WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – THE SCENE

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

OH. MY. GOSH. THINGS JUST GOT REAL.

TUESDAY NIGHT MARKED A SEIZMIC SHIFT IN THE NHL PLAYOFF LANDSCAPE AS THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS CLINCHED A PLAYOFF SPOT AND THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS WERE OFFICIALLY ELIMINATED.

BY MY FARMER MATH, DALLAS AND VEGAS EACH HAVE TWO GAMES LEFT AND THE STARS ONLY NEED A POINT TO GET IN, AND ELIMINATE THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS WHO ARE FOUR POINTS BACK. I HATE MATH.

AND FOR THE MOMENT, I’M NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE EAST.

THAT’S BECAUSE I’M SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF HOCKEY COUNTRY – ALBERTA, CANADA – AND THEY’RE GOING OFF THE WALLS SINCE THE OILERS AND FLAMES CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOTS IN THE PAST WEEK AND THEIR FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF OPPONENTS APPEAR SET.

IT’S ALL ANYONE IS TALKING ABOUT AND THERE ARE GOING TO BE WARS.

FOR THE LONGEST TIME IT’S LOOKED LIKE EDMONTON WOULD LINE UP AGAINST L.A. AND THAT WAS CONFIRMED TUESDAY NIGHT. BEFORE THIS SERIES HAS EVEN STARTED, OILER MEDIA-TYPES AND FANS FEEL THEY’LL HAVE LITTLE TROUBLE WITH THE KINGS.

WE’LL SEE!

AND IN CALGARY, THE FLAMES WILL OPEN AT HOME NEXT WEEK, IT APPEARS, AGAINST THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS BUT NO ONE AROUND HERE IS NEARLY AS COCKY AS THOSE IN THE NORTH.

THIS ONE SHOULD BE A LONG SERIES BUT IF LAST NIGHT’S GAME IN NASHVILLE IS ANY INDICTION, IT’S GOING TO BE MUST-SEE TV. MATTHEW TKACHUK SCORED WITH POINT-1 SECONDS TO GO IN REGULATION AND ELIAS LINDHOLM SCORED IN OVERTIME FOR A CALGARY VICTORY OVER THE PREDS.

THERE WILL BE A LOT OF SASKIES ROOTING FOR NASHVILLE IN THIS ONE, WITH OXBOW’S TANNER JEANNOT STARRING FOR NASHVILLE (AND HE HAD A GREAT GAME AGAINST CALGARY).

FLAMES IN SEVEN.

DING, DING, HERE WE GO! THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)