Newly acquired Predators defenseman Denis Grebeshkov was wondering Tuesday morning how difficult it would be to play against the team that had traded him to Nashville one day earlier.

Grebeshkov, who was dealt from Edmonton to the Predators on Monday, came back to burn his former team one night later.

The Russian blueliner scored once and assisted on another goal as the Preds edged the Oilers 4-3, getting the post-Olympic portion of their schedule started on the right note in front of an announced crowd of 15,682 at Bridgestone Arena.

“I thought it would be a little weird to play against those guys, but it turns out it wasn’t,” Grebeshkov said. “I’m happy our team won tonight and I helped them. I couldn’t ask for a better start.”

It was a more familiar Predator, however, who scored the game-winner.

Jason Arnott snapped a 3-3 tie with a goal from behind the net. With 14:58 left in the game, Arnott back-handed a puck to the crease. The puck bounced off the skate of Edmonton defenseman Jason Strudwick and slid past goalie Jeff Deslauriers.

Click here to read the full article – By The Tennessean

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Would the two-week Olympic break stall the momentum the Canes generated before the Vancouver Games? How would Carolina’s four Olympians respond after being in such an emotionally charged atmosphere?

With the NHL trade deadline today, some wondered who would be – or wouldn’t be – in the Canes’ lineup. Would Ray Whitney play? Defenseman Aaron Ward?

Forwards Chad LaRose, Erik Cole and Scott Walker all were returning from injury. How would they play? And rookie Justin Peters was making just his third career start in goal.

But the Hurricanes answered every question, emphatically, in a 5-1 win at the Air Canada Centre. LaRose had a shorthanded goal and added two assists, and Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Sutter, Tuomo Ruutu and Sergei Samsonov also scored as Carolina (25-30-7) hardly missed a beat in pushing its winning streak to six straight.

Click here to read the full article – By Raleigh News & Observer

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The victory gave the Predators (33-23-5, 71 points) five points in their four-game road trip (2-1-1) and, more importantly, guaranteed they would remain among the top eight in the Western Conference when the NHL ceased operations so many of its players could compete for their national teams in Vancouver.

With 21 games to play following the break, Nashville already has one more win on the road (17) than it had in all of 2008-09. Among the Western Conference teams, only San Jose (21) and Los Angeles (19) currently have more road wins.

Twelve of the remaining games, beginning March 2 at Edmonton, will be at home.

The last Olympic year (2006) the Predators went 7-1-2 in their first 10 games following the break, including 5-0-0 at home.

“We come out of the break and only have 21 games so it will be a dog fight in the West,” coach Barry Trotz said.

Click here to read the full article – By Nashville City Paper

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A few feet away in the Carolina Hurricanes locker room, defenseman Tim Gleason was eavesdropping a little. And grinning.

Gleason is a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Let’s just say the expectations aren’t quite the same for Team USA as for Staal and those who will wear the red maple leaf on their sweaters.

Gleason’s smile had a little of the “ain’t-no-pressure-on-us” feel to it, but Staal wasn’t buying it.

“That’s part of their little scheme: to try and make themselves the underdogs,” Staal said. “They’ve got a ton of skill. They’ve got a great goalie in Ryan Miller.

Click here to read the full article – By Raleigh News & Observer

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Wilson’s power-play goal off a rebound was the game-winner as the Predators snapped a five-game road losing streak (0-4-1). It was the second goal in 12 NHL appearances for the 2008 first-round draft pick who appeared in 10 games at the start of the season but spent the last three-plus months in the American Hockey League.

He played just 4:51 in a shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday, but logged 10:58 of ice time and had four shots in this one.

Goalie Dan Ellis played for the first time since Jan. 29 and made 36 saves, including 18 in the third period, for his 12th victory. He had lost his previous two starts and three decisions.

New York outshot Nashville 38-36 for the contest.

Jordin Tootoo gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with 2:15 to play in the first period. It was Tootoo’s first goal in 15 games and his third of the season.

Click here to read the full article – By Nashville City Paper

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With a 4-1 victory Tuesday over the Panthers, the Hurricanes now have won three straight and seven of their last nine. In fact, since the beginning of December, Carolina is 17-13-2 – not a great record but enough to convince any skeptics the Canes are far from being one of the worst teams in the league.

The Canes won with goals from Jussi Jokinen, Joni Pitkanen, Matt Cullen and Tuomo Ruutu. They won with some calm, solid play in net by Manny Legace. They skated well, defended well in their zone, killed penalties, backchecked well, made the most of their hits.

Nothing special. Just good, sound hockey.

Jokinen, who somehow won’t be playing for Finland in the Vancouver Winter Games, pushed his point streak to seven games with a power-play goal early in the second that gave Carolina a 1-0 lead. Set up to the left of Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun, he was at the right place at the right time to pop in the rebound of an Eric Staal rebound for his team-leading 21st goal.

Click here to read the full article – By Raleigh News & Observer

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New Orleans considered extending Brees’ contract last offseason, but opted to wait another year. Now that it has, the price only has risen with Brees performing the way he has. Should the Saints win Super Bowl XLIV, Brees practically would be able to name his price.

Discussions on a new deal have yet to begin, but they will this offseason. A contract is expected to be wrapped up by the time the Saints report to training camp if not during it, but nobody around the league expects Brees to play the 2010 season under the six-year, $60 million contract that he signed in March 2006.

Click here to read the full article – By Adam Schefter of ESPN.com

We’ve counted him out at least twice before. There was his departure from Green Bay after the 2004 season, one spurred because the Packers thought he was in marked decline. The next season, Sharper was an All-Pro in Minnesota.

After last season, the Vikings thought he couldn’t help them anymore, and like the Packers, they let him depart via free agency. After two months on the market, New Orleans signed him to a one-year deal worth about $1.5 million.

In 2009, he was an All-Pro once again.

Sharper’s career renaissance with the Saints has been a testament to conditioning, motivation and smart instincts. More than anything, however, it provided a template for how to use, waste and misjudge the specific skills of a player.

In 2004, the Packers blamed a lack of speed — rather than a knee injury — on Sharper’s decline in play. From 2006-08, the Vikings squeezed him into a Cover 2 scheme that minimized his playmaking abilities.

Click here to read the full article – By Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com

So the question many Predators fans are asking these days is a simple one: When will Wilson be called upon to produce in Nashville as opposed to Milwaukee?

Predators management and coaches say they’re well aware of Wilson’s improved play over the past several weeks, and they’re in agreement that Wilson has positioned himself well in the organizational ladder.

So another Nashville injury or two at the forward position almost certainly will mean Wilson’s name gets called. But at the same time, the Predators say they don’t feel the need to rush the 20-year-old into the lineup on the NHL level.

“He’s doing right now what we do with all of our younger players — playing in Milwaukee and getting to play in more situations,” General Manager David Poile said. “The reports are getting better almost by the game about him, and his confidence is getting back up there, too.

Click here to read the full article – By The Tennessean

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But they were treated to an exciting game, with the top Chicago trio trying but failing to generate enough to get the Hawks’ first victory in the RBC Center.

For the better part of two periods, Ward was the neutralizer, coming up with big saves in the second and third periods that kept the Blackhawks at bay until forward Brandon Sutter and Matt Cullen broke open the game with goals 26 seconds apart near the midway point of the final period.

“Cam was outstanding tonight, and I’ll say it again, every once in a while, we actually expect that out of him because we need it in a game like tonight,” Carolina coach Paul Maurice said.

Just 1:35 before Sutter’s goal, former Hurricane forward Andrew Ladd, who was traded to the Blackhawks for Tuomo Ruutu in 2008, tied the game at 2-2 with a shot from the left circle at 7:43 in the third period, drawing a loud applause from a solid showing from Chicago fans, who were soon disappointed.

“I’ll probably be hearing it from Ladd on that second goal, but we got bragging rights with the win,” Ward said.

Click here to read the full article – By Charlotte Observer

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