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Back-to-back division champs

April 7, 2019, 1:51 PM ET [13 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
What a closing night at Bridgestone Arena… the Nashville Predators captured their second consecutive Central Division banner on the strength of a 5-2 victory over the hated Chicago Blackhawks. The Preds dominated play from the jump, but couldn’t seem to crack Hawks goalie Cam Ward and two mistakes led to two Blackhawk goals… the Predators trailed 2-0 after one and left the ice scratching their heads.

With the division title on the line and the knowledge that St. Louis had already won, the Predators came out even stronger in the second period and the owner of one of the first period misques, came up huge for his team. Rookie defenseman Dante Fabbro, who’s giveaway led to the first Chicago goal, took a feed from Filip Forsberg and snapped up top cheddar for his first NHL goal and the start of the Predators comeback that featured five… count ‘em… five unanswered goals.

Nashville just kept coming, wave after wave, until a continuation of a power play Filip Forsberg unleashed the fury of his slap shot that left a vapor trail past Cam Ward to send the teams to the second intermission all tied up at two.

That tie lasted just 3:33 into the third period when number 33 scored the 3rd goal of the game for his 34th goal of the season. Viktor Arvidsson, the straw the stirs the Predators drink, set a new franchise record for goals scored by a Predator player… and broke that record in just 58 games. The goal was on the power play, which made it just a tad sweeter.

The Preds kept pressing and it was only the brilliance of Cam Ward, very likely appearing in his last NHL game, that kept the game from being a blowout. The Predators poured 49 shots of the veteran and he deserved a better fate than what he got. Colton Sissons effectively iced the game with an empty netter then Nick Bonino added insult to injury by scoring the 5thn in the last minute of play for the final margin of victory.

Bridgestone Arena was in a frenzy, clapping, screaming, pounding… and the kicker is… it will get even louder on Wednesday night for Game One.

With the Central Division crown secured, the Preds know that they have home ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. They have recaptured their resilience, the power play produced, two come from behind wins… all big concerns just a few weeks ago… but this team is coming into the playoffs with a decent head of steam.

Now let’s see what they can do with it.

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The Playoff Status section
The dates and times were announced this morning… here are the matchups.

The Eastern Conference
(1) Tampa Bay vs (WC2) Columbus
(2) Boston vs. (3) Toronto
(1) Washington vs. (WC1) Carolina
(2) NY Islanders vs (3) Pittsburgh

The Western Conference
(1) Calgary vs (WC2) Colorado
(2) San Jose vs (3) Vegas
(1) Nashville vs. (WC1) Dallas
(2) Winnipeg vs. (3) St. Louis

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Random Notes

- Milwaukee Update –Make it eight straight for the Ad’s, crushing Iowa 5-1. The Ad’s play Rockford on Tuesday night.

- A First – This is the first time that Dallas and Nashville will meet in the playoffs.

- Black Sunday – As I write this, three head coaches have been fired, two with Nashville ties. Former Pred Bob Boughner was fired in Florida and former Pred assistant coach Phil Housley was fired in Buffalo. The LA Kings fired Willie Dejardins as well.

- Ouch – Connor McDavid looked like he injured his leg in the Oilers season finale.

- Goals, goals, goals – Alex Ovechkin and Leon Draisaitl had 50+ goals this season, a season where the NHL saw more goals scored than any other season in the history of the league.

- ‘Lumbus – After going all in at the trade3 deadline… the Columbus Blue Jackets made the playoffs… to be rewarded with a first round date with Tampa.

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