Almost Hockey Time in Nashville

It's hard to believe that the Predators are just two days away from starting another season.

The NHL actually starts its regular season tonight with four games on the schedule. The most intriguing of those would have to be the Bruins hosting the Capitals thanks to Alexander Ovechkin.

The Predators had a sting of four straight playoff appearances snapped by finishing three points out of playoff contention. Last season should actually be considered some sort of a success because the Preds lost a ton of players during the offseason. They also had to deal with long injuries to Steve Sullivan and work a young goalie into the system with Pekka Rinne.

The season will open up with the Predators traveling to Dallas to take on the Stars. The Stars finished five points behind the Predators in 2008.

The main issue heading into the season is who will guard the goal in 2009, and that's kind of an important thing to know.

As of right now its between Pekka Rinne, who got most of the starts last season, and Dan Ellis. Both goalies have shown glimpses of greatness, but I would go with Rinne. Rinne had seven shutouts, which is a franchise record. He also came close to winning the NHL's rookie of year award.

It has been noted that Ellis has had a better preseason, but that should be taken with a grain of salt.

The offense stuggled greatly at times last season and a lot of that can be contributed to losing guys like Alexander Radulov and Scott Hartnell. It didn't help that Steve Sullivan missed a good chunk of the 2008 season.

Over the past five seasons the Predators have become one of the more consistent clubs in the NHL, but playing in a division with the Red Wings has always kept them from racking up the division titles. If players can stay healthy then I think the Preds have a shot at another playoff berth.

Key Predators for 2009

• Steve Sullivan (609 career points)
• Jason Arnott (team's career leading scorer)
• David Legwand (141 career goals)
• Shea Weber (team's best defensman)