Hockey is a lot to keep up with and if you’re a busy Middle Tennessean but are still a fan of the hometown Predators, we have your weekly Nashville Predators update with everything you need to know right here.
Last Week
February 13th, 4-2 loss vs The Arizona Coyotes
February 19th, 5-0 loss vs The Boston Bruins
February 18th, 7-3 win vs The Florida Panthers
February 19th, 4-3 loss at The Minnesota Wild
This week was a microcosm of The Predators season. They weren’t great on Monday, but probably felt like that one got away from them, so they’ll probably be fine. Thursday they come out and show that they, as a matter of fact, will not be fine and they’re actually just not in a good spot as a team as you feared on Monday. Saturday comes and all of a sudden, your doubts are proven wrong and this team has started something. They have come alive, and they have momentum. Heck, they could even make the playoffs and go on a run. Sunday hits and the momentum comes crashing down as The Predators find a way to lose and put themselves in a really deep hole in the playoff standings.
Another one that Nashville would tell you, “We should’ve had that one.” The Preds had a lead in the second period and a tied game going into the third against a bottom-dwelling team in The NHL. If they aren’t careful that’s where they could end up before the seasons end. The power play was atrocious, going one for five, and Arizona scored all four of their goals on just 19 shots compared to Nashville’s two goals on 31 shots.
This was the big one. The measuring stick game against the top team in the league. A real chance to see just where this team is, and they came up incredibly short. Nashville was shut out on its own home ice and proved that it has a long way to go to get back to where this organization has the ability to be.
The Boston blowout must have been a wake-up call for some in The Nashville locker room because they dominated this game and gave a sliver of hope going into what would surely be a huge game in the playoff hunt against Minnesota.
Nashville needed to show resolve and find a way to beat The Wild. They went down by two in the third period, before Josi, who had been playing well of late, and Nino Niederreiter tied things up but then, with just 20 seconds to go, The Predators found a way to lose by surrendering a last-second, game-winning goal.
This Week
February 21st, at 7:00 vs The Vancouver Canucks (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
February 23rd, at 9:30 at The San Jose Sharks (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
February 26th, at 6:00 at The Arizona Coyotes (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
Going into last week we had questions. The Preds were hovering around the same position (points wise) that the 2017 team was at this point in their season before the magical run that feels further in the rear view now than ever. This week we have answers. The Organization needs to be in “sell, change, and build mode” at the upcoming trade deadline and stop trying to talk themselves into being a contender. Organizations in any sport that are annual contenders have standards and this Preds team is not currently meeting championship standards and is underperforming based on some of the names on its roster.
Now, are we talking fire sale and burn everything to the ground, or are we talking yard sale where we’re going to downsize to a point that makes sense so we can move into a more workable and better position in life? Those questions are yet to be answered and will remain that way until at least March 3 at 2:00 p.m.
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