Tonight was all about 'Pekks' for us, with this being his night, you know. I thought guys really worked hard to try and get the win for him and this whole night was for him. We're just happy we were able to get the two points and get a victory in the shootout.
So, obviously, congrats to Pekks. Everyone here is extremely proud of him. And you know, we keep saying it, but he's literally the best human around. So, first I just want to say congrats to Pekks.
Obviously, I'm a lot younger (23) than Pekka (39), but growing up, you always watch hockey and Nashville was one of my favorite teams. So, I've gotten to watch Pekka play a lot and it was just a special night. I think it was emotional for everyone.
Nobody wants to see him leave; I wish he could stay. But, you know, we're all happy for him and the ceremony was awesome. You got to hear him speak and see how much the fans appreciate him and what he's done for not only our hockey team and organization but the community. You know how hard he works off the ice and how many smiles he puts the faces of people, so it was great to celebrate that.
We got a chance to have some time with Pekka before the morning skate. I think he just wanted to come and talk to us and say thank you. But I think we were more saying thank you to him and making sure he enjoyed his night.
It wasn't about us tonight, it was about him and we want to make sure we celebrate him right. Fortunately, we were able to do that and get a win.
It was nice to play a part in the night with the assist on the Tomasino goal. I was getting pinched off a bit, but saw a couple of our guys breaking wide so I figured if I can get it to the weak side \ we might have a chance for a rush. I was changing when the puck was going in, so I couldn't really see what happened until the replay.
But there's a great finish by him to score. He's nifty out there. He's good and he's going to be a great player for us. He shows flashes of elite skill and he's only going to get better.
Now, we can look forward to the outdoor game. You can just feel the buzz around the city and how excited everyone is for this game.
Everyone on the team has their families in for the game and I've got my family here too. Going to hang out with them and hang out with the team and just enjoy this night and then go to Nissan Stadium tomorrow.
I think an important part of what the Preds do here is bringing the families in and really make everyone feel welcome here.
I have eight people in for the game -- my dad, my mom, my two sisters, my two aunties and then my auntie and uncle. A big crew. I have a really close family and I don't get to see them too often. So it's, it's great for them to come down and spend some time and kind of see Nashville. I know my immediate family has been down here quite a few times, but just cool for my aunties and uncles to kind of get that Nashville experience; the Music City experience.
That being said, we have this game done with and we get to focus on the outdoor game now.
I've actually played in a few outdoor games. I did two in college (with Boston University) at Frozen Fenway, then I played one at World Juniors for Canada against the United States in Buffalo and then the Winter Classic in Dallas (2020).
Every single time it gets better, so I'm just excited to see. Go to Nissan tomorrow and see what it's all about.
