Nashville Predators: January Awards For Predators
By Steve Cook
Best Month To Be Without Filip Forsberg: January 2018
If the Nashville Predators had to be without the services of their top offensive player for a month of the season, this was the best month for it. January featured two extended breaks for Nashville hockey. One of the Predators’ NHL week-long vacations fell on January 10-15, and the All-Star break took January 26-29 off the schedule.
Nashville fans only got to enjoy ten Predators games in January. Business is going to pick up fast. The Predators have fourteen games in February & a whopping sixteen games in March. They won’t get more than two straight days off for the rest of the regular season.
The Predators had a successful month without Forsberg. Had they played more games & further tested the team’s offensive depth, it might have been a different story.
Best Predators All-Star Game Moment: Pekka Rinne Robs Connor McDavid
The Central Division All-Stars played well & shut down the Pacific while Pekka Rinne was in the crease. Things went downhill once Connor Hellebuyck entered the game, & his five goals given up doomed the Central to defeat. Rinne still shone during his half, including an incredible save that kept the NHL’s golden boy Connor McDavid out of the goal column.
Usually it’s offensive players that shine during All-Star Games, but Nashville’s veteran goalie definitely left his mark on the proceedings.
Most Welcome Predators Return: Ryan Ellis
It’s no secret that Ryan Ellis is one of the Nashville Predators’ most respected leaders. The defensive corps is deep enough to feel relatively confident without him in the lineup, but his presence makes things all the better. When Mattias Ekholm is in your third pairing, you’ve got a heck of a group.
Ellis isn’t at a hundred percent yet, but he hasn’t shown too much rust. He scored three goals in January. His ice time seemingly increases with each passing game. If January Ryan Ellis is an appetizer of things to come, other NHL teams will be in big trouble.