Nashville Predators: If the Predators don’t win a Stanley Cup, don’t blame the roster

Progress in 2015-16

The following year, the Predators regressed a little during the regular season, posting just 96 points. They had a weak start to the season. They finished the second half of the year on fire, though, ending the season with the second most wins after the all-star break. That hot streak was just enough to make the playoffs as the first Wild Card. That Wild Card slot meant the road to the Cup would run through California for the first two rounds. The Predators won their first series in a nail-biting seven game series against the Anaheim Ducks.

Their second round opponent would be the San Jose Sharks. For the first time in franchise history, the Predators were playing a game seven in the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they also logged like 20,000+ miles over the course of the back-and-forth Nashville to California trips throughout the first two rounds. The Predators were fatigued. That was apparent by their ugly effort in their final loss of the season. Again, all was not lost. The Predators had something to be proud of. They had gone farther than any other Predator team before them. There was hope for the oncoming year.