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Bonus Episode! Opening Night W! · Predators Official Podcast

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  Welcome into a special undefeated edition of the
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  predators official podcast here on Nashville predators.com,
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  predators YouTube, your favorite podcast platform and ESPN 102.5
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  The game, a special short Friday edition of the show after the
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  predators won two to one against the Columbus Blue Jackets on
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  opening night Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.
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  My name is Max Herz from Fred's Radio, joined by by Kara Hammer
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  from Preds TV and Brooks Bratton of Nashville, predators.com.
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  I got to start with a question for you guys because I told
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  multiple people this week that I was predicting the Preds to win
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  2 to one on opening night. And I cannot remember who those
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  people were who I told and I really helped it was one of you
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  guys. So you can vouch for my
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  correctness here on the podcast. I don't believe it was one of
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  us. I do know that you had a
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  predicted goal scorer of Michael McCarron, which didn't come to
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  fruition. But like we were joking about,
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  hey, at least you were close. You picked somebody on the team.
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  We just started with the name Michael.
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  Just the wrong, just the wrong guy.
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  Michael Bunting got this, got the scoring started.
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  Brooks, were you aware of Max's prediction here?
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  I don't seem to recall. I myself called a three one
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  prediction yesterday with an empty netter, so I was really
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  hoping for that empty netter at the end.
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  But what a start. I think we're all at least Karen
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  and I were talking beforehand. We're all a little bleary eyed
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  this morning but we're not used to covering hockey games till
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  11:00 or 12:00 at night. But certainly well worth it to
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  get a win on Night 1. But guys, nobody was putting in
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  more work than Brady Martin's family.
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  We have to give a shout out. The 18 year old making his NHL
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  debut last night on opening night.
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  I think he had 30 to 40 family members and friends in the
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  building. His brothers drove overnight the
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  night before down from Elmira ON.
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  I think it was like an 11 or 15 hour drive came to the game.
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  They're already on their way back to Canada where they work
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  on the family farm. But you guys, so many special
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  moments happening on the gold carpet.
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  I had a chance to to catch up with Brady Martin's mom.
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  We all, we all saw it. Some videos have been posted.
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  He, Brady walked the gold carpet, saw his family, his mom
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  for the first time in six weeks. They embraced in this hug.
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  People started chanting Brady. I mean, it was just one of those
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  tearjerker moments and it was just really neat.
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  So I, I, I caught up with her and I asked about being here
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  with Brady and she told me she goes, you know, he's my person.
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  She goes. His dad was always working on
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  the farm. It was him and I who who were
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  doing the road trips together, going to the hockey rinks, doing
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  the miles, she said. I'm so proud of him.
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  And she was. One thing about him, he's an
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  underdog. He's going to outwork you.
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  He's the hardest working kid I know and he's here.
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  He's going to take your job. And guys, that's why he was
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  starting on the top line last night with Philip Forsberg and
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  Ryan O'Reilly. He earned that position.
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  And Brooks, you were there, you witness it all.
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  It was it was really a special moment.
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  Yeah, that to to see him embrace his family care, as you said, at
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  the end of the gold carpet. He didn't know they were going
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  to be there. And it was one of the one of the
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  best hugs that I've ever witnessed in person.
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  I mean, you could just see. You could see the pride from his
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  parents, especially. It was a beautiful moment with
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  his mom and his dad. And as you said, his siblings
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  and 30 friends and family, a lot of them rocking the bright red
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  Sioux Greyhounds jerseys as well.
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  They had just gotten there. They had just literally gotten
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  out of the car, got to the hotel, freshened up a little
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  bit, came over to the arena and, and what a special night.
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  And it it wasn't perfect, right? It's never going to be when
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  you're 18 years old, you're going up against men.
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  I think one of the quotes of the night was Brady Martin saying
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  after the fact that he was involved in a little bit of a
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  scrum in the third period in front of the net.
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  And he was like, yeah, I think I've got to hit the gym.
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  I've realized that everybody out there stronger than I am, which
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  is, again, when you're 18 going against 2530 year olds, that's
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  what's going to happen. But what a just a really
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  memorable night for Brady Martin, and certainly the first
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  of many games in the National Hockey League.
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  And you'll guys get a kick out of this.
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  We know that he lived with Phil for a little bit over the summer
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  when he was here starting camp. I asked his mom about that and
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  she said Phil is amazing. They took him in, They were his
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  second family. Here she goes.
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  But one thing about it is Phil is really healthy.
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  He doesn't eat any junk food. So she told me that it was Aaron
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  who had a secret snack cupboard and was showing Brady.
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  This is where we hide the doughnuts because he was trying
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  to beef up a little bit. So maybe he needs to go back to
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  the forest burgs and have Aaron show him hey, the secret stash
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  in their house. Oh my God, that's so funny.
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  That's the type of stuff that makes hockey so special.
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  So shout out to Brady Martin's crew, his parents, his three
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  siblings, two of which look literally exactly like him by
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  the way, his girlfriend, coaches, tons of friends from
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  Elmira and friends and coaches from the Sioux all came down to
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  Smashville. So happy to have them.
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  And they also absolutely raided the Preds team store before the
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  game. I think they actually got a
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  private session in the team store to get some 44 jerseys
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  ready for Brady Martin's NHL debut.
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  It wasn't just the Martin crew on the gold walk, guys.
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  We had Fred's kiddos everywhere coming down the gold carpet with
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  their dads. I don't even know who to start
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  with, but I guess we'll go in ascending age order with the new
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  record for the youngest baby to ever be carried down the gold
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  walk. 13 year old sorry 13 day old baby boy Beau Bunting,
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  carried by Michael Bunting who scored the first goal of the
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  season as a first time dad. Well, you, you talk about new
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  dad energy, right? I, I would have to imagine, I, I
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  don't know if either of you got a chance to talk to him.
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  I would have to imagine though, that puck is going to bow and
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  you love when that happens. It happens so often in the NHLI
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  don't know about other sports when guys have kids and they
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  come back if they hit a home run or pass for a touchdown or
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  anything like that. But in hockey, I love when it
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  happens because it just seems to happen.
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  And it was a perfect way to start the season.
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  Michael Bunting the loud line getting on the board there with
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  just a little bit of a ricochet into the twine.
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  And yeah, nice little present for Bo there.
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  And yeah, I totally agree, Max, there's, there's no way that
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  there's anyone younger than two weeks that has ever made their
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  way down the gold carpet. As you guys know, we've added
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  Mike Kelly to our our FanDuel broadcast and he's bringing up
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  stats all season long throughout the game.
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  But we may need to have this stat.
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  How many Preds players have had a baby and come back and scored
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  a goal? Because I know I've covered
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  numerous instances of this happening and Michael Bunting
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  came out for my first intermission interview.
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  And the first thing I said to him was, hey, that's that new
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  dad strength. And he goes new dad goal.
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  And I'm like, yes, here we go. So it wasn't just Michael
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  Bunting that line. They had had so much chemistry
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  during training camp, Eric College, Jonathan Marsha.
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  So Michael Bunting and that really seemed to carry over.
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  Yeah, and Eric Hall, Excuse me, Eric Holland may have won my
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  award for cutest kids on the Gold Walk.
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  We had a lot of cute kids out there.
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  His two little boys were running the show and one of them just
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  took off. He was a runner.
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  He was the fastest kid alive. And they were super, super cute.
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  So great to have the whole hall of family of four here in
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  Smashville after the last time he was here, COVID was going on.
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  He just had a baby. He said in his preseason press
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  conference that he was just sleeping on a mattress on the
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  floor. That's how not settled he was
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  the last time he was on the Preds.
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  And now this time he has made-up for it by moving into Gus
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  Nyquist's house, which Halla said is a mansion.
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  So the Hall family is living well right now. 2 cute little
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  boys welcome them to the Preds Gold Walk for the first time.
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  Yeah, they were out there running around the, the Stamkos
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  kids were there. The O'reilly's have a gaggle of
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  children. Yeah, it was I, you know, I, we
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  don't keep official records on this, but I've got to think it
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  would, it may have been the most highly attended Gold Walk for
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  children of predators players. Of course the OC kids were out
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  there. The eldest Mccarran child, the
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  new one was not specifically on the Gold Walk.
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  We hear the, the boy Jett was out there.
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  But yeah, what a, what a fun way to start out and what a great
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  night it was overall. I mean, it, it wasn't perfect.
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  It never is on opening night. But they don't ask how, they ask
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  how many. And it took the Predators six
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  games to get one win last season.
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  We all know that it took them just under 3 hours in the new
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  season to get win #1 that just what that does for your mental
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  psyche that to have a really good camp.
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  But it's all talk until you actually go out there and do it.
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  And to get that first one and have something to build off of.
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  Going into Saturday against Utah is just such an important way to
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  start this season, especially the way that things went last
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  year. That was the way the Preds were
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  going to have to win this game. close game.
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  Great goaltending from UC Soros #1 star with a ho hum. 37 saves
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  to start the season. Opening night.
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  It's made it look easy, but the the new things worked.
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  The new D zone system allowed Soros to see a lot of those
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  shots, make some good clean saves, earn that win and goal.
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  The second period was not good. Predators probably deserved to
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  be trailing coming out of that second period, but they got a
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  good penalty kill toward the end.
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  UC Sorrows made some big saves and even strength along the way,
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  and then the Blue Jackets had their goal overturned on a
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  successful goalie interference challenge by the Preds.
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  Set the stage and gave the Preds a little bit of momentum to come
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  out as the better team in the third period.
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  Score the early power play goal by Ryan O'Reilly that became the
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  game winner. Beautiful goal from O'Reilly
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  going backhand. Top shelf on Jet grieves in
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  tight on the power play. And then from there, the Preds
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  almost never gave the Blue Jackets the puck back.
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  That's how you protect the lead and that's how you earn an
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  opening night When. And that's exactly what Ryan
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  O'Reilly talked about in the post game, that third period,
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  that's exactly what the Predators hope to be more often
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  than not, the way that they played in that third period, up
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  on their toes in people's faces, not allowing Columbus a whole
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  heck of a lot. As you said, Max, you see, Soros
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  was excellent. He needed to be it.
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  It could have been the Jackets, certainly could have had a few
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  there in the first couple of periods.
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  They only got 1 and for Nashville to not only lock it
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  down in the third but continue to push, they could have had a
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  couple more easily in the third period as well.
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  The Preds could have. And you mentioned Ryan
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  O'reilly's goal. You got to throw this stat out.
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  So it was Philip Forsberg on the primary assist.
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  It is now 10 straight season opening games that Philip
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  Forsberg has recorded a point counted up Max 10.
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  He's one of only five players in recent memory to hit that
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  streak. So what a night for Philip
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  Forsberg, what a night for the Preds.
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  And again, I, I just think that that third period, the way that
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  the Preds showed in that setting, to be able to build off
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  of that, that's really something you can take away going forward.
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  Lots to clean up, as Ryan O'Reilly said, but also a great
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  building block in that final frame.
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  Yeah, fun for sure and we get to do it again Saturday night in
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  Smashville. Saturday, October 11th.
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  We hope to see you here at Bridgestone Arena as the
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  Predators take on the recently renamed Utah Mammoth in the
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  first ever Ice Age Rivalry game. It's here at Bridgestone Arena
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  and those of you watching on video, I actually have something
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  to show you. So the Ice Age rivalry at
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  Saturday's game are presented by our friends at IC.
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  The Icy Bear has his Pred sweater on and you can get these
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  Icy Fang Freeze cups at Bridgestone Arena.
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  They will be discounted. On Saturday you get one, then
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  you can bring it back and keep refilling it for a lower price
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  all season. With the Icy Bear.
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  You can get it at the concession stands at section 10612208 and
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  301. If you want to see this one in
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  person, come see us at the Jack Daniels Barrel House where we
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  have lots of fun stuff on display.
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  But I love the icy bear. Yeah, well, like we saw Fetters
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  fetch off skipping down the gold carpet.
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  I'm sure we'll see Brooks and his Brooks Whites on his way to
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  grab one of those. Icy is They're not just for
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  movie theaters anymore. No, that's great.
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  I, I, that's a there's a lot of great promotions honestly going
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  on, but it was a great atmosphere in the building too,
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  last night. I think that's one thing that,
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  you know, going into opening night.
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  Philip Forsberg said he expected greatness from the Predators
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  fans. They delivered on opening night
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  and we'll certainly expect more of the same on Saturday.
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  But what a fun way to start our Friday morning just a little
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  waking up and talking about a Predator's win.
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  No better way to start the day. Yeah, we'll see everybody
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  Saturday night in Smashville at Bridgestone Arena.
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  We'll be back with a full length episode next Wednesday from
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  Canada as the Predators hit the road for the first time this
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  season. I'm Max Hearns from Preds radio.
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  You can follow me on Twitter at Max Hers Talks.
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  I'm Carrie Hammer. Check us out all season on
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  FanDuel Sports Network. We'll see you Saturday night in
• 14:13
  Smashville. I'm Brooks Bratton, you can
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  follow me at Brooks Bratton on X and read my work on Nashville
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  predators.com. The Nashville Predators are one
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  and oh to start the season. Looking to make it 2 on Saturday
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  night. Thanks for watching, thanks for
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  listening. Have a great weekend.
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  Enjoy the Hawk.