Bad puck luck

No one said the road to the Cup would be easy.

The Penguins quickly grabbed two games in PPG Paints Arena but I don’t think Nashville should hang their heads just yet.

Let’s take a look at history…recent history.

Last summer the Cavaliers made a statement by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Warriors (before they acquired KD–but we will talk about that later;)
Last fall the Cubs rallied from behind to beat the Indians and became the sixth MLB team to comeback from going down 3-1 and won the World Series.
In February millions watched as the Falcons pounded the Patriots until “The Brady Bunch” went on a charge to conquer a 25-point deficit and claim a Super Bowl title.

Athletes thrive under pressure. They work their whole lives for their moment, whether its the NBA Finals or the fight for the Stanley Cup.

They don’t give up easy. Competitors live for this.

Although my hopes for the Predators are not yet shattered, Game 3 is without a doubt a must win for this team.

The first two games were extremely unlucky for the Preds. They were clearly the better team in the majority of the first two games, but the Penguins were able to capitalize on a few lapses the Preds had during the game and those lapses are the reason the Preds trail the series 2-0. The Penguins are a good team, they are the defending champs for crying out loud. It’s going to take a complete 60-minute effort to take them down.

In Game 1, the Pens somehow managed to score three goals in a little over four minutes. In Game 2, they scored three in the beginning of the third period. You can’t let a team as good as the Penguins catch momentum and get hot. They will convert every chance they get.

If the Preds want to rally a comeback in Bridgestone Arena for Games 3 & 4, they are going to have to do 3 things:

Keys to a Comeback

Quality vs. Quantity.
Nashville has controlled the puck for the majority of both games. They hold a 64-39 shot advantage but the Penguins have taken much more quality shots. Nashville may have the advantage on shots fired, but the shots are going two feet above the Pens net. It’s not a new headline to outshoot the Penguins, they were outshot in 15 or 21 games this postseason and they won 12 of those. Not to mention the fact that the Penguins have the best sharpshooters in the league in Guentzel, Crosby and Malkin. I’m not trying to make excuses, but if the Preds had Fiala and Johansen rather than heavy-hitters McCloud and Fiddler it would help out their scoring immensely.
Eliminate odd man rushes. This isn’t the Blackhawks, Blues or the Ducks. The Preds are facing a high caliber team that will capitalize on every single opportunity they have to score. Nashville took seven penalties in Game 2, giving the Penguins way too many easy chances to score. This series can’t be based on physicality like the last one. The Preds are going to have to play smarter and stay out of the penalty box.
Stop blaming Pekka people. Yes, his save percentage is down. Yes, he has given up some uncharacteristic goals but come on guys, you’ve got to help him out. He’s going up against elite goal scorers and they are shooting it into the top corner uncontested. The Preds need their top defenders, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm and Subban, to wake up and fire some pucks back towards the Pens like they have been the entire post season. If the Preds attack Matt Murray fast and aim for the top corners like the Pens have done to Pekka, they will score some goals. Oh yeah, it would also help if the Preds stopped scoring on their own goal (insert eye roll).

Puck drop is Saturday in Bridgestone at 7 p.m. Let’s see if the Preds can go 8-1 in Smashville during the playoffs.

Preds hope to dethrone reigning champs

Well guys, the waiting game is over and the Preds receive the harder end of the bargain again.

Although the reigning Stanley Cup champs may have not been the crowd favorite for the Pred’s next opponent, there are a few positives to the situation.

The Penguins are coming off of a grueling Game 7 double-overtime win..after being pushed to a Game 7 in their previous series as well…these guys have got to be tired.
Traveling to Pittsburgh is easier on the Predators than a trip to Canada, especially since the team has had six days to rest. Oh yeah, not to mention the Predators are 3-0 in the playoffs in Game 1 on the road.
The Preds may be beat up but so are the Pens. Nashville boasts the strongest defense in the league while the penguins are without their No.1 defenseman Kris Letang.

HOW TO SLOW THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS:

Find a way to stop Crosby..is that possible? The Predators gritty defense is up for its biggest challenge yet in facing the top centers in the league-Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The deadly duo of P.K Subban and Mattias Ekholm have proven effective for the Preds and Mike Fisher is back and ready to tackle Malkin.
imPEKKAble– Keep doin’ your thing you Finnish god. Pekka Rinne has been lethal. He’s coming off of 37 saves in Game 6 and holds a .927 save percentage. The 6 foot 5 34-year-old is the backbone of the Preds stout defense.
Play with confidence and speed. The Predators have outmatched every style of play thus far in their playoff run-ranging from a high-speed skate off to a WWE SmackDown. The Pens aren’t easy to rattle. They have been center-stage before and they know how to win.
The Predators know that they can beat the Penguins because they have already done it once this season, it just might take a few prayers and 7 games.

Game 1 Mon, May 29 @ Pittsburgh
Game 2 Wed, May 31 @ Pittsburgh
Game 3 Sat, June 3 @ Nashville
Game 4 Mon, June 5 @ Nashville
Game 5* Thu, June 8 @ Pittsburgh
Game 6* Sun, June 11 @ Nashville
Game 7* Wed, June 14 @ Pittsburgh

Preds look to rebound after Sunday’s grudge match

There’s a new villain in town and his name is Ryan Kesler.

The powerhouse center is well-known for being an aggressor and gave Ryan Johansen a fit in Game 2 in Anaheim.

As much as we all love to hate Kesler, he’s highly skilled and he owns his role as the bad guy.

Johansen is one of the best centers in the league and if you can get in his head it’s extremely difficult for the Predators to perform at the high caliber they have been playing at during the playoffs.

Johansen’s frustration was evident during all three periods of the blood battle.

“Like his family and friends are watching him play; I don’t know how you cheer for a guy like that. It just doesn’t make sense how he plays the game,” Johansen said.

“I’m just trying to go out there and play hockey and it [stinks] when you’ve got to pull a stick out of your groin every shift.”

Yeah, I can imagine that wouldn’t feel too pleasant but Johansen’s high stick to Kesler’s nose didn’t look to comfortable either.

Johansen has been phenomenal in post season play with 10 assists and three goals in 12 games. He had two crucial assists in Game 1 and added on a goal and assist in Game 2 to tie the Preds’ franchise record for points in the postseason.

We knew the Ducks would ruffle some feathers coming into this series and although they got the last laugh in Anaheim with their 5-3 win, the best-of-seven series is tied 1-1.

Just two days after the Preds 3-2 overtime thriller, the Ducks came out with an obvious chip on their shoulder.

Anaheim is notorious for getting down early and then turning around to dominate and that is exactly what they did in Game 2.

The Preds got off to a hot start in Games 1 and 2 but the Ducks controlled the tempo in the majority of Game 2 and it was as if the puck was a magnet to their sticks.

After the Predators jumped ahead to 2-0 thanks to Johansen and James Neal, Anaheim struck back and went on to score four goals in under 20 minutes.

The rally began when the Ducks scored their first power-play goal in seven games which busted their 0-for-21 streak.

Sami Vatanen, Jakob Silferberg, Ondrej Kase and Antoine Vermette recorded the goals for Anaheim, the last of those being a bogus empty-netter.

The host of scoring could be due to the Ducks’ new line they showed yesterday but overall they took control of the game.

In order to capitalize on the pair of home games this week, the Predators must match the physicality of the Ducks while maintaining focus on the game. The Ducks want to frustrate the Preds and so far they have been successful.

The good news is that the Preds clinched home ice advantage and they are back in Nashville for Games 3 and 4.

The Predators have won nine consecutive playoffs games at home and they’re 5-0 in the playoffs at home this year.

Bridgestone will be packed out Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm for the teams home stand before flying back to Anaheim for Game 5 on Saturday.

The City of Gold

Gold typically symbolizes wealth, riches, and extravagance. It’s cheerful and illuminating while showing courage and passion.

In Smashville gold represents the Predators.

Preds fever has taken Nashville by storm and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

The downtown walls and streets are covered in gold along with the stands in Bridgestone to match the legendary “7th man” banner that hangs from the arena ceiling.

The madness started in round one where David took down Goliath.

After the wildcard Preds swept the Stanley Cup favored Blackhawks, they continued to stun the league by taking down the Blues in six hard-fought games.

But, sticking to my biblical roots, Jesus did say “the last shall be first.”

The Nashville Predators punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history and they were the first team to do so.

And now, they wait.

After a brief practice in Bridgestone, head coach Peter Laviolette and his Predators told reporters they were going to kick back and relax tonight and watch some great play-off hockey.

Especially Game 7 between the Preds next prey, Anaheim and Edmonton.

Nashville may find themselves singing “O Canada” tonight because the mighty Ducks have been deadly, well, aside from getting smacked 7-1 on Sunday in double overtime.

The Ducks are nasty and experienced and boast Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf but have also lost four consecutive Game 7’s at home.

The young Oilers team has standout Connor McDavid who led the NHL in points this season at age 20.

Both teams are skilled, both team will be a challenge, but both teams will be gassed from Game 7 when they face the Preds.

Edmonton is speedy but Anaheim is stronger and plays rough which will be harder on the Predators mentally and physically.

The Preds have shown that they can beat a fast-paced team and they can get down and dirty against a gritty team.

Whether the Preds are booking a flight to Canada or California early tomorrow, they will be well rested and ready for the challenge.

My 2016-17 college basketball projections

Duke Blue Devils (25-11)

Duke was dealt a tough hand this season with many injuries and no depth. This season, it has two top recruits coming in that should see a lot of floor time. Duke is losing some strong players, but hopefully these young and lively freshmen can fill the hole. A lot of Duke’s success next year depended on whether or not Grayson Allen, would declare for the draft. He is staying with Duke another year and I think that the team will greatly benefit from that.

Kentucky Wildcats (27-9)

Kentucky shocked the world by getting put out in the second round of the tournament this year. The cats had a slower start at the beginning of the season, but I think Coach Cal will be hunting for blood this year to re-establish his program. It is bringing in another strong recruiting class with a lot of young talent.

North Carolina Tar Heels (33-7)

Three of North Carolina’s top players are going to the draft this year, but don’t completely count out the Tarheels. The loss of Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson and Joel James will surely alter the style of play for North Carolina, but it has a wicked recruiting class coming in.

Villanova Wildcats (35-5)

Losing two star players next year will hurt the Wildcats for sure, but the future for them still looks bright. Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu will be leaving the team, but the other three starters will be returning. Villanova won the national championship this year and will be a strong competitor next year as well.

Kansas Jayhawks (33-5)

Kansas made a huge run this year, and I would have expected the team to finish stronger than it did. Superstar Frank Mason III, Devonte’ Graham and Landen Lucas are all going to be back in action with the Jayhawks next season. Kansas has a strong recruiting class coming in with with one of the strongest (and tallest) prospects.

The other five teams I expect to succeed: Louisville Cardinals, Michigan State Spartans, Xavier Musketeers, Virginia Cavaliers and the Oregon Ducks

2015-16 Linzy Awards

For this segment of my blog I will be awarding players and teams that I feel deserve recognition for their outstanding performances throughout the year .

Most overachieving team-The first team to win a Linzy Award is The North Carolina Tarheels. I am giving this team the award as the most overachieving team because of their consistency and grit. Even though they fell to Villanova in a close game in which the championship title was just within reach, they have come a long way this season. Throughout the year they had two starters miss vast amounts of time due to untimely injuries, but they fought through the challenges and banded together as a team. They did not let the absence of these powerhouses alter their play; instead they worked together to stay consistent. Senior Marcus Paige missed the first six games of the season, and senior Kennedy Meeks was out for seven games right during crunch time of the season. North Carolina remained strong through these tests and made sure to maintain their style of play.

Best offensive player-Next up for the 2015-16 Linzy Award is the best offensive player. This one was an easy pick for me. You have got to go with the man, the myth, the legend, Buddy Hield. I have been harping on him all season, and I will continue to do so. A first team All-American from the Bahamas (wow!), Buddy Hield averaged around 17 points per game this season and dominated the court. Even when Buddy is off, he is still on. He works his tail off and is the epitome of what every coach wants in a college player. He is smooth, unselfish, smart and clutch in every situation.

Best defensive player-Now to my favorite part of the game, defense. Defense is often overlooked in basketball because people only focus on who is throwing up the most shots. This is why I prefer college basketball to NBA basketball, where there is virtually no defense played. A complete player has every aspect of the game and always brings something to the table, even when his shot is off. The best defensive player this season was Malcolm Brogdon from Virginia. He received the NABC defensive player of the year award and always showed up ready to play. He was scrappy and quick, which makes the game ten times more fun to watch. For the ACC, Brogdon was the first player to win both the conference’s player of the year and defensive player of the year awards since 2005.

The next level: Whose got what it takes?

A quick recap of the Final Four: I was wrong. In an intense nail-biter, North Carolina hit a three within seconds of the end of the game which prepared viewers from around the world for overtime. WRONG. Kris Jenkins said no thanks as he sunk a buzzer-beater three-point shot to win the national championship for Villanova. It was an awesome game with two very talented teams that both are coached by great men. My team may not have won, but it played a heck of a game.

Looking ahead, the NBA draft is right around the corner. On June 25 at the Barclays Center in New York, New York, athletes will gather with their families in high hopes of hearing their name called. So, you are probably wondering who the main prospects are for this year.

In our first corner, weighing in at…just kidding, I know you don’t care about those details. Anyways, the first prospect is freshman Ben Simmons from LSU. He averaged 19 PPG with 11 rebounds and an insane field-goal percentage of .56. WOW! He was such a fun player to watch, and he will do big things at the next level. LSU practiced at Lipscomb for a day this year before the SEC tournament, so that was pretty cool, too.

The next prospect is another freshman stud, Brandon Ingram from Duke. Brandon averaged 17 PPG and 6.8 rebounds with a field-goal percentage of .442.

The next listed player is Dragan Bender. He is from Israel, and I have no idea who he is, so I’m just going to skip over that one. If he makes it big one day, I hope he doesn’t read this.

Our next (American) prospect is Kentucky freshman standout Jamal Murray. Averaging 20 points a game roughly five rebounds, he was a huge component of Kentucky’s victories this season, and the Wildcats will miss his floor presence. His field-goal percentage was .454 playing 35 minutes a game on average.Other Kentucky players looking to head to the big leagues are Skal Labissiere and my favorite Kentucky player, Tyler Ulis. I can see all of these players making a bang in the NBA in the next few years.

The last player I am going to key in on is Jaylen Brown. I am not as familiar with this California player, but his stats speak wonders. He averaged a little under 15 PPG and 5.4 rebounds. He averaged around 34 minutes a game and had a field goal percentage of .431.

This was such a great year of college basketball, with more upsets than I can ever remember. A lot of crowd favorites are entering the draft, so who knows, maybe some people will actually start watching the NBA now 😉

Final Four Predictions

This week’s post is dedicated to game predictions. First, let’s take a look at the matchup between Villanova and Oklahoma. As we all know, Oklahoma has one of the best players in college basketball, Buddy Hield. Buddy is coming off of an outstanding performance last Saturday when he put up 37 points. His eight 3-point shots sealed the deal when his Sooners played Oregon. Buddy’s swagger on the court is much due to the confidence he has. If he wants to take over the game, no one can stop him.

Now, on to Villanova. Villanova capitalizes on a team mentality rather than having a star player. Villanova is coming off of clutch win against No. 1 Kansas when four players came alive. Hart, Jenkins and Arcidiacono notched in 13 points each for Villanova while senior forward Daniel Ochefu had a solid 10 points. Jenkins is a well-known powerhouse throughout the South, but the Wildcats power-five approach is much more threatening.

Next, on the other side of the bracket we have North Carolina facing Syracuse. Similar to Oklahoma, North Carolina has a stud player that drives the offense and leads the team. Brice Johnson was wicked last Saturday against Notre Dame, putting up 25 points with 12 rebounds. He averages 17 points and 10 rebounds per game and plays with more and more grit every game. North Carolina is a well-seasoned team with many upperclassmen that have been fighting all season to claim its crown.

Facing North Carolina is Syracuse. This is one team that I did not expect to see in the Final Four. The Orange is a team that is built around togetherness rather than a single standout player. In their their comeback against Virginia, the player that put on a show was Malachi Richardson. He had a whopping 23 points and seven rebounds. The leading scorer for Syracuse is senior Michael Gbinje, who had 11 points against Virginia. Lydon also had 11 points and Roberson added 10 for a spread-out scoreboard.

My prediction for the Final Four is that Oklahoma will blow Villanova out of the water and North Carolina will beat Syracuse with ease. The championship game will be a close one, but I think that North Carolina will come out on top.

Who do you think is going to win the championship?

Upset alert!

DES MOINES, Iowa- Indiana claimed victory over Kentucky in the battle to the Sweet 16 last Saturday.

The talent and depth of the Wildcats was not enough for the resilience and grit behind the Hoosiers performance.

Kentucky standout Tyler Ulis put on an outstanding performance with 27 points but that was not enough to get the victory. Senior Yogi Ferrell and freshman Thomas Bryant came in clutch for Indiana by contributing 18 and 19 points to the scoreboard. Bryant scored 15 of his points in the last 10 minutes of the game, which shifted the momentum completely for Indiana.

The game was neck-and-neck until the last four minutes, when Indiana came alive with a 17-4 run and had Kentucky running for its money. Ulis and Poythress kept Kentucky in the game with some clutch free throws, but Indiana hit its free throws late in the game as well to cancel out Kentucky’s efforts.

Kentucky has not been eliminated from the tournament this early since 2008 and has not faced Indiana in four years.

This 73-67 win guaranteed a trip to the regional semifinals for the Hoosiers.

Along with standout Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray tried to keep the Wildcats in the game with a solid 16 points but missed 8 out of 9 threes.

The Hoosiers could not be stopped this game and carried a will to win from start to finish. When Ferrell went to the bench with three fouls, the Hoosiers did not go into a panic. They rolled on with a 9-2 run and extended their lead to a comfortable 10 points.

When Kentucky showed signs of coming back, Bryant came in with a clutch dunk that made the Hoosiers come alive along with a wicked block by Anunoby. Once the Hoosiers took control of the end of the game, there was no coming back for Kentucky.

QUICK HITS

Ulis led UK with 27 points
Ferrell led Indiana with 18 points
Murray led UK in rebounds with 7
Ferrell and Bryant led Indiana in rebounds with 5

Tar Heels take over

DURHAM, N.C.- North Carolina came out on top over its No. 1 rival in a hard-fought game last Saturday. Although Duke had beaten North Carolina in their past four meetings, UNC was favored to win this game. North Carolina sealed the deal and grabbed the ACC regular season championship title after this win.

North Carolina came out strong with a 6-0 lead. Duke fought to catch up and put the game within three point with a little under 15 minutes left in the first half. Brice Johnson had a standout game for the Tar Heels with 18 points and an astounding 21 rebounds.

Although Duke trailed North Carolina the entire game, it gave the Tarheels a run for their money. North Carolina’s strong inside presence and rebounding could not be stopped by Duke’s 13 three-pointers.

North Carolina spread out the scoreboard with both Kennedy Meeks and Joel Berry II adding 12 points each to the game.

Barry came in clutch by adding seven of his 12 points in the last five minutes of the game. Another player who kept his composure and helped seal the deal was Marcus Paige. He hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds of the game that were huge for the Tar heels. People do not realize how crucial free throws can be in games until it comes down to the final seconds of the game and the teams are within a few points of each other.

Grayson Allen did about all he could do to try and keep Duke in the battle. He put up 29 points for his team and brought Duke back into the game in the late second half. Luke Kennard put in 20 points for the Blue Devils with a beyond clutch three-point shot in the last few seconds of the game that put the score at 72-70.

Paige came in clutch with two free throws followed by Plumlee’s slam late in the game. Duke completely had a chance to take over the game but did not take advantage of the opportunity when it had the momentum. The game ended with UNC claiming the game 76-72.