Nashville Predators: Players of the Week on West Coast trip

 The Nashville Predators took their first west coast trip of the season, and came away with four much-needed points. Here are our three stars of the week.

The Nashville Predators headed out west for three games against Western Conference foes. The Predators went into the trip, 5-4-2, and were able to go 2-1 in those three games, putting their record at 7-5-2. Nashville is tied for 3rd in the Central division with 16 points. They are tied with the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars and the Chicago Blackhawks. The St Louis Blues are still on fire right now, as they have an 11-3-1 record and 23 points.

The Nashville Predators started out the west coast trip in San Jose. The Predators wished for a better performance in that game, in which the Sharks came out on top of that one, 4-1. They committed a ton of penalties, and didn’t look good to boot. Those penalties hurt the Predators, as the Sharks created situations and scored a power play goal, pretty much killing any momentum the Predators had. The Predators only goal came from Roman Josi, on an impressive backhand goal.

The Predators then headed to Anaheim to take on the Ducks. Nashville played a much better game than they did two days before. The Predators started off hot as they scored the games first three goals. Scott Hartnell and Roman Josi both added their fourth goal of the year in the 1st period. Matt Irwin tallied his first goal of the year early in the 2nd period. Arvidsson scored his fourth goal of the year as well on a power play goal. P.K. Subban scored an empty netter at the end to make the score, 5-3.

Nashville looked for a win the next night as they traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Kings. Jonathan Quick wasn’t in net for the red-hot Kings, and the Predators took advantage of that early. They hopped out to a 3-0 lead for the second consecutive game, as Mikka Salomaki scored his first goal of the year. P.K. Subban added his third goal with Craig Smith tallying his fourth goal of the year. The Predators stepped off the gas, allowing three goals to the Kings, tying the game up, and sending it into overtime. With just 20 seconds left in the overtime period, Arvidsson scored on a breakaway for a 4-3 Predators victory.

The next few pages will show my picks for players of the week for the Nashville Predators.

#3 – P.K. Subban

P.K. Subban had a good week for the Nashville Predators, as he came away with two goals in three games. He scored on an empty netter at the end of the Anaheim Ducks game to put that game out of reach. He scored his second goal in as many nights, as he had a shot bounce in for his third goal of the season.

So far on the season, Subban has 11 points for the Nashville Predators. He has three goals and eights assists. He has played a solid role defensively this year for the Predators. With Ryan Ellis out for the first few months of the season, Subban needed to step up and create plays, while filling in that gap for Ellis. The Nashville Predators are liking what they see from Subban so far, and hoping he can keep those numbers up while Ellis is injured. Once the Predators get Ellis and Nick Bonino off the Injured Reserve list, and get Kyle Turris into the system, the Predators have the chance to be one of the best teams in hockey. If the Predators can get this continued success from Subban, especially whenever Ellis gets back, the Predators have the chance to have another deep run in the playoffs.

#2 – Viktor Ardvisson

Viktor Ardvisson has been one of the better players for the Nashville Predators over his last few seasons in Nashville. That has continued through this season as well. He has scored two goals in the last two games, and has seven points on the year, with five goals and two assists.

Arvidsson scored a power play goal for the Predators on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks. That goal increased the Predators lead to 4-1. Arvidsson also had a goal in the game against the Los Angeles Kings. That goal was a game winner for the Predators as he scored on a breakaway goal with just 20 seconds left to secure a 4-3 victory for the Nashville Predators against a red-hot Los Angeles Kings team.

The JOFA line has had a decent start to the season so far. Filip Forsberg is leading the team with 14 points, while Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen are tied for 4th on the team with 7 points apiece. The Predators would like to see the JOFA line continue to produce numbers like they did last season, as they helped carry the Predators on a deep playoff run. With the addition of Turris, and the success of Arvidsson, this team will be fun to watch this season.