Kings Wings Recap and Preds Preview

Kirk Maltby got a win in his 1000th game in the NHL. Both goalies played pretty well. Quick had some impressive saves. At times Ozzie looked out of position but that's kind of expected after any time out of action. He did make some good saves though. Derek Meech scored the first goal of the game on a rebound/flurry of rebounds in front of the net. Leino got an assist which made me happy since he's becoming one of my favorite players to watch. Meech is looking like he's going to be a big part of the future of the Wings too. Another guy that will be pretty big in the future plans also scored, Tomas Kopecky. He's a bigger guy than most of the other Wings but has a lot of raw talent that could make him one of the better players in the league in a few years.

Tonight's game is a big one...not that any game is insignificant...its just that this comes against a division rival. The Predators come into tonight's game with 3 straight wins. I think if we can control the puck we can win. Nashville has a tendency to get a little aggressive (in a bad way) when they are not controlling the puck. They take bad penalties which leads to powerplays for the Wings...which can be devastating. Earlier in the year the Preds surrendered 5 powerplay goals against us. However, they are a good PK team despite that last number so a Wings powerplay won't necessarily bury them.
I think the key to today's game is the goalies. I know thats pretty easy to say for any game but if Osgood/Conklin has a bad game, the Preds can win. Rinne has the better record of the two Nashville goalies and I think its not by chance but rather his skill. He's a quick mover and has a good glovehand. I say Wings 3 Preds 2