One of the best things about hockey is that it is a long season, and the excitement can carry over from game to game. No other sport has the same ability as hockey to make every game worth watching.
Baseball has just too many except for the diehard fans. Basketball's regular season is all but irrelevant at this point. The NFL's season is so short that every game feels like life and death. Seriously, I'm trying to adopt the Titans but it has been painful.
The Nashville Predators figure to be a high end team this season in the Western Conference and in the NHL. If you have tickets, absolutely go. Going to see hockey live is always worth it. This is a list for our TV viewers, or those who just might have one or two more things to do that can't sit down to watch a game.
October 26th vs Columbus Blue Jackets
This is an easy one, for highly unfortunate reasons. There will be a shadow over the entire season that the Columbus Blue Jackets play this season. The tragic deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau have left an indelible mark on the hockey community that will not soon fade. In the face of such, I wouldn't be surprised if Blue Jackets viewership is down league-wide.
November 27th vs Philadelphia Flyers
I'll probably be watching. I'm not likely to miss my hometown squad taking on my adopted Predators. The only issue with this date is that it is the night before Thanksgiving. If you aren't cooking or pre-Black Friday shopping, then you're going out. It's one of the biggest nights of the year for people to head out on the town, and everyone is back home. In a place like Nashville the bars and restaurants might be stacked to the gills but the energy will be unmatched. Besides, they'll have the game on every TV.
January 4th vs Calgary Flames
I'm chalking this one up as a "scheduled" loss. They play in Vancouver the night before at 8:00 pm and then move over to play in Calgary for 6:00 pm the next night. Two games in less than 24 hours plus travel isn't a recipe for a win and at least one of these is going to be a Scott Wedgewood game. Probably won't be worth the time sitting down to watch, plus any anger might tempt you to break resolutions.
January 23rd vs San Jose Sharks
This is the back half of a home and home against the Sharks. The Sharks are poised to be the worst team in the league again this year and you just saw them play the night before. Plus this is another late start, with a 9:30 start time for this away game. I apologize for not loading up on caffeine to stay up and watch this one.
March 1st vs New York Islanders
This one doesn't start too late but starts too early. March 1st is decent weather-wise down here in the South and it might as well be Spring. This 11:30 am start is smack dab in the middle of you getting done everything you have to do. You might still be in your morning grog and forget that this one is even starting, and that's ok.
Regardless of whether you watch or not, we'll have all the info, reports, and breakdowns from every game over the course of the year. So skip all the ones you want, as long as you visit us on Predlines for the full story.