Hockey is a lot to keep up with and if you’re a busy Middle Tennessean but are still a fan of the hometown Predators, we have your weekly Nashville Predators update with everything you need to know right here.
Last Week
April 10th, 3-2 win at Calgary Flames
April 13th, 4-3 win vs Minnesota Wild
April 14th, 4-3 loss vs Colorado Avalanche
A do-or-die elimination game on the road started the week off for Nashville. Egor Afanasyev scored his first NHL goal and the first of the game, before this one went back and forth all the way to a shootout. There was a playoff-type feel to this one and Juuse Saros did Juuse Saros things stopping 42 of 44 shots faced.
Unfortunately for Nashville, by the time this game took place, Winnipeg had already clinched the wild card spot by beating this very Minnesota Wild team. I’m not sure if Juuso Parssinen thought the only correct way to repay them was total embarrassment or if he just woke up feeling dangerous, but his between-the-legs goal to give the Preds their last win of the season was a thing to see and maybe the best goal of the 2023 NHL season.
The Avalanche needed this game to clinch the Central Division and Nashville was already eliminated, but that didn’t stop the Preds from putting up a fight against the defending champs. Nathan MacKinnon completed a hat trick to break a 3-3 tie with just 1:42 to play.
Moving Forward
After being completely written off at the trade deadline, this Predators team fought all the way down to the last week of the season and narrowly missed the playoffs. They made that push while missing Forsberg, Josi, Duchene, and Johansen. Young guys stepped up into some pretty big skates and Saros made a case for being the best netminder in hockey. It’s the first time Nashville hasn’t made the playoffs since Barry Trotz’s last year as head coach in Smashville. And speaking of Trotzy, Barry comes in as the General Manager of the Preds on July first with an extremely bright future ahead for this team. David Poile is leaving Trotz with lots of draft capital to be used in 2023, a good group of star vets, and some great young talent. The future is bright in Nashville.
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