Friday Five: Top Moments from the 2016-17 Season
Number 5: P.K. Subban Scores the First Goal of the Season
October 14th 2016 marked the start of the regular season for the Nashville Predators, as they faced off against the Chicago Blackhawks at home on a Friday night. Obviously, all eyes were on the newly acquired superstar defenseman, P.K. Subban. The fans, media and just about anyone who follows hockey were all interested in seeing what the former Norris Trophy winner would be able to achieve with his new team. And at seven minutes into the first period everyone would get their first glimpse of what P.K. would accomplish in a Predators’ sweater.
Entering the season expectations were high for Nashville. Many experts were picking them as a surprise team to win the west. If the Predators were to follow through with these expectations placed upon them, Subban would have to have to play a pivotal role. He did not take long to prove his skeptics wrong, either.
Nashville was on a power-play, when Subban took a pass from Ryan Johansen and blasted a shot from the blue-line past Corey Crawford. Not only did Subban score the first goal of the season for Nashville, but it was also his first ever shot as a Predator. Any doubt that remained about the trade of former captain Shea Weber was all but gone at this point. Nashville would go on to win the game by a score of 3-2, in what would ultimately be the start to a memorable season.
Number 4: Preds Defeat St. Louis in Game Six to Advance to Western Conference Finals
Nashville opened up their playoff run by sweeping their division rival, The Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators would then find themselves in somewhat familiar territory, competing for a spot in the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row, and fourth time in team history. The opponent this time was another division rival, the St. Louis Blues; however, this was the first time these two teams met in postseason history.
Nashville and St. Louis fought hard as both Pekka Rinne and Jake Allen performed tremendously for their respective teams. Four out of the six games were decided by one goal, which was just another testament of how well the goaltenders performed in this series. In the end, as we all know, Pekka Rinne got the better of his counterpart when the series shifted back to Nashville for game six.
Its how you finish
Game six did not start as planned, though. St. Louis scored the first goal of the game just two minutes in, catching the Predators on their heels. Nevertheless, the Predators would not falter and stormed back to tie the game off of a Roman Josi one-timer in the second period. Next, with the momentum back in their favor, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen combined for one of the greatest single plays of the playoffs. Arvidsson took advantage of the out-of-position Blues’ defense and skated the puck up the left side of the ice. Just before Jay Bouwmeester was able to make a play on the puck, Arvidsson sauced a perfect pass to the blade of a streaking Johansen, who proceeded to deke Jake Allen and bury the game winner. Calle Järnkrok later added an empty netter, and the Predators went on to win by a final of 3-1.
The Nashville Predators advanced to Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, forever cementing their names in the history books. If not for what else was accomplished in the playoffs this moment would be much higher on the list, but this moment was only the beginning.
Number 3: Forsberg Scores Back-to-back Hat Tricks
Scoring goals in the NHL is no easy task. So one could imagine how difficult it is to score a hat trick. To put into perspective, according to NBC Sports there were 59 total hat tricks in the regular season. There are a total of 1,271 total NHL games played in a season. This means that less than 5% of games featured a single hat trick.
It has been established how hard scoring a hat trick is, and for Filip Forsberg to do it in back-to-back games is almost unheard of. The last time this was accomplished in the NHL was seven years ago in 2010 when Alex Burrows completed the feat for the Vancouver Canucks.
Forsberg’s moment was a huge eye-opener. Nashville fans were already aware of how good of a player Forsberg is, but this put him into the national spotlight. This was Forsberg’s way of putting the rest of the NHL on notice and letting them know that he, and his team, are for real. The team’s play moving forward backed this statement as well, as the Predators went 11-3-2 in their next 16. Forsberg may have made the moment, but what was most impressive was that he helped propel his team forward when they needed him most.
Number 2: Predators Defeat Anaheim to Advance to Stanley Cup Finals
The Nashville Predators competed in their first ever Western Conference Finals this past season against the Anaheim Ducks. This was the third time the Predators matched up against the Ducks in postseason play, winning the prior two encounters. Anaheim was back, and looking for revenge after Nashville eliminated them the previous year in seven games.
Nashville got off to a hot start in the series, winning the first game in overtime by a score of 3-2. Anaheim was able to bounce back and pick up the victory in game two, though. The series shifted back to Nashville for two more, where the Predators had been undefeated in the playoffs. For the first time ever, Nashville hosted a Western Conference Finals game, and the fans were not disappointed. Roman Josi scored a goal late in the third period and gave his team a 2-1 lead in the series, but in order to win two more, the Predators would have to overcome some serious adversity.
Game four in Nashville saw Anaheim take a 2-0 lead early in the second. The Predators were having trouble mustering up any offense, and were lucky to be headed into the third only down two. Then, with around six minutes left, P.K. Subban got Nashville on the board. Now, only down by one, coach Peter Laviolette was forced to pull his goaltender, in hopes that his players could come through in crunch time. They did. With 35 seconds remaining in the game Forsberg was able to shove the puck in the goal to tie the game.
The game proceeded to overtime and neither team seemed to have an advantage, but just after halfway through the period Ducks’ forward Corey Perry lazily threw the puck towards the net. It deflected off of Subban’s stick and found its way behind Rinne. The Predators’ valiant comeback was nullified, but in the process the Predators proved that they were capable of overcoming adversity.
Push to the end
What happened next was the biggest bit of adversity Nashville was forced to adhere to. Predators’ number one center Ryan Johansen was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs with acute compartment syndrome of the left thigh. If the Predators were going to make history they were going to be forced to do so without their star center.
Game five was back in Anaheim, but Nashville proved that they were there to play with or without Johansen. The game was tied going into the third, when newly promoted Pontus Aberg scored his first playoff goal, which ended up being the game winner. Game six was more of the same. Another young player stepping up when his team needed him. Colton Sissons scored a hat trick helping send his team to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Once again, history was made. The Nashville Predators were awarded their first ever Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and advanced to play for the most prestigious trophy in all of sports. What made this moment even better, was that it took place on home-ice and the fans were able to fully take part in the celebration.
Honorable Mention: Calle Järnkrok Scores Short-handed OT Game Winner
One of the most underrated moments from this past season occurred on January 10th. Calle Järnkrok got the short-handed game winner in overtime, but the implications of this moment were just as, if not more, important than the goal itself.
The month of December was less than impressive for Nashville. The club went a meager 5-6-3, and was looking for a way to turn things around at the start of the new year. The Preds’ woes would continue, depleted with injuries, losing three of their first four games in 2017. Then, Vancouver came to town.
The first period saw both teams swap chances. At one point, Forsberg redirected a shot from the point that beat Miller, but the goal was waved off due to a high stick. The play was reviewed but the call stood. The game remained scoreless into the first intermission. Austin Watson was finally able to beat Miller early in the second when he stuffed home a rebound off of the boards.
Rinne’s wall
For the next 38 minutes Pekka Rinne played some of his best hockey of the season. But with about 50 seconds left in the game Vancouver capitalized with their extra attacker on the ice. Sutter was able to squeak a goal through Rinne’s 5-hole, and this game had the feeling of another letdown. The game went to overtime and 20 seconds in Roman Josi was able to put one past Miller, only to have it waved off as well. It was determined that there was goaltender interference and the goal would not count. This was the second time in the game that Nashville had a goal waved off and it appeared to be very symbolic of the Predators’ season up to this point.
The game would go on and Nashville found themselves on the penalty kill to close out the overtime period. At this point, it is safe to say the fans were bracing for heartbreak. But then it happened. Roman Josi blocked a shot down low, managed to kick it out to himself, and skated down ice side-by-side with Calle Järnkrok. These two managed to break out for 2 on 0 breakaway as time ticked down. Josi passed the puck to Järnkrok, who fired a shot past the goaltender with 1.5 seconds left on the clock.
The team that had been struggling for over a month, somehow pulled out a victory from the jaws of defeat and sent everyone home happy. The success would continue, also. Nashville went 6-1-1 to close out the month of January. And the rest is history.
Number 1: Preds Win First Ever Stanley Cup Final Game
The Nashville Predators are only three weeks removed from losing the Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburg Penguins, and while this might still sting for many of the fans it is important that what was achieved this year is not forgotten.
Nashville lost both their games in Pittsburg to start the Stanley Cup Finals, but then the Penguins had to come to Nashville. The city hosted their first ever Cup Finals match-up on Saturday, June 3rd, and the town was buzzing. Music City showed everyone just how the south does hockey, and it was unlike anything the NHL had ever seen before.
Broadway was packed with fans to the point where it was hard to even walk up and down the streets. Fans came from all over Tennessee to watch their team make history and that is exactly what they did, beating the Penguins 5-1. The first Stanley Cup Finals game ever played in Nashville was won by the good guys, and the city rejoiced.
What a season!
The Nashville Predators made history a multitude of ways this past season. Likewise, it was also the season of firsts. Anytime a franchise completes something for the first time it is going to be a huge deal. This year the biggest first Nashville accomplished was winning a game in Stanley Cup Finals. They might not have won it all, but what they did achieve deserves to be recognized.
Playing for the Stanley Cup is a huge triumph, win or lose. Nashville managed something this season that four other teams have yet to do in their franchise history. So, even though Nashville fell just short, winning a game in the Stanley Cup Finals is one of the hardest things to do in a season, and when taken into consideration that it is the first time in franchise history that the Preds attained this, it is without a doubt the greatest moment from the Nashville Predators’ 2016-17 season.
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