Everything about the Predators’ franchise screams likable when on paper. It’s hockey in Music City, a captain (Mike Fisher) who is married to Carrie Underwood, and a head coach (Peter Laviolette) who is always on the cusp of being considered an elite coach in the NHL.
Laviolette has eight playoff appearances and a Stanley Cup championship (2006 with Carolina) in 14 seasons as a head coach. He took over as the top man in Nashville in 2014, after Barry Trotz’s contract was not renewed after the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Trotz had been the only head coach in Predators’ history since the franchise began play in 1998.
The Predators are the only team in the playoffs who have yet to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in their history.
Nashville’s defense stifled Gary Bettman’s wet dream, the Chicago Blackhawks, in an opening round sweep. Yes...I said SWEEP. The Blackhawks only scored three goals in the entire series, and none in the first two at home. The only close game of the series was Game Three, which was a 3-2 victory in overtime.
In the second round, the Predators faced off with their Central Division rivals, the St. Louis Blues. It was the first time in 10 playoff appearances that the Predators had matched up with the Blues.
In typical Blues’ fashion, the team I root for more than any other in professional sports fell flat on their face. St. Louis upset the Minnesota Wild in the opening round, winning four games to one. Minnesota led the Western Conference standings for most of the season, before taking a nosedive after the All Star game. The Blues recent playoff history is to have a great high early on (knocking out Chicago in seven games in the opening round last year, or Alex Steen’s 3OT winner against Los Angeles in 2014). Like sands through the hourglass, the Blues’ give away victory to a team they had no business losing to, as they fell to Nashville in Game Six today, ending their season.
The Predators played very good defensive hockey, but were definitely benefited by less-than-average officiating in both of their playoff matchups.
This means the Nashville Predators have become the first team to punch their ticket to the NHL’s Conference Finals, and will await either the Anaheim Ducks or the Edmonton Oilers. Anaheim currently leads their series three games to two, and can join Nashville with a win tonight.
The Predators have eliminated the two teams that participated in January’s Winter Classic in back-to-back rounds. If the Washington Capitals come back to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division Finals, Gary Bettman may just as well go into seclusion, as his two poster-child franchises (Pittsburgh and Chicago) will not be able to compete for the Stanley Cup later this month.
For the record, it would be nice not to see everyone in the national media drool all over Chicago, or watch Sidney Crosby cheap-shot an opposing player, then run like the coward he has proved to be in his career.
The Predators would have a legitimate shot against a younger Edmonton squad, but likely will see their clock strike midnight when having to make the cross-country trip to Anaheim upwards of three times, should the series go the distance. It also will not help that the lobbying for penalties that was so apparent against St. Louis will not work against a much more talented Anaheim squad.
Time to get my Blues’ and Sabres’ jerseys repaired in time for June’s draft.
-JC24