The Nashville Predators are already struggling in the standings and now took another hit, literally, as the team announced that forward Viktor Arvidsson is expected to miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury after being cross-checked by St. Louis’ Robert Bortuzzo during Saturday’s game.
The injury is devastating to team that has been struggling of late, having won just two games in their last 10 as the Predators have slipped to fifth place in the Central Division. Arvidsson has six goals and 15 points in 22 games this year and is an anchor on the wing on the team’s first line. Arvidsson, who was playing in his 300th career NHL game Saturday, is coming off a 34-goal season last year and has averaged more than 30 goals for three straight seasons.
Bortuzzo is believed to be in a hearing with the Department of Player Safety right now, although it is not an in-person hearing which could limit how many games he could be suspended by the league. However, there is plenty of sentiment that the book should be thrown at Bortuzzo, who not only checked Arvidsson into the net, but also followed that up with a second hit, a cross-check into his lower back while he was down (video here).
Last year around this time the Blues were in last place. They’d played a game or two under Berube including a loss to the Predators and didn’t look much different. They hosted the Preds and beat the ever-living snot out of them. Yes on the scoreboard but also just in general- Turris got knocked out for weeks and some others wound up day-to-day. It was a total beating.
What I’m saying is: Either the Preds step up at home and do something similar to the Blues tomorrow night or maybe Laviolette should go, and take half this soft team with him. Bortuzzo was the guy who broke Fiala’s femur and he’s a complete ass as was shown last night. If ever there were a time to take a scalp this would be it.
Good points all around. The problem for the Preds is; who is on that team that could beat the snot out of anyone besides Watson? Poile has put together a soft team and everyone has figured out that they can just basically skate right thru the Preds.
It’s not so much a goon that the Preds need, but those Mike Fisher types who will push back when things get rough on the ice.
It would seem that Don Cherry has been filling up all that free time.
I dunno – I’m not usually a fan of retribution and I’m not asking for a fight or anything dirty. Maybe “take a scalp” was the wrong way to put it. But anyone who watched that Preds-Blues game last year could tell that the Blues came out hot. The Preds players got hurt because the Blues played the whole first two periods at playoff speed and intensity. And they more or less did that the rest of the season.
I’d like to see the Preds finish every check and maybe a little more than that Monday night. If it’s the usual intensity then I think it’s time to try a new coach. Seemed to work for the Blues last year!
As a fan of the St. Louis Blues, Bortuzzo really should have been suspended for even longer. The first cross check was extremely dangerous and both players are lucky that there wasn’t even more damage. The second hit was complete bullsh**. I would not blame the Predators for getting retribution tomorrow night.