All Aboard the “Smashville” Express!
Quentin Young continues to drive the Nashville Predators bandwagon, and he says there’s plenty of room on board.
Man, bandwagons are really comfy when you get on early.
The Nashville Predators entered the 2017 NHL Playoffs as the eighth seed up against a modern dynasty in the Chicago Blackhawks. Odds going into the series sat at -165 Blackhawks | +145 Predators. From there, they made history. Never before had an eighth-seeded team swept the number one seed.
Not only that, they managed to shut out the first two games in Chicago.
What’s most impressive about the team this year is that, aside from the Weber-Subban trade, Nashville didn’t make too many big moves this season. Emerging performances from Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Ellis, and Kevin Fiala have boosted the Predators to the best record in the postseason, even after a pedestrian season.
Coach Laviolette’s squad is making its first appearance in the Western Conference Finals against the winner of the Oilers-Ducks matchup on May 10th.
Ellis Emerges
In the absence of long-time franchise player and captain Shea Weber, Nashville’s defence has undergone a renaissance. P.K. Subban began the season on the top pairing alongside stalwart Roman Josi, but has since moved to the 2nd pairing to play with Swedish blueliner Mattias Ekholm. In his place, right-handed Ryan Ellis is blossoming into an elite offensive presence on the blueline, with an incredible four goals and five assists in 10 playoff games through the first two rounds.
Nashville’s embarrassment of riches on the blueline could lead to a trade sometime, but with Josi and Ellis’ contracts running through 2019, it could be awhile before GM David Poile pulls the trigger on any sort of move to his blueline.
They don’t miss Seth Jones too much, do they?
STARvidsson
Not enough is said about Viktor Arvidsson, the 5’9” Swedish winger on Nashville’s top line. I wrote a piece about him earlier this year. With 31 goals and 30 assists in 80 games, he’s been tremendous playing alongside Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen.
The kicker? It’s his sophomore year. In his rookie year, he put up 16 points (8–8) in 56 games. I’m not sure what the front office is putting in the water out there in Tennessee, but it sure is working.
Keeping it Neal
James Neal put up 41 points (23–18) this season, and has 4 points (3–1) through 10 games. While his numbers may not match some of the other top six forwards, his clutch production is coming in handy, with a powerplay goal and a game-winner to his credit. He’s contributed 21 hits thus far, but more impressively, he’s taken 28 shots. His season shooting percentage was 11.3%, so his present 10.7% could still rise if he continues to take shots at his current pace.
Flashy Fiala
Kevin Fiala stands 5’10”, and he shows it with his incredible speed and ability to make plays at high velocity. He scored 11 goals this season and added five assists in his 54 games. Limited to 5 games by injury, the Swiss forward has scored five goals, one of which came on the powerplay. Expect to see his production increase as he plays a full season following the remainder of the playoffs.
Pekka Rinne
Leading the league this postseason in both save percentage (.951) and GAA (1.37), Rinne is miles ahead of any other backstop night in and night out. The Finnish goaltender is playing well above his career postseason save percentage of .919, and he’s leading the way for Nashville as they continue their historic run.
The Predators just keep on keeping on. While they’re still long shots to raise Lord Stanley, they themselves have proven that literally anything can happen in the playoffs.
Quentin Young is a hockey writer for theocho.ca. He gets mad when his articles underperform, so please share this piece. Follow Quentin on Twitter at @young_quentin.
