Hockey Night In Nashville

Hey everyone. Happy Presidents' Day.
I hope y'all had an decent week. Valentine's Day and the weekend, was spent as "us time" with my wife. That's why there was no post last Friday.

But this post is about a day I had been looking forward to for a couple of months.This past Thursday I went to a hockey game in Nashville.

Early that morning, I bought a ticket to that evening's Predators hockey game against the Islanders.

While I have been a Predators fan since 2016, I have also been a fan of the New York Islanders since the late 70s.

Over the last couple of years, whenever they come to Nashville, I try my best to go to the game.

Its the one game in the hockey season that I can enjoy no matter which team wins.

I left Kentucky around 12:30 and headed down I-65. I wanted to avoid the afternoon rush hour traffic so left early. I also wanted to make sure I was close to Bridgestone Arena within a certain time frame. If I got to the parking garage early enough to get an open handicapped spot it would be free; otherwise it would cost me $25 to park.

When I got to exit 90B on 65, which to me means I'm "officially" in Music City, it was 1:45. I had some time to fill so I figured I'd go to one of my favorite Nashville places, the Opry Mills Mall.

Most of my recent visit to this mall have been solo. Typically I make a stop at the Lego store, get some pizza at the food court, then walk around to see what other interesting things I can find.

But my reason for this stop was to catch a movie at the Regal theater.

Because of construction delays, I didn't get to the box office in time to see the feature I wanted to. I had to decide on another one. I chose "The Gentlemen", Guy Ritchie's lates film starring Matthew McConaughey with Collin Farrell, and Hugh Grant.

My son, Michael, had recommended it to me a few weeks ago so I thought I'd take a chance. Turns out, I really enjoyed it.

I guess I went into the theater already in a good mood because this afternoon at the movies was that it didn't cost me a dime.

I used a Regal gift card I'd gotten for Christmas and redeemed some of my Regal Club points. This took care of my ticket, soda, and popcorn.

I hadn't seen any of McConaughey's on screen performances in a theater since The Lincoln Lawyer back in 2011. (This doesn't count his voice acting role as the theater owning kola bear Buster Moon in one of my animated favorites,"Sing", back in 2016)

His latest as, Mickey Pearson, the head of a marijuana empire in London, reminded me of a more corrupt, version of the character he played in Lincoln Lawyer.

One day in the near future, I will make an effort to watch both of these films as a rainy day double feature.

After the movie it was time to head to the hockey game. I drove down Briley Parkway exiting onto Lebanon Pike which took me toward center city.

In about 25 minutes I made the left turn onto Broadway. This was my view, with the Bridgestone Arena tower a couple blocks up on the left.

My plan to get a free parking spot worked. By 5:45 I was parked on the garage's 3rd level just steps from the arena door.

Once through the safety check I was given a special premium: a Ryan Johansen bobblehead doll.

It will make a great addition to my Predators collectibles including the autographed Johansen puck Paula bought for me when we went to a Preds game on the same date (Feb 13) 2 years ago.

Over the last 4 hockey seasons I have developed a personal "routine" when going to hockey games solo. This my first game of the 19-20 season was no exception.

I always like getting to the game early because it gives me time to walk around the concourse, which included a stop by to the team store. I like just watching all the other fans make their way through their pre-game as well.

I stopped an took a picture for a father and son who were at their first game together. I was just taking in the experience of being there.

Since when I decided to go, I thought this might be the only game I'll go to this season, the seat I got was a little closer to the ice and cost more than I what I usually buy.

Once I found it, I was surprised at just how good it was. The view was almost perfect.

As always, when I first sit down at a Preds game, there was a spark of excitement about being there. This arena is has become a very comfortable place for me. I just sat there for a few taking it all in.

I asked the usher in my section to take a picture of me to mark occasion.

Next, was another element in my personal game routine. I went and got a hot dog and a "bottomless" cup of soda. I would refill it during each of the 2 intermissions. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the concessions now offered diet Dr. Pepper. Yes, filler up please! I went back to my seat and enjoyed my snack.  

There were several technology additions to the arena this season. The first one was a giant drone floating around the arena. It's sponsor is the company my son, James works for. 

It has a camera on it and was taking still shots and video as it traveled around the arena throughout the night. Some of them showed up on social media.

Above the ice was a much larger video display board.

Another addition was video projections onto the ice surface. This is done as part of the pregame elements.

I didn't get any video of the introductions that night but here's a link to the start of a game against the San Jose Sharks earlier in the season. It's a pretty good show. Predators Pregame Intro

Country singer and American Idol, Luke Bryan, sang the national anthem. 

At this point, the only thing left was for the ref to drop the puck at center ice and it would be "game on". 

Now, let me push the "pause" button for just a minute to explain my mindset about attending this game.

As someone who has gone to between 2 and 4 Preds game a season over the last few years, there was a reason this was my first for 2019-20. 

The team was not playing well at all. They were terribly inconsistent over the first 2 months of the season, especially at home. So much so that the coach was fired at the start of January. (A move I predicted in December by the way).

While I really like going to their home games, I wasn't going to pay money to see them play unless they got better and had a chance to win. 

But as I always do I circled the Islanders visit to Bridgestone on my calendar for reasons I've already explained. 

Of course, the atmosphere in the arena would be better if the Preds played well, so that's what I was hoping for. But what happened in the game was beyond my expectations. 

The Predators played what a lot are calling their "best game of the year". 

35 seconds into the game, Craig Smith, scored the first goal. A little over 16 minutes later he scored the 2nd. By the end of the 1st period, it was 3-0. 

In the middle period the Preds extended their lead. With 11:43 gone in the 2nd Craig Smith scored again, completing his first ever NHL hat trick. (that's when a player scores 3 goals in one game). 

Seeing a Predator accomplish this in person was a first for me. What followed the goal was an NHL tradition; fans covering the ice with hats. 

The shower of headgear came from everywhere in the arena. Fans sitting in the upper level behind me threw their hats but came up way short of the ice.

Fans in the lower sections where those hats had landed, picked them up and relayed them to their destination. It was a fun thing to see. 

Smith's goal was the Predators' 5th and closed out the scoring for the game. 

Preds goalie, Juuse Saros, was as perfect as he could be; stopping 31 Islander shots and getting his 2nd shutout of the season. 

It was one of the best Predators games I've seen and I enjoyed it all. 

When the game was over and after the 3 stars of the game were announced, it was time to head home. 

I stopped once more at the team store to get a hat because they were on sale in honor of Smith's hat trick. I got one for just $15. Along with the bobblehead, it will be a reminder of the best hockey games I've ever seen in person. 

By the time I got back to my car the traffic had cleared out of the garage and I easily found my way down Broadway and onto I-24, heading home. 

This was such a fun time that if the team keeps playing the way they did in this game, I may consider going to another before the season is over. 

As a fan, I am hoping this game will be a turning point in the Preds' season. It just might be. Since this game they have swept a home and home two game series with the defending Stanley cup champion, St. Louis Blues.

  

But even if they don't turn things around and miss the playoffs, I will always have the memories of the Predators win over the Islanders on my one hockey night in Nashville in February 2020.