SOBRE ESTE EPISÓDIO
Two games can’t define a season, but they can expose the exact cracks that will decide it. After the Nashville Predators drop one to Minnesota and squeeze out a win against Dallas, we step back and do a real compare-and-contrast: what actually looked different on the ice, what only changed on the scoreboard, and what those clues say about where this team is headed.
We get into the power play in a way that goes beyond the box score. Nashville goes 0-for-4 one night and 2-for-3 the next, yet the underlying issue stays loud: power play zone entries and the ability to get set. From there, we talk Predators identity hockey and why it only shows up in flashes when execution breaks down even if the effort is there. Andrew Brunette’s line about “hoping for things to happen instead of making things happen” becomes the lens for puck management, spacing, and why early-season chemistry matters.
The biggest tension point is the defense. With shifting pairings, Ryan Ufko headed to Milwaukee for minutes, and William Trudeau getting an NHL audition, we’re still learning what Nashville has on the blue line. That’s why the Simon Edvinsson contract drama in Detroit is so intriguing as a possible trade solution, especially for a team with cap space and a need for young defensemen. We close by previewing the Canadian road trip to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators, plus the specific players and matchups we’re watching.
Subscribe wherever you listen, share the episode with a Preds fan, and leave a review if you want more smart hockey analysis all season long.
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The Nashville Predators are two games into their 84-game season.
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Today we're going to compare and contrast the Minnesota and Dallas games.
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Plus, I'm going to throw out a potential solution to a defensive problem.
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Every game tells two stories.
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The one everyone sees and the one that happens behind the scenes.
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Welcome to Second Intermission with Ann Pimple.
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McFarland is filling out the demographic that was previously looped into Lisa and Boy.
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You'll find thoughtful analysis, real conversations, and the stories behind the scores.
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This could be one of the best deals they've done in the year.
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Whether this is your first season watching hockey or you've lived and breathed the game for decades, there's a steep for you here.
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This is Second Intermission.
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Let's drop the pop.
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The Nashville Predators season underway.
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Two games down, 82 to go.
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On today's episode, we are going to talk about what we saw in the first two games, and we're going to do it Sesame Street style.
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Also, there are a lot of questions about Nashville's defense.
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I'm going to just throw out perhaps a potential answer.
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Also, we're going to look at the week ahead.
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I'm going to share with you what I'm watching for as Nashville takes off on the road.
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But first, today's episode is brought to you by Homewell Care Services.
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That's 615-622-9360.
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Homewell Care Services, trusted care, true compassion.
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Well, you know, I always like to kick off our episodes with a stat, a story, or a question.
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So we're gonna dive into this episode.
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And I want to share with you a story about a conversation that took place this week after practice with none other than Ryan O'Reilly.
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He was participating in a media scrum.
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And one of the things that he talked about was his very high sense of personal responsibility and accountability.
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Now, if you have listened to the Predators post-game interviews or if you have listened to me on a podcast, you are gonna know that Ryan O'Reilly does himself a pretty harsh self-evaluation.
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So he was asked, where does that personal accountability come from?
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And he shared that that really is something that he inherited from his parents.
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His parents were social workers.
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And he said, growing up, they taught Ryan and his brother to just ask themselves basic questions, things like after a game, what did I do well?
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What could I do better?
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How can I be more coachable?
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What did I notice about myself or about my game?
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And Ryan shared that after a hockey game, from the time when he was little to when he speaks to his dad after an NHL game now, his dad has never actually given him any hockey advice.
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He's never told him anything.
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He simply asks Ryan questions.
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And through that process, Ryan has learned how to self-evaluate.
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Now, could he do it a little softer on himself?
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Yes.
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And he even acknowledged that.
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He said, Sometimes I share a little too much, I say a little bit too much in the post-game.
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But this is such a great skill set, not just for a hockey player, but in life.
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And in talking with Ryan, you know, I said to him, whenever you decide you're done with hockey, life coaching would be a great thing for you to get into because self-evaluation is a skill set that not a lot of people have.
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And not a lot of people live in a world where that is a skill set that you need to practice as much as Ryan O'Reilly in a now 84 game season.
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Now I did take it a step further, as I often do in the locker room.
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So I asked Ryan O'Reilly, okay, are there areas of your life where you're more laid back about things?
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Like, do you look at your lawn and just go, eh, it's good enough?
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He laughed and he said, his wife probably has a list of those things, those areas where maybe he doesn't self-evaluate enough.
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Friends, I will not be pursuing that line of questioning any further.
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It was a great conversation with Ryan O'Reilly this week, as it usually is with Factor.
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But let's turn to hockey.
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Predators have kicked off the regular season, played two games in this 84-game season.
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And really, this was a tale of two games.
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And we're going to look at these games a little bit differently.
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We are going to follow the brilliance of Sesame Street and play a game called Same or Different.
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Nashville, of course, lost three to one to Minnesota.
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They won two to one against Dallas, both of those home games.
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But let's talk about what was the same and what was different besides the outcomes and the scores.
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So let's start with the power play.
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Same or different?
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Well, outcome-wise, let's talk about the fact that these were two very different games when it came to the power play and special teams against Minnesota.
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The Nashville Predators went a big fat O for four.
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Now I am going to tell you that Steven Stamcos, after the Dallas game, tried to say that really it was mostly like one for four against Minnesota because Yossi scored right as the power play expired.
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But I feel like someone needs to remind Steven Stamcos that that's not how life works.
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Even in Wheel of Fortune, if you solve the puzzle after the buzzer, you don't get the prize.
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So oh for four officially against Minnesota.
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Against the Dallas Stars, Nashville went two out of three.
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And as Meatloaf says, two out of three ain't bad.
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It was really different to watch Nashville's success against Dallas versus their struggles against Minnesota.
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But let's talk about the struggles on the power play in these two games.
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Same or different?
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The outcomes were different, but I think the challenges were very much the same.
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And it isn't the power play itself, even on both units, the first unit and the second unit, which is made up of a lot of new players to Nashville's roster.
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It's not the execution on the power play that is the problem.
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It is getting into the zone.
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And friends, this is something that we watch Nashville work on in every single practice.
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They work on how to break into the zone on the power play.
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And it still is not great.
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With Dallas, yes, they went two for three on the power play, which means they got the puck in the zone.
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But Dallas made some mistakes on clearing the puck and uh just kind of breakdowns defensively that made it a little bit easier for Nashville to get into the zone.
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And so I'm not sure it's going to look easy getting into the zone if Nashville doesn't continue to make some adjustments as the season progresses.
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So the struggles, very much the same when it comes to the power play.
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Let's talk about identity.
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You know, that is a big word with the Nashville Predators.
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The identity of play in these two games, same or different.
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For me, different.
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This is something that Andrew Brunett has talked about last season, the season before, like literally ad nauseum.
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He talks about well, we've seen stretches of the team playing to the identity.
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Stretches, not games, stretches.
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Minnesota was a game like that.
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You saw just the briefest of stretches of potential of what they would be able to do to be successful.
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Just little pockets against Dallas.
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You could see for most of the game, except probably in the third period, you could see the identity that the predators are trying to play to.
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And as a fan, just sitting in the stands, just no statistics in front of you.
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As a fan, you would be able to describe the style of play that worked for Nashville.
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You would be able to eye test and say, chasing pucks, hounding pucks, winning the 50-50 battles, hard to play against, keeping the opposing team to the outside when they are in the defensive zone.
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So you could eye test and see what the predator's identity would be to help them be successful.
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Consistency in playing to that identity is going to give Nashville their best chance to win games.
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Now, may not have the roster to be a contender, but if Nashville wants to win these games, they have to play to the identity that we saw more consistently against Dallas if they want to be successful.
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Let's talk about effort.
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Same or different in these two games.
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This one may strike you a little odd, but I think it really was the same.
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And I know that sounds like I am contradicting myself because I just talked about identity was different.
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But when effort and execution come together, that's when you get identity play.
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Versus Minnesota, you had effort, but man, you did not have execution.
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Versus Dallas for long stretches of that game, you had both.
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This was something that Andrew Brunett talked about after the Minnesota game, disappointed about the outcome, but this is what he had to say about the team's effort on the ice against Minnesota.
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Well, I think the one thing I want to see is say is the effort.
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I thought the effort was our I thought uh we worked all the way through.
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A little disappointed in some of our puck plays.
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Um I thought we made it really hard on ourselves to get to our game with how we managed it.
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Um, how we weren't connected with it.
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I thought we were a little bit on highlight so that we played teams like, you know, there are one of the best teams in league for a reason.
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Um you can't play one on three, so we have to find a way to be a little closer together.
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I'm gonna have to puck a little more.
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I thought we threw way too many pucks away.
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It wasn't for lack of effort.
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I just think we were hoping for things to happen instead of making things happen.
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I love that quote from Andrew Brunett.
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I think we were hoping for things to happen instead of making things happen.
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That's the execution piece of this.
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But we heard about the effort, not just from Andrew Brunett after Minnesota, but in talking to the players in the post-game.
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And they agreed they liked the effort from the team, but they felt like the execution just wasn't there.
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Steven Stamkos talked about that after the Dallas game and asked, what is the kind of the difference in these two games?
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And he agreed the effort was there in both games.
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He said, maybe in the Minnesota game, those first game of the season nerves got into the way and maybe threw off the execution.
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I think it probably goes a little deeper than that.
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But everybody has agreed that they have liked the effort.
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The execution piece is really interesting to me, and it's something that we need to see Nashville improve upon very quickly if they want October to be a month of success.
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Execution, really difficult to watch against Minnesota.
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Talked with Roman Yossi after the game about that, and he said part of that is maybe they weren't communicating enough against Minnesota.
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He also pointed out that they are still trying to find chemistry, shortened preseason, shortened preseason for everybody, but a lot of roster changes here in Nashville as well.
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And so they're still trying to find some chemistry.
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And I think those two things improved against Dallas.
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And you saw that because the team was able to execute much better consistently against Dallas.
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Talking about chemistry, let's talk about the defensive chemistry.
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Same or different?
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Well, a lot of things were different when it comes to the defense between these first two games.
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The Predators went 12 and 6 in the opening night game against Minnesota.
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Of course, Ryan Ufko playing with Roman Yossi on the top pairing.
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Nick Perbix with Shay, Haig, and Willsby together as well.
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On Friday, we showed up to practice to find out that Ryan Ufko had been sent down to Milwaukee.
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Asked Andrew Brunett about it.
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He said he felt like maybe Ufko got the game a little big for Ufco against Minnesota, and they want him to be playing.
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They want him to get minutes.
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And he felt like in Milwaukee, he's going to have the best chance to get on the ice, get minutes, and keep playing and improving his game.
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He also said he believes Ufco will be back.
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He has a lot of confidence in his game, a lot of confidence that Ufco is going to be a part of Nashville's defensive future.
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And yet, against Dallas, no Ryan Ufco.
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And Bruno opted to go 11 and 7.
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So the pairings then were Haig and Yossey, Perbixon Shea, Willsby, and William Trudeau, who made his NHL debut.
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And then Jack Ashan was the seventh defenseman.
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Jack Ashan played just under six minutes in that game.
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We asked Andrew Brunette about Trudeau and Ashawn in the post-game after Dallas.
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He said he thought maybe Ashawn got a little bit lost out there at times, but when he was playing, he liked the fact that he was moving his feet.
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He was very complimentary about William Trudeau's game, said he felt like he got a very good idea of what William Trudeau can bring to the team.
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And Brunette was very honest.
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Look, we are still evaluating the defense at this point in the regular season.
00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:13.360
We still don't know what we have defensively.
00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.879
And that is just a tad unnerving.
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When you have a team that has to win games, when you have a team that is on the precipice of either pushing to try to contend or get into the postseason, or is on the precipice of kind of blowing it up.
00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:36.080
And Chris McFarland saying, okay, it's not working and we're going to tear this down.
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So it's interesting that a key component, the defense, is still a question mark for the Nashville Predators.
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William Trudeau played just over 12 minutes.
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Again, Bruno liked what he saw from him.
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And Andrew Burnett's very honest, still evaluating.
00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.759
So the defense, still a question.
00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.360
And let's be honest, the defense, still a concern.
00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.960
But I want to share with you another great conversation I had this week.
00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:07.679
And it was with the Thelma to my hockey Louise, Emma Lingen, of course.
00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:11.919
She and I were chatting as we were covering the Minnesota game on Thursday night.
00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:17.120
And then, of course, Elliot Friedman kind of dipped his toe in this water.
00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.720
Who had the idea first?
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.799
I don't know, chicken and the egg.
00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.919
But anyway, conversation with Emma.
00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:31.519
And then what we're hearing from Elliot Friedman has to do with Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinson.
00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:37.120
Friends, this is a story of drama that would make every eighth-grade girl just lean in.
00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:46.320
It is shocking what's happening in Detroit, but also intriguing if you follow the Nashville Predators and are like, can you fix the defense?
00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.159
Of course, Simon Edvinson.
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Let's just talk about his stats.
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He was the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft.
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Friends, this is a Swede, and this is a lot of Swede.
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He is 6'6.
00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.720
He is 220 pounds.
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You gotta love a big Swede.
00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:08.880
He's played 175 career NHL games, 19 goals, 41 assists for 60 points.
00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:16.160
Edvinson is an RFA, did not have a deal as training camp kicked off.
00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:23.920
So Edvinson went and arranged for his own insurance so he could participate in the preseason.
00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:28.079
He showed up to training camp, even though he did not have a contract.
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:34.400
And Nashville Predator stands know that RFAs without a contract don't have to show up to camp.
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.640
A la Luca Evangelista.
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:40.480
But Edvinson made the arrangements for insurance.
00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:42.880
He practiced with the team in the preseason.
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.599
He skated every day with the team in the preseason.
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.200
He did not participate in preseason games or scrimmages.
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:54.799
And yet there is no contract with Detroit.
00:17:55.279 --> 00:18:01.440
What we're hearing, according to Elliot Friedman, is Detroit wants to sign Edmondson to a bridge deal.
00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:06.160
This is a 23-year-old younger defenseman, and they want to do a bridge deal.
00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.839
Edvidson wants a deal with Term, and he would also like to be paid.
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:24.160
And we are watching such a shift in real time in the NHL as players are flexing the bit of power that they feel like they have.
00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:28.319
And we're seeing this in so many different areas.
00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:35.599
And I think in real time, the NHL is trying to figure out what do these changes mean?
00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:40.160
What does it mean when an RFA says, I am not going to take a bridge deal?
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I want to deal with term.
00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:44.720
These players know the cap is going up.
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:50.720
You have Connor Hellebook sitting out the season because he wants traded in Detroit.
00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:55.680
Dylan Larkin wants to be traded and is just sitting there.
00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:02.160
And I don't know if you all saw the announcement of the Detroit team in their opening game.
00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:04.319
It was a poop show.
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.559
It was so awkward for Dylan Larkin and for the team.
00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:14.319
And it was just, it's almost hard to watch what's going on in Detroit.
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.680
And now they have this problem with Simon Edvinson.
00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.480
And you're seeing this shift in real time.
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:26.720
It's like the teams are being told no by a toddler for the first time, and they're trying to figure out like, what do I do?
00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:27.759
He just said no.
00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.720
And we're watching this power dynamic recalibrate in real time.
00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:42.640
And so you have these situations with Simon Edvinson, who, by the way, went back to Sweden because he does not have a deal with this team.
00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:44.880
Now, I'm just throwing this out there.
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:51.759
And I thank Emma Lingen again for just a glimmer of hope when it comes to Nashville's defense.
00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:54.400
Nashville's got some cap space.
00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.359
Nashville could use some young defensemen.
00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:11.119
Listen, if Detroit finally gets what they want for an asking price and trades Dylan Larkin, who isn't playing anyway, this could be a Detroit team that just needs to own the fact that they need to regroup.
00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:22.880
And what Nashville also has are some intriguing prospects in the pipeline that could be interesting to a team that's saying, okay, it's not now, but it might be a little while from now.
00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.000
They also have draft picks, maybe even some NHL players.
00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.839
Listen, Chris McFarland is going to Chris McFarland.
00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:38.960
And if there is a deal that is to be made that will make this team better, he's going to do it.
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:41.680
Now, is this going to happen here in Nashville?
00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:42.880
We have no idea.
00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.599
Here's what we know about Chris McFarland.
00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:48.400
He is never going to tip his hand.
00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.279
We will never know what is happening.
00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:55.119
But it is a very intriguing opportunity.
00:20:55.279 --> 00:21:01.519
It is something that I hope Chris McFarland is maybe making a phone call, getting some information on.
00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:10.480
It's a little bit risky because this is a young defenseman who is looking again for term and money.
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:15.839
And does Nashville want to commit to a long-term deal and a lot of money?
00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:24.240
Or do the predators kind of still have a little financial and emotional sunburn from a Brady Shea type deal?
00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:43.599
But you look at where the predators are now, and you have to sort of weigh out like the risk of signing a potentially longer-term, more expensive deal for a defenseman when you have some defenseman in the pipeline, or is the timeline okay to say, give this guy a five-year deal?
00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:50.720
You know, you've got UFCO, you've got Mullendike, you've got Tommy Blyle, you know, Vigo Gustavson, Andrew Gibson.
00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:58.319
You know, is there a window in which taking the risk defensively could pay off for Nashville?
00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.519
Listen.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.160
You know, I am a big believer that you can never have enough Swedes.
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.640
So I say trigger a conning and VARA, baby.
00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:10.480
Like I am very intrigued by what is happening.
00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:16.640
I have no idea if anything could happen in Nashville with Detroit.
00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:26.880
But I think this is a situation just keep your ears and eyes open as you hear the name Simon Edvinson.
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:28.640
And let's see what happens.
00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:30.799
Again, Detroit wants to sign him.
00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.960
Edmondson just came out and said, I would prefer to be traded.
00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:39.279
So juicy situation with a defenseman.
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.319
Maybe Nashville's interested.
00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:43.599
Maybe they're not.
00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:46.400
What is happening for sure?
00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:51.440
We know that Nashville is headed out on their first Canadian road trip.
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:54.640
Very interesting week ahead for the Nashville Predators.
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.640
Three games in Canada.
00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:59.680
There's some things that are going to be worth watching.
00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:02.880
Of course, they will face off first against Toronto.
00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:06.960
Currently, Toronto is one win, two losses.
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:12.480
All three of their games have been one goal games, which I think is very interesting.
00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:18.319
If Nashville can keep this game close, I'm saying there is a chance.
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.480
Now it's going to be a challenge.
00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:24.880
You're looking at a team that's got a lot of top offensive weapons.
00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.160
There's no question about that.
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:31.680
And again, you have a Nashville defense that is still trying to put some pieces together.
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:36.720
And even when the pieces are together, you're not looking at a top defense in the league.
00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:39.359
So this is going to be a defensive challenge.
00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:44.559
One thing I am keeping my eye on, Gavin McKenna, former Nittany Lion.
00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.799
He has zero points so far.
00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.319
Please do not worry about him.
00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:50.000
He is 18 years old.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:55.039
He's just like finally getting out of the my voice is cracking stage.
00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:58.480
So I'm not worried at all about Gavin McKenna.
00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.000
I really would not like his first goal to come against the Predators.
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.000
Just let's just not.
00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.799
Let's wish him well after Tuesday.
00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:14.400
But let's keep an eye on Gavin McKenna in that game and let's see what the defense can do to contain Toronto's offense.
00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:18.480
They're gonna leave Toronto and they are gonna head to Montreal.
00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:24.799
Montreal on Tuesday is gonna be playing Carolina before they face the Predators on Thursday.
00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.319
What am I watching in this game, friends?
00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:35.599
I will be wistfully watching Alexander Carrier living his best life in Montreal's two games.
00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:37.920
Carrier has a goal and an assist.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.759
Can we just take a minute?
00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:44.720
Friends, just we just need to take a minute and talk about it.
00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.759
The one-for-one deal, Alexander Carrier for Justin Barron.
00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:54.799
Is it one of the worst deals in recent history?
00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:00.720
It just tastes and smells like straight-up regret.
00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:07.200
Man, Alexander Carrier is doing great in Montreal.
00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:10.319
He was good in Nashville as well.
00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:23.279
We're gonna sit and uh watch him in the opposing team's uniform while Justin Barron plays somewhere else after he was picked up off waivers and Nashville got a fat lot of nothing.
00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:28.480
So yeah, it's just gonna smell and taste like regret.
00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:35.599
Again, this is a Montreal team that is a team in a potential contention window.
00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.200
Another Canadian team just packed with offensive talent.
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.880
You know, you've got Nick Suzuki, you've got Lane Hudson, you've got Cole Caulfield.
00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.599
I mean, I could just go on and on and on.
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.680
Montreal, a very scary team to play against.
00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:52.559
And again, what is this gonna come down to?
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:54.000
The defense.
00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.440
The defense is going to be tested on this road trip.
00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:00.400
They're gonna wrap up their Canadian road trip in Ottawa.
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:05.839
It will be Ottawa's fourth game of the week when they host Nashville next Saturday.
00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:07.839
Hopefully they'll be tired.
00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.920
Ottawa, of course, biggest news, they purge themselves of a Kachuk.
00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:14.960
That's all I'm gonna say about that.
00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:22.640
When it comes to the Ottawa game, one of the players I am most interested in watching in Ottawa is William Eklund.
00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.039
Now, he is the young Sprout.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:30.640
He was traded from the San Jose Sharks in this deal that had different pieces to it.
00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:42.880
And Ottawa got William Eklund so that the Sharks could get the ninth overall pick, where they picked defenseman Keaton Verhoff, who was a very appealing defenseman at number nine.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:46.880
Of course, William Eklund, nothing to turn your nose up at.
00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.680
He was the seventh overall pick in 2021.
00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.839
He is now in Ottawa.
00:26:52.240 --> 00:27:00.240
And I'm very interested to see how Eklund does with that team and how does he change the dynamics in Ottawa?
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:04.319
Ottawa is a team that you're trying to figure out where are you at?
00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.640
Did they lose the Kajuk?
00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:07.759
Yes.
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:14.079
Is that really going to dramatically impact where they fall in the standings at the end of the season?
00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:15.119
I don't know.
00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:19.839
So Ottawa's a team I'm very interested in keeping my eye on.
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.599
I'm very interested to see how Nashville does against Ottawa.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:29.119
Again, that's going to be their third of three games on the road, beginning of the season.
00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:31.440
Is Nashville going to come with the energy?
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:37.839
Are we going to see execution and effort and identity from them in the third game on this road trip?
00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:43.599
There is a lot to watch for from Nashville as they head out on the road.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:52.319
So I am very curious, what are you watching for this week when it comes to the Nashville Predators and this first road trip to Canada?
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.119
You know, friends, let me know in the comments.
00:27:55.279 --> 00:28:00.960
Also, if you have the constitution for it, I want you to leave your predictions for this road trip in the comments.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:05.119
Nashville, three games on the road, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa.
00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:08.000
What's their record going to be when they come home?
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:09.839
I'd love to know what you think about that.
00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:12.640
Also, would love to chat with you all.
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:15.119
You can comment on my written work.
00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:19.359
You can find that at ankimmel.substack.com.
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:21.519
All of my work there is free to read.
00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:22.799
It is free to comment.
00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:24.480
I would love to hear what you're thinking.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:30.000
You can also support my work there as an independent journalist covering the predators there too.
00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:33.920
That is going to do it for today's second intermission.
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:41.599
I hope that you heard something that made you think, made you laugh, or just helped you enjoy the sport of hockey a little bit more.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:48.000
As my mom always says, when we part, drive carefully, don't bump your teeth, and watch for deer.
00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:50.000
We'll talk to you next week.
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:56.640
That's gonna do it for this edition of Second Intermission.
00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:04.559
If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and watch full episodes on YouTube.
00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:11.920
For more coverage, behind the scenes moments, and the latest around the ring, follow me on social media.
00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:14.319
Thanks for spending part of your day with us.
00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:19.359
Until next time, we'll see you next time.