Per Sean Henry, President and COO of the Nashville Predators, on The Greg Pogue & Big Joe Show this morning, tonight’s game at Bridgestone Arena will go on as scheduled.
It’s important to note that this was a decision made out of necessity. Tonight’s opponent is San Jose and they aren’t exactly geographically close to Music City. Matter of fact, the Sharks only have one more venture into the Central and Eastern time zones after this current two-game trip. As a result, the two teams would have to re-schedule tonight’s contest for sometime during that stretch. As you can see below, unless San Jose wants to play on back-to-back-to-back nights, that’s impossible.
As a result, tonight’s game between the best team in the NHL and the West’s final wild card club will go on as scheduled.
When – and if – you arrive at the arena tonight, you may see a crowd that looks eerily similar to another game the Predators were involved in.
On November 30, 2006, Nashville was slated to play the Blues in St. Louis during an ice storm. The game went on as scheduled and there was an announced crowd of 5,410 in a building that would normally be close to capacity. On television, the game looked like it was attended by 500 as opposed to 5,000 but, either way, fans who actually make it down to lower Broadway tonight may witness a similar scene.
Tennessee is under a State of Emergency and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has asked Davidson County residents (and the surrounding areas, obviously) to stay off the roads. But, for a select few who can walk to the arena or who are already downtown due to work, they’ll be able to take in what should be a pretty good hockey game.
For those who want to go to the game but are on the fence about attending, don’t. Stay at home where it’s safe and listen to the action on 102.5 The Game or watch it on Fox Sports Tennessee.
Nashville won that game in St. Louis, 5-4, by the way.
UPDATE (4:22pm Central): John Glennon of the Tennessean reports that the Predators will honor ticket holders an exchange. READ HERE for more details.
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PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy K. Gover // TheGameNashville.com