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Due to a late arriving flight in Nashville, the team must do a short practice then get ready for the game. Bonehead jumps into the gameplan as soon as the coaches have the players skating drills set. Defensive coaches want to remain with the top four getting the bulk of the minutes and Bonehead is agreeable. Coach Ramsay also is advising no changes for this game, but cautions everybody that Nashville is a dangerous team even though its not showing up on the scoresheet yet.

15,887 is the announced crowd at Bridgestone Arena and its loud and rocking as the opening faceoff occurs. Predators C David Legwand (7.5b/7.5b) opens the scoring from the near post on a rebound past G Tim Thomas who had no chance. Surprisingly the Panthers answer right back just 10 seconds later when RW Ales Hemsky (6.5a/6.5a) lights the lamp off the feed from Tomas Fleischmann. The first period ends with no more scoring and the Predators leading in shots 12-9.

The second period is pretty even until the Pred's young D Seth Jones (7.0b/8.5b) is called for hooking at the 9:42 mark. Hemsky tallies his second goal of the night on the PP and the Panthers have a slim 2 - 1 lead. Things get testy late in the period when the Predators captain D Shea Weber (9.0b/9.5b) gets called for a major penalty for an illegal check to the head that will be surely reviewed by the league disciplinarians. The PP is productive but also gives up a SH tally before the end of the period. The Panthers have the lead 3 - 2 and have caught up in shots and now lead by a slim margin of 20 - 19 after two periods.

Bonehead makes defensive changes in the 2nd intermission and all three blueline pairs will get equal ES ice time, over Coach Tyulin's obvious displeasure. This turns out to be a good move as the third period plays a much more physical style from the Predators. The first fight breaks out in front of the Panthers net after Pred's C Legwand takes an extra whack at a covered up puck and Colby Robak showed him why that's not a good thing to do. Less than three minutes later Nashville LW Richard Clune (6.0b/6.5b) offers to drop the gloves with Panthers D Eric Gudbranson (7.0a/7.5a) while the coaching staff is screaming for Gudbranson to skate away, Gudbranson ignores them and engages Clune for the second fight of the period. Bonehead is seething and now only has four D for the next two minutes and five D-men for the next five. Fortunately for the Panthers C Shawn Matthias (6.5a/6.5a) finds the back of the net just after the penalties expire and provides the breathing room as the game ends 64 seconds later.

Boneheads post game conference is riddled with questions about the recent acquisition scoring his first two goals in a Panthers uniform. He praises Hemsky but makes sure everyone is aware hockey is a team game and everybody pitched in to make this victory possible. Bonehead heaps praise on the 4th checking line for completely shutting down the Predators 1st line tonight.