Nashville Predators: March Awards for Predators

March featured the best & worst of times for the Nashville Predators. As the regular season nears conclusion, we pause to honor the best (and worst) of March.

The Nashville Predators breezed through most of the month of March. They won nine out of the first ten games of the month, which was part of a fifteen-game points streak that got them to the top of the league standings. Unfortunately they ran into problems soon after, losing four out of the last six games of the month. They looked like the Stanley Cup favorite, then looked like a team that could lose in the first round.

The Predators still sat on top of the standings at the end of March. However, the Winnipeg Jets were only five points back. They have a much easier schedule to end the season. The Boston Bruins & Tampa Bay Lightning were both within spitting distance of the top spot in the league. Nashville has already clinched its best regular season ever. The question is if it’ll result in any sort of advantage in the playoffs.

Now we take a look at some of the best & worst of March.

Best Trophy Campaign: #Pekka4Vezina

I’ve never cared as much about individual awards as most fans. The most important award in hockey by a pretty wide margin is the Stanley Cup. Everything else pales in comparison. That being said, I would be annoyed if the voters for the Vezina Trophy don’t award it to Pekka Rinne.

Rinne had another stellar month. He went 8-3 with two shutouts, a .924 save percentage & 2.33 GAA. The only downside: All of these numbers looked so much better before Rinne got torched by the Buffalo Sabres. You hope that isn’t the sort of thing that sinks Rinne’s bid for the trophy. It did bring him closer to the likes of Tuukka Rask & Connor Hellebuyck, not to mention Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Hopefully Rinne has a strong final week that puts him back ahead of the pack where he belongs.

Most Annoying Argument: Should the Nashville Predators Win The Presidents’ Trophy?

The Predators’ recent success has taken them to the top of the NHL standings. They led the league in points for most of this month. They appear to be in a good spot not only to get the 1 seed in the West, but win the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the most points at the end of the season.

The Presidents’ Trophy has been given out thirty-one times. Eight teams that received it went on to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. Only two teams have accomplished this feat in the last ten years, the last being the Chicago Blackhawks in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. The Washington Capitals won it the last two seasons, only to lose in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Many believe that winning the Presidents’ Cup guarantees failure in the playoffs. These teams exerted too much effort in the regular season. They weren’t able to keep their play going in the playoffs, and fell to the team that got hot at the right time. They feel the Predators would be better off not winning the Trophy.

That’s a fine take, but the fact is that there’s not really much to be done about it. I don’t think people want the Predators to start tanking games, as it’s really tough to start winning again after you stop trying. The issue could take care of itself, as Nashville has a very difficult last week of the regular season.

I’m all for the Predators adding any & all Cups, Trophies & division titles to their resume. I would also be for the Predators having home ice in any playoff series. Rooting for your team to win makes sense to me. Also, if any team should be able to cast regular season accomplishments aside for the playoffs, it’s the Nashville Predators. They won the Western Conference as the 8 seed last year, so they should know not to overlook the 8 seed in the first round.

Best Predators GIF: Filip Forsberg’s Craziest Missed Shot Ever

Talk about a wrap-around.

https://twitter.com/PredsNHL/status/979522526941450240

It’s a pity that bounced off the post, like most of Filip Forsberg‘s shots did this month. He’s been contributing nonetheless. His twelve assists in March, including three against San Jose on the 29th, are the most he’s had in a single calendar month. He’s becoming a more complete player with each season. That’s a scary thought for Nashville’s rivals.

Best Celebrity Fans: Rusev & Lana

The Nashville Predators certainly have their share of celebrity fans. You’ll see a parade of them during the postseason. My two favorites aren’t country musicians or originally from Tennessee. WWE Superstars Rusev & Lana moved to the Nashville area a couple of years ago & have become huge Predators fans.

Now if that doesn’t get you jazzed up, I don’t know what will.

Best Predators Game: March 13 vs. Winnipeg Jets (3-1 win)

It’s no secret that many of the most entertaining games of the NHL season have involved the Predators & Jets. The potential of a Western Conference Semi-Final between the two teams has hockey fans salivating. It also has Predators & Jets fans a bit worried, much like how Washington Capitals fans must dread their second round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins most years. As great as these two teams have been this season, only one can make it to the Western Conference Final.

The Predators got off to a hot start with nine of their best minutes of the season. Short-handed goals by Austin Watson & Viktor Arvidsson within thirty-four seconds of each other gave Nashville a 3-0 lead & pushed Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck into duty on a night off. He held the Predators scoreless the rest of the way, but the Jets could only muster a power play goal early in the third period.

As great as the Predators have been, their lead over the Jets has remained at pretty much the same 5-8 point margin the past several weeks. Every point gained in games against them has been huge.

Worst Predators Game: March 31 vs. Buffalo Sabres (7-4 loss)

I felt like something was amiss early in the evening. Chris Mason was talking about how you can’t overlook the Sabres. He was talking about Buffalo holding victories over some of the East’s best teams. I think he knew that the Predators were overlooking the Sabres.

It would have been natural. It was the first night of a back to back, and the second game was going to be in Tampa against one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Human nature would be to slack off against a team lower in the standings in your home arena. You’d think you could handle that on cruise control while saving your best for the next night’s opponent.

The Predators thought wrong. The Sabres scored their first goal forty-three seconds into the game. Nashville scored the next three, but it was all downhill from there. Buffalo scored four power-play goals including three on one caused by Scott Hartnell attempting to cripple Victor Antipin. Pekka Rinne was benched after two periods.

It was easily one of the Predators’ worst performances of the season, even if you want to say the Sabres are better than their record indicates. You have to win games like that at this time of the year. Leaving points on the table is a good way to spend more time on the road in the postseason.