Nashville Predators: Top Five Teams In Franchise History
By Chad Minton
Predators get eliminated by Canucks
This team was the first team that I felt could really go deep into the playoffs. The times before I was honestly just thrilled to see them in the field. This is also the same year the Predators notched their first playoff series win.
It all starts with this season on the long road to where they are now. Something special was beginning to brew. With Shea Weber approaching superstar status, the Predators nearly notched a division title this season. A still great Red Wings squad edged them out by five points in the standings.
As for the first series playoff win, they dismantled the Ducks in six games. This is where I believe the hatred for the Ducks starts. Their fans didn’t have respect for a Predators team that was 0-5 in playoff series. That day marks as a rude awakening that the Predators weren’t just a cute story anymore.
Along with Weber, the stars that stand out for me on this team is guys like Patric Hornqvist, Martin Erat and Ryan Suter. It’s a blue-collar team when you look back on that roster. Of course, you can’t leave out the fact that Pekka Rinne was beginning to ascend into elite status. His stat line of a 93 save percentage and 2.12 goals against average is still one of his career’s best.