That's one big Pekka. Blues lose to Nashville.

Well, on to the next one, eh?

The Blues failed to get any points tonight against a division rival as the Central continues to feed on itself. How about we fire off some bullet points and then feel free to discuss in the comments? If this format works, I think I may patent it. I feel like it needs a name like "weblog" or something catchy. Ah well, for another time, maybe. BULLETS!

• The Predators play a very similar game to the Blues: good goaltending, good defense, lots of offensive shots, even if it's more quantity than quality. Both teams are a nightmare to play against and the style is really well suited to the playoffs. Once again, this Central Division is going to be a playoff wrecking ball. Only problem is that the four teams will probably end up wrecking each other in the early rounds, allowing some other team to escape their grind.
• I liked the effort of the Blues on the attack, but you gotta snipe Rinne if you want to beat him or you have to capitalize on rebounds. They did the former, they failed on the latter.
• Kevin Shattenkirk has gone cold offensively, scoreless in seven straight now, but he hasn't let that affect his defensive play, which is really good, really underrated and really rarely mentioned. On the offensive front, he's doing whatever he can to get back on the board - he had a game-high eight shots on net tonight. Don't force it ShattDeuces, it'll come.
• Ryan Reaves did the right thing to engineer a fight that had little to do with the game. It's his job to put a jump into his teammates and that's how he's expected to do it. He has guts - that was a frightening fight - but I can't help but think that role and that set-up fight scenario is a dying element of the game.
• You know what really fired up the Blues and changed the momentum of the game? Chris Porter working his ass off, causing a turnover and zipping a shot into the net. The Blues realized Rinne wasn't unbeatable and his determination sent the right message. The team responded with speed, hitting and shooting. That's more who this team is now.
• The "we need a goal scorer" rants will be arriving again any time now. I have more words to back up my thoughts on this, but you're gonna have to come back Monday to read them all. Let's just say that I think we have goal scorers. What we need is a playmaker.
• The Blues fans have swarmed onto Nashville tonight, obviously. I'm sure they're having a great time down there. What is equally obvious is why Nashville fans hate us. So many Blues fans, so loud and taunting. Plus, whenever Preds fans talk to us about our rivalry, we're always like, "What rivalry?" Yeah, that's maddening.
• It would have been great to get that equalizer and get at least one point tonight, but it isn't always going to happen. Good news is that the Blues are one point back from the Preds, with two games in hand; four points back from Detroit with two games in hand (assuming the Oilers can do their part and continue to put the wood to the Wings tonight); and two points up on Chicago with two games in hand. The key with games in hand, of course, is to get those points. The next two games are in Ottawa and New Jersey, so they won't be gimme points, but they are attainable points.

Next game is Tuesday up in Ottawa. On to the next one, boys. On to the next one.