:31
bang. Big Mac fights him.
42:34
And then after that I was like, uh oh, heard my name go out
42:37
there, look to my right and Dulange was kind of looking at
42:40
me like you want one and asked him if he was a tough guy.
42:43
He said not really. And I was like, well, why not?
42:46
So I figured I'd go join my my two buddies in the box and keep
42:49
him company. Are you a tough guy?
42:53
Not really. OK then I'll fight you.
42:56
I love the smile on La Rue's face when he was going into the
42:59
box. Yeah, he wanted more out of that
43:02
fight, too. Both guys kind of stumbled and I
43:05
was maybe hoping for a little bit of a rematch later, but
43:08
wasn't meant to be. But yeah, I think Zach LaRue
43:11
will get his at some point here. So now his third NHL fight, two
43:15
of them have come in the last week and people are learning the
43:18
name. He told Ann Kimmel of Penalty
43:21
Box Radio a few weeks into his career that he was getting a lot
43:25
of, and I quote from him who the F are used out there on the ice
43:30
and scrubs. And yeah, I think people are
43:33
starting to learn the name Zach LaRue.
43:35
Yeah, definitely. It's nice to know the name here
43:38
in Nashville, right? Yeah, happy to have him for
43:40
sure. So that's our interview of the
43:42
week this week on a fun week for the Preds.
43:44
Five straight wins on the road. Saturday night at 9 in Anaheim,
43:48
late night in the OC, and then three days before the next game,
43:52
Wednesday night at 8 on home ice against the Vancouver Canucks at
43:56
Bridgestone Arena. Looking forward to seeing you
43:58
there after that A2 game road trip, the father's trip to
44:01
Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the Preds next weekend.
44:05
So we look forward to getting to know some of the new Preds dads
44:08
and welcoming back some of our favorites into the fold as well.
44:12
And then February, even with the Four Nations break, has a lot of
44:15
Preds home games. Six of the Preds eight games in
44:18
February are at Bridgestone Arena.
44:20
Freds are heating up. The dream is alive if they keep
44:23
winning. Five in a row for the Predators.
44:26
Thanks to everybody who came out and made this an awesome
44:28
homestand. Freds have won seven of their
44:31
last nine home games. Now trying to take that winning
44:33
mentality and new identity on the road.
44:36
She's Gary Hammer from Predators TV.
44:38
I'm Max Hurst from Prince Radio. Thanks to Doctor Crane, Nick
44:41
Frazier for producing this episode back home in Nashville.
44:44
And thanks to you for listening to the Predators official
44:47
podcast on your exclusive radio home for Nashville Predators
44:50
hockey. This is ESPN 1025 and 1063 The
44:53
Game. Nashville 47 saddles, 823 each.
45:02
Chuck a nuts 5 minutes.