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Nashville Predators: Eight-two games completed, Sixteen wins to go

By Corey Francis

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: Ryan Johansen #92 of the Nashville Predators celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on April 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: Ryan Johansen #92 of the Nashville Predators celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on April 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The prequel to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now complete leaving sixteen teams standing. The Nashville Predators are the top team. Will the stay that way?

The NHL regular season is now complete. Well, minus one meaningless makeup game between Boston and Florida. The playoff brackets are set, tickets are being sold, and teams are preparing for what challenges lay ahead. For the Nashville Predators, the focus remains the same as it did all season: win the Stanley Cup.

In the final game of the season, the Predators dispatched of the Columbus Blue Jackets, another playoff team. Not much should be read into the victory as Columbus rested many of their key contributors. Nashville played well all game, limiting their opponent to 27 shots and six high danger chances. The Predators achieved only 22 shots on goal, but obtained 13 high danger chances during 5v5. They peppered the net all night and controlled the game for much of the 60 minutes.

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The biggest takeaway from last night came after the game. During a postgame interview with Fox Sports Tennessee’s Kara Hammer, Filip Forsberg stated (and I am paraphrasing) the regular season was great but it is not enough. This coming after a hat-trick from Forsberg during the game. At a time when the team could celebrate success, they calmly state there is more work to be done.

Operation: Win the Cup

The Stanley Cup chase starts this week and the bracket sets up well for the Nashville Predators. As the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy, the Predators will have home-ice advantage as long as they are alive. The atmosphere at Bridgestone is second-to-none during the regular season, but get cranked to 11 during the playoffs. While not the best home record in the league this season, the Predators went 28-9-4 at home. Seven of their losses came against teams not in the playoffs.

But, home-ice should not matter too much to the Predators. They finished the season 25-9-7 on the road, the best record in the NHL. With a Vezina-trophy candidate in Pekka Rinne in net and scoring depth the rest of the league drools over, winning the Stanley Cup is a real possibility.

Here is how the Western Conference bracket looks:

(1) Nashville Predators vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche (Predators won season series 4-0)

(CD2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (CD3) Minnesota Wild (Jet won season series 3-1)

(2) Las Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Los Angeles Kings (Series tied at 2-1-1)

(PD2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (PD3) San Jose Sharks (Sharks won season series 3-0-1)

Next: From lowest seed to NHL's best in 365 days

As the series unfold, more and more challenges will be presented. After the regular season we just witnessed, the Predators will be ready for anything and everything. They have won hard-fought battles, played physical games, and came back from multiple goals down. This could be the year the Nashville Predators hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Just 16 more wins to go.

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