Paul McCann: While waiting for the schedule release...

The Preds took a few games to get going. It is what it is. The Avs outplayed the Preds for most of game 1 & game 3. Game 2 was pretty even. The Preds clearly outplayed the Avs in games 4, 5 & 6. Sure, Hammond & a 2-minute defensive lapse cost them game 5. But the Preds were the better team for the majority of that game.

So, they are coming off three straight games where they clearly outplayed and out-chanced their opponent. I don't really call that struggling. It seems like almost every expert picked the Preds in 5. If Hammond had played his "normal" game in game 5, the Predators would've scored 4-5 goals, won the series 4-1, and no one would've talked about how they "struggled" with the Avs. The series would've gone according to expectations & all would be well. It's amazing how in one single hockey game (hitting a couple of posts & a goalie having the game of his life) is all it takes for the narrative to change. That's crazy.

I'm not saying the Preds played super well all series. The Avs were better than expected & good for them. But the final stats don't lie - the Preds were clearly the better team.

In 5v5 play in the first round, the Predators had the second best CF% (54.89) of all playoff teams. They held Colorado the 2nd lowest CF% (45.11). That is pretty dominant. They also clearly out-chanced the Avs at 5v5, and had many more High Danger chances. Through the first 3 games, the Avs were even or slightly ahead in all of the fancy stats, 5v5. So, to end up in that kind of dominating position, it shows the Preds really outplayed them the final 3 games.

The PK was also a strength for the Preds - even though they took too many penalties. The Avs (who had a top-5 PP unit in the regular season) only scored 2 PP goals. And both of those came on the 2-man advantage.

I think we all agree the Preds have to play better to beat the Jets in a 7-game series. But the overreaction to a series going one game longer than expected is crazy.

In your whining about the media whining, you seamlessly transitioned from blaming them about being whiners to blaming Jets fans for being whiners. Wtf man? We're not whining about playing the Preds, if you watched game 5 of our first series you would have heard 30k people chanting "We want Nashville" before your series was even over. We can't wait for this match up! Maybe it's you that needs to "stop whining".

In your whining about the media whining, you seamlessly transitioned from blaming them about being whiners to blaming Jets fans for being whiners. Wtf man? We're not whining about playing the Preds, if you watched game 5 of our first series you would have heard 30k people chanting "We want Nashville" before your series was even over. We can't wait for this match up! Maybe it's you that needs to "stop whining".
- Tagleeandeddy

you'll have 30000 sad fans sad in 5 or 6 games.... they will be close games like the regular season but in the end the same result. nashville wins
ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, MOST OF THE TIME IT WILL BITE YOU IN THE A$$

Only Whining I saw was Preds fans and media claiming Avs didnt grace them Preds with a big name anthem singer even though they were using Jake Schroeder who has done every game since for multiple seasons now.

Preds media whining about what food was available in colorado for game days in the press box

Prefs fans whining that that the Pepsi center was too loud and they must be pumping in crowd noise bc no way they can be as loud as Bridgestone

Clean it up Preds nation, you have a hell of a team, but there is a section of the fan base and media that have been making a lot of noise acting like they are entitled hockey royalty.

Win the cup then we can bend to the knee and kiss the ring. Until then put up or shut up

Only Whining I saw was Preds fans and media claiming Avs didnt grace them Preds with a big name anthem singer even though they were using Jake Schroeder who has done every game since for multiple seasons now.

Preds media whining about what food was available in colorado for game days in the press box

Prefs fans whining that that the Pepsi center was too loud and they must be pumping in crowd noise bc no way they can be as loud as Bridgestone

Clean it up Preds nation, you have a hell of a team, but there is a section of the fan base and media that have been making a lot of noise acting like they are entitled hockey royalty.

Win the cup then we can bend to the knee and kiss the ring. Until then put up or shut up
- DDM-Coga

Well said


The term I would use is professional victim.

Who complained about all that?

Only Whining I saw was Preds fans and media claiming Avs didnt grace them Preds with a big name anthem singer even though they were using Jake Schroeder who has done every game since for multiple seasons now.

Preds media whining about what food was available in colorado for game days in the press box

Prefs fans whining that that the Pepsi center was too loud and they must be pumping in crowd noise bc no way they can be as loud as Bridgestone

Clean it up Preds nation, you have a hell of a team, but there is a section of the fan base and media that have been making a lot of noise acting like they are entitled hockey royalty.

Win the cup then we can bend to the knee and kiss the ring. Until then put up or shut up
- DDM-Coga

Who complained about all that?
- PREDX1

Nashville welcomed the Avalanche with Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley. Denver is welcoming the Preds with Jake Schroeder... Southern hospitality is a thing.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 17, 2018

Positive note for the Avs: The world was treated to another anthem performance from the incomparable Jake Schroeder tonight.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 23, 2018

This dude about the anthem signer, trolling and thus getting pred fans to fill up Avs mentions

The #Avs only have unsweetened tea available for media meal. A subtle, yet powerful way to assert their home-ice advantage. 😝#Preds | #NSHvsCOL

— Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) April 17, 2018

This guyy works for the Preds, complaining about the food, posting about how servicing Chick fil a is how you do game day right.

Its not hard to come across this sort of stuff from the guys who cover the Preds, then some lemming Pred fans just start trolling like they are the Cadillac of organization.. Banana Land

ITs gamesmanship to a certain extent, but to others it just comes off as being a jackass

There's no whining in my neighbourhood - this is THE series ... we're gonna see some great hockey ... looking forward to it - have tix for 2nd game in Winnipeg

Sure the h_ll wish I knew what day that is

Only Whining I saw was Preds fans and media claiming Avs didnt grace them Preds with a big name anthem singer even though they were using Jake Schroeder who has done every game since for multiple seasons now.

Preds media whining about what food was available in colorado for game days in the press box

Prefs fans whining that that the Pepsi center was too loud and they must be pumping in crowd noise bc no way they can be as loud as Bridgestone

Clean it up Preds nation, you have a hell of a team, but there is a section of the fan base and media that have been making a lot of noise acting like they are entitled hockey royalty.

Win the cup then we can bend to the knee and kiss the ring. Until then put up or shut up
- DDM-Coga

Sports fans are so damn annoying. I’m thankful my love of sports came about when I was a child. The fans would totally turn me off of sports if I tried getting into them now.

You bring up all this stuff that I’ve never read or heard once during our series, for what? What’s the point of coming in here to crack off on Preds fans about some BS a handful of people may have complained about? To prove you’re somehow better than us? Is it sour grapes about the series? Was it because Paul brought up stuff that people are actually complaining about? Probably. That Paul am I right, so horrible. Being a fan turned team employee thinking he can be blindly loyal on some stupid blog site. Haha! I’m not saying no one actually complained about the stuff you brought up. Just that I haven’t seen it and if true it had to be a very small portion of the fan base and media. Certainly not enough to justify you popping off on all of Pred Nation because of it.

Like any of the fans give a damn about the press box food at Pepsi center. Who was it that complained about that and why are you going after us for it?

"Put up or shut up".....show us your ring you donkey. Fans don't win a damn thing, we WATCH other men win stuff. That's nothing to go bragging about unless your life is bankrupt.

Sports fans are so damn annoying. I’m thankful my love of sports came about when I was a child. The fans would totally turn me off of sports if I tried getting into them now.

You bring up all this stuff that I’ve never read or heard once during our series, for what? What’s the point of coming in here to crack off on Preds fans about some BS a handful of people may have complained about? To prove you’re somehow better than us? Is it sour grapes about the series? Was it because Paul brought up stuff that people are actually complaining about? Probably. That Paul am I right, so horrible. Being a fan turned team employee thinking he can be blindly loyal on some stupid blog site. Haha! I’m not saying no one actually complained about the stuff you brought up. Just that I haven’t seen it and if true it had to be a very small portion of the fan base and media. Certainly not enough to justify you popping off on all of Pred Nation because of it.

Like any of the fans give a damn about the press box food at Pepsi center. Who was it that complained about that and why are you going after us for it?

"Put up or shut up".....show us your ring you donkey. Fans don't win a damn thing, we WATCH other men win stuff. That's nothing to go bragging about unless your life is bankrupt.
- Bellicose

Thats why I said a section of your fan base and media. There is an entitled arrogance vibe to some of them, espeically on twitter filling up the other teams media and team mentions.

Its otu there, I posted some examples...like I said its gamesmanship, mind games to some extent, but for some as I mentioned, its just idotic whining, especially complaining that avs anthem singer wasnt up to snuff for some fans liking.

Not sour grapes at all, im actually very content with how my Avs played that series. The better team won....just that Preds might want to learn how to walk before they start running.

Thats why I said a section of your fan base and media. There is an entitled arrogance vibe to some of them, espeically on twitter filling up the other teams media and team mentions.

Its otu there, I posted some examples...like I said its gamesmanship, mind games to some extent, but for some as I mentioned, its just idotic whining, especially complaining that avs anthem singer wasnt up to snuff for some fans liking.

Not sour grapes at all, im actually very content with how my Avs played that series. The better team won....just that Preds might want to learn how to walk before they start running.
- DDM-Coga

Fair enough, you did say that it was a section of the fans and media. However my proposed question still remains. Why are you going off on us about some BS a small portion of the media and fans brought up? As if you don’t have a section of uppity media and or fans in Colorado as well. Most of the fans here don’t care about any of the stuff you’re bringing up.

As for the arena noise complaints, I think those are always fake articles used to stir up fan passion. We saw the same story about some Pens reporter claiming it was too loud at Bridgestone during the finals last year because we pumped in noise. WHATEVER! I've seen the same story on other sports teams across the leagues too. Don’t buy into those BS articles that come out every year. The two examples of complaints you posted are from people I don’t follow. I will agree that they come off as privileged ***** in those posts. Eat the food they provide and shut up, you’re there to work not critique food options.

“The Preds might want to learn how to walk before they start running.” WTF are you even talking about?! It was a handful of people that complained about some dumb BS that no one else even remotely cares about. You just want to put Preds fans in their place because you think you’re somehow better than us. You'll disagree with that I'm sure but it's fine. Sadly it's a normal thing among sports fans. Also, THIS is why hate sports fans. They brag about stuff they had no hand in accomplishing then attack each other over it and other stupid BS like this.

This victim mentality plays out every year at about this time… we finished second and we’re getting screwed! The NHL has it in for us… waaaaah! The old system was better… waaaaaah!

So… let’s take a look at the old system… the same four teams getting through would feature Nashville vs. San Jose and Vegas vs. Winnipeg… with Vegas and Nashville getting home ice due their winning their division. That is the simple fact these complaining columnists seem to overlook.

Ahhhh… there is the rub. There is no reward for second. Win your division. That’s where you get your reward… you want home ice advantage… win your division… and for heaven’s sake… quit whining.
- Paul McCann

Paul, you often use this blog as a pulpit to complain about injustices against the Preds. Just look at the blog following the game against Florida. We all criticize aspects of the sport, but it's disingenuous call that criticism "whining" when others do it, but not when we do it, ourselves.

Nashville welcomed the Avalanche with Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley. Denver is welcoming the Preds with Jake Schroeder... Southern hospitality is a thing.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 17, 2018

Positive note for the Avs: The world was treated to another anthem performance from the incomparable Jake Schroeder tonight.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 23, 2018

This dude about the anthem signer, trolling and thus getting pred fans to fill up Avs mentions

The #Avs only have unsweetened tea available for media meal. A subtle, yet powerful way to assert their home-ice advantage. 😝#Preds | #NSHvsCOL

— Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) April 17, 2018

This guyy works for the Preds, complaining about the food, posting about how servicing Chick fil a is how you do game day right.

Its not hard to come across this sort of stuff from the guys who cover the Preds, then some lemming Pred fans just start trolling like they are the Cadillac of organization.. Banana Land

ITs gamesmanship to a certain extent, but to others it just comes off as being a jackass
- DDM-Coga

It seems your skin's as thin as the air in Denver.

It seems your skin's as thin as the air in Denver.
- Sources_say

could be, but I live in Calgary so the skin is just fine here

Bloggers whine, fans whine, everyone whines. We live in a whiny society with a bunch of babies who think that if everything doesn't play out exactly like they imagine, it's a personal affront. This entire site reminds me of Facebook or Twitter. It used to be fun, now it's just embarrassing.

Jets are gonna blow through the Preds. Jets are a better and more complete team.

Nashville welcomed the Avalanche with Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley. Denver is welcoming the Preds with Jake Schroeder... Southern hospitality is a thing.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 17, 2018

Positive note for the Avs: The world was treated to another anthem performance from the incomparable Jake Schroeder tonight.

— Chad Withrow (@withrowzone) April 23, 2018

This dude about the anthem signer, trolling and thus getting pred fans to fill up Avs mentions

The #Avs only have unsweetened tea available for media meal. A subtle, yet powerful way to assert their home-ice advantage. 😝#Preds | #NSHvsCOL

— Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) April 17, 2018

This guyy works for the Preds, complaining about the food, posting about how servicing Chick fil a is how you do game day right.

Its not hard to come across this sort of stuff from the guys who cover the Preds, then some lemming Pred fans just start trolling like they are the Cadillac of organization.. Banana Land

ITs gamesmanship to a certain extent, but to others it just comes off as being a jackass
- DDM-Coga

Well, while Withrow is part of the number one sports talk show in the nation according to some media service, he is not the person we go to when we want Predators information. He does however fancy himself as "in the know" regarding anthem singers as he "broke" (read: leaked) the anthem singers in games one and two. Apparently he knows someone in operations of some sort at Bridgestone Arena.

To Willis' comment on sweet tea? I think it's a stretch to call that complaining or whining about the food in the media room at Pepsi Center ... I would have more likely regarded the comment as comedic ... since sweet tea is often unavailable outside the South.

To each his own though ...