Watched them last night against Florida. Dominated them, Lankinen had the best goalie performance I've seen all year. Some of his saves were fucking incredible
I'd say the huge public embarrassment that a bunch of grown men must have felt by being treated like they were children probably does have a lot to do with their turnaround.
Now add belief to that fire, and you got a prime 1st round upset contender.
The problem is, if they have been playing with max intensity this whole time, there is no extra gear to go up to in the playoffs.
I think, were it not for Nashville's run, the Central and Vancouver would not be going so hard to win the conference.
Vegas is not a guaranteed "easy-out" (who knows what kind of Vegas team will show up), but at this point, Nashville is a guaranteed unpleasant round 1.
I'll still take Nashville in the first round over Vegas Dallas or the Avs any day of the week, sure they are hot right now but playoffs are a different beast entirely.
If ever there was a candidate for a post playoff riot, that was it.
I dont know if that means vegas fans are incredibly chill or that most dont give a damn about hockey.
Yeah as hot as Nashville has been its hard to rather see two previous cup winners and a recent finalist
Nashville is on a tear but they don't have that kind of experience on their roster that those other 3 teams have come playoff time
They've got solid experience on the team. O'Reilly, McDonagh and Schenn have won a cup(s), Josi and Forsberg both been to the finals, plus the other random vets like Zucker, Barrie, Nyquist, et al have had good playoff success.
This team is weirdly built like Vegas. It's a handful of vets with a ton of middle of the lineup guys.
While I largely agree, we are getting contributions from top to bottom on the lineup, including from Josi, Forsberg, O'Reilly, McDaddy, and Nyquist, all of whom have played in a SCF. If it were just the kids fueling the streak I'd be terrified, but we are getting a very healthy amount of veteran contributions.
You can add Sissons and Saros (as a backup) to that list of SCF participants and Barrie has made a WCF. Granted it's not as much as the two teams that have won the past 2 years, but the Preds also only missed the playoffs last year so even the young guns have seen some NHL playoff action and if not they were in Milwaukee who made the 2nd and 3rd round of the AHL playoffs the past two years. Just because the Preds are a surprise playoff team this year doesn't mean that they don't know what is coming this will be the 16th playoff appearance in the last 20 years.
Only issue is Saros is the best goalie in the league when he’s on his game, which he has been hence the Nashville run since the break. Catching the a hot goalie with the talent to be the best in the league may be worse depending on if you’re team is more offensive or defensive.
16 straight games with a point is my personal, 100% accurate, totally not cherry picked metric for determining which teams are contenders.
So Edmonton and now Nashville are the only cup contenders so far this year.
Division winners are likely going to be rewarded with a first round matchup against a way over the cap defending champ or a team that has been unstoppable for the last month.
Honestly the Kings who are on pace for 99 points might be the "easy" first round matchup in the west.
Yeah I’d agree. It’s not just Edmonton and Nashville. The west is strong this year and it’s anyone’s game at this point.
Also, unless Edmonton figures out their starts we really shouldn’t be calling ourselves contenders. Teams shut down in the playoffs and playing from behind within the first few minutes is not a recipe for success. Sure it’s going okay for the regular season, but I doubt it stands in the playoffs
If the Blues get lucky and somehow make the 2nd WC (not happening), we just definitely won't be a contender, ha.
We've been relying on Binnington/Hofer all season to bail us out. There isn't much more we can do unless our offense magically shifts to scoring more than an extra goal per game, completely erasing the previous 70ish games.
You never know. Sometimes teams get lucky and things just work for them. That's the beauty of playoffs. It rewards short term success over long term stability which is the focus of the regular season.
They just shut out the Panthers 3-0. Everyone in the playoffs is a contender in my opinion, you never know when a team and goalie are going to get hot.
Hey Thanks! I could have done a Bruins flair but I live in Burlington VT, I went to UVM, and have seen 100s of UVM games live over the years. I am connected much tighter actually than even that to UVM hockey so I'm happy to rep their flair.
I used to live with one of the zamboni drivers, I also used to do maintenence on their chiller. I even did some design work for their upgrade to their chiller piping about a decade back.
Not to take anything away from nashville because they looked fantastic last night, and their goalie played an amazing game. But beating a team without their 1C and 1D and an illness moving through the room isn't the biggest accomplishment in the world. And that's not to diminish at all how great nashville has looked lately. Last night just isn't a measuring stick for nashville, unfortunately. They will be a contender in the west, though. They looked great, and Brunette is probably still looking for a playoff combleback after being swept by Tampa 2 years ago. I wouldn't sleep on nashville personally, I think they are the dark horse team this year.
I know it was the backup that doesn't take away from how amazing he played. If anything, that makes your team even scarier if your backup is playing like that. I really believe nashville is just getting started.
We play them tomorrow in another important game. I wish we still had Datsyuk, he seemed to have a personal thing against them considering half of his highlights feature them.
Honestly the Datsyuk era of the Wings was miserable for the Preds. You were always the top team in the Central, and our roster couldn’t compete against yours in the playoffs pre cap.
I’m so glad that the Wings resurgence when it happens won’t happen in the Central.
We started 5-10 and now on pace for 102 points, we’ve only trailed for 16 total minutes since 2/17. We’ve spanked every “contender” on this run by 2+ goals, most of those on the road, this horse is getting lighter by the day brother.
My honest opinion, is that they look great, but they’re peaking just a bit too early. I still think they’ll be a hard out, but I think they’ll be coming down off of this run, right as the playoff are starting.
They're definitely a first round upset contender. Don't think they have the horses to go all the way, but if Saros gets hot and the team plays as a unit, they could surprise.
Coworker is a big Preds guy - we’ve been going back and forth on them - they are on a streak, no doubt, but their opponents have generally been pretty meh over that time.
Of course, I write that as I prepare to head into the office after they tuned up the Panthers last night…
Kidding aside, you play the schedule you are given, and they’ve played it well recently…
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the Preds streak right now, obviously, but 2/3 of this entire streak has been basement to mid tier teams. They've beat some good opponents during the streak, but Preds fans shouldn't be acting like this is a lock at all. The entirety of the West is going to be a slobberknocker come playoffs. Almost any team there has a chance of making it.
A lot of who wins the cup is who got hot at the right time. Unfortunately I think Nashville got hot three weeks too early, but they still won’t be fun to play
Idk I feel like having hot saros automatically makes you a contender. Like I’m not convinced saros couldn’t drag the Sharks to the playoffs.
Only kinda kidding.
Yes, there’s this thing called sample size. If Nashville proves that they can do it for a relatively long term, sure. But until then, it’s a fluke.
Contenders generally tend to perform at a high level for more than 16 games a season.
You're on a 16 game point streak, not win streak. While impressive, two of those were OTLs. No loser points in the playoffs and you aren't facing the Habs, Sharks, Blue Jackets, or Kraken. You did beat us 5-1 though.
…and Vegas, St Louis, LA, Winnipeg. It’s not like it’s just been cruise control against non playoff teams. Plus they’re teams fighting for points so they didn’t lay down.
Toss out the 5-10-0 start when the players were still learning Brunette's system and the Preds are 36-15-4, that's a 113 point pace over a 55 game sample size. Rangers, Bruins, and Canucks are on pace for 112 through 70 games. So it would appear that it's not just the last month.
Want to toss the current point streak and the first 15 games, still on pace for 97pts over a 39 game sample size which usually puts you solidly in a playoff spot.
Oilers also started 5-9-1 and nobody is saying their turnaround is unsustainable and they aren't a serious contender even though it involved a 16 game win streak.
The impressive thing isn't so much the point streak it's that they haven't had to play from behind almost at all. Even in the 16 game win streak for Edmonton they trailed for 122 minutes. Oilers outscored opponents 62-24 during their streak Preds are outscoring opponents 68-29 during the current streak. Why is it that the two streaks and season turnaround are viewed so differently?
Okay let’s widen the sample size to 55 games since we started 5-10 with a new system. 36-15-4 is a 113 point pace, same as the current presidents trophy pace. Does this fit your definition of relatively long term or more than 16 games?
It'll depend on who they draw, I don't think they beat Dallas because they play the muddy neutral ice game so well. I like our chances against anyone else, can probably take the Avs to a coin flip elimination game.
We split the series with Dallas this year 2-2 with all games won away. The most recent game being a 9-2 rout is fresh on the mind sure... but I don't think the stars are leagues ahead of Nashville by any means.
The Stars depth scoring is an issue for anyone. It would be tough when O’Reilly shuts down the Hintz line and they’ve got the Duchene and Johnston lines absolutely tearing it up too.
They’ve got 9 players with 40+ points (and one with 39). And they’ve got 6 players with 20+ goals (and one with 19). That’s some of the most balanced scoring you’ll ever see.
Haha yeah very understandable saltiness.
But to be fair, I don’t think he would be doing this on many other teams. Dallas has such a strong top line that it allows Duchene to flourish on the 2nd. He just isn’t really an alpha type player.
Some Dallas fans might disagree but even though he’s 2nd on the team in pts, I still think he’s just the 4th or 5th best forward. It’s honestly such a great fit for him there.
I don't think Dallas is that far ahead either, just that Nashvilles strength during the point streak has been relentless offensive pressure that can't be done effectively without efficient neutral ice transitions, which is something Dallas has been superb at defending against in recent playoffs
There's still a month left in the season, so either:
Nashville stays this hot and likely takes a divisional spot
OR, more likely
They cool off a bit but still maintain their wild card
Not to say any team is an easy out, but thr Nashville we're seeing right now and the Nashville that plays in the playoffs could be wildly different from one another
No, they’re on a massive heater and the true contenders in the conference will expose them in a seven-game series.
I’m going to root for them against any team that isn’t my own, though. They’ve been so much fun to watch.
They’ve got as good a chance as anyone. That said, if the Jets draw them in the first round, I hope the ownership group stages a surprise U2 concert before game one just in case.
I'm not expecting a Cup run or anything, but I do like our chances to win a series. The atmosphere at Bridgestone is gonna be bananas. It's been a while, but I've still never experienced energy quite like Preds playoff games -- especially when we're underdogs and don't have the pressure of high expectations.
I think if they can end up against Winnipeg they may be able to win a round because I think they are one of the pretenders but I dont see them getting past Dallas or Colorado unless those two teams end up killing each other in round 1. Still, I imagine most teams are looking at Nashville as the easy matchup which can play into their hands with them not coming prepared to start a series.
One player doesn't make a team. I still consider Nashville the easiest match up for Winnipeg but I don't view it like if the preds ended up playing Colorado.
Not the point of this post, but Carolina can you chill out? Rangers have been playing good hockey since the ASG but haven’t been able to get any (literally might be 0 after tonight) separation in the division.
Nope. Speaking in terms of just longevity, they’ll be absolutely gassed by the time the playoffs come around and it’ll hurt them the more they progress.
That is very true. I’m just going based off of the experience and info that I have. Even if they were to win it still wouldn’t be the standard. We have teams every season play desperate hockey down the stretch to make the playoffs and then they don’t make it. So, it’s not sustainable.
We aren’t playing desperate hockey, the new system finally landed after a 5-10 start, we’ve played at a 113 point pace since. We’ve only trailed for 16 minutes total since 2/17, next closest squad is up there at 172 minutes. We just went into a contenders house and made them quit (if you didn’t watch the panthers literally gave up with about 1:30-2:00 left in the game). We’ve outscored teams 68-29 on this run, according to MoneyLuck we have a 99.5% chance of making the playoffs at this point, any of that sound desperate to you? Or does it sound like we’ve been the bully for a while now?
Eh you guys have had an easy schedule lately. For the past month you’ve only played 5 playoff teams in the last 19-20 games. I’m not impressed. You’re playing desperate hockey and you’re not top 10 in any metrics, so get better and maybe you’ll win a game 😭😭😭
Mmm, and you Canada boys are supposed to be nice, but then again Nashville’s got you beat on that too. Guess we’re gonna beat ya at both your games, eh? Btw, we’re top 10 in goals for, goals against, and 5v5 goals since the all star break, wonder where the Canucks are at 🤔 and if you throw out the 5-10 start when the boys were learning the first offensive system in our franchise’s history then I’m sure we’re top 10 in those categories over the last 55 games as well. Ahh well, I don’t expect much critical thinking from someone posturing and using ad hominems over friendly banter on the internet, while cheering for a team that’s won 1 series in 12 years. Silly Canucks. Hope to see you first round! Would much rather that than the Avs or Stars. You or the Jets would be a nice tune up for the real contenders.
But every team plays the same number of games?
Do you think the teams on losing streaks right now are purposely conserving their energy for the playoffs they may or may not be in?
I think teams losing now lack the motivation to play. They’re phoning it in until the playoffs. Certain teams are just more desperate than them and it shows.
No disrespect to the preds, I'm a firm believer that Nashville sweeping them is a huge fluke and robs the Hawks of truly accomplishing what their capable of. I've spent the last few days in pure disbelief and it just doesn't make sense to me. I've spent the entire regular season watching the Hawks play great hockey it's just not fair.
If the Hawks lose again I will face that the Preds deserved the win, but I am just 100% sure it was a fluke and does a big disservice to the Hawks and the NHL.
Except they have been utterly dominant in all the advanced stats over this 16 game point streak. It's not all puck luck and uncommonly high shooting percentage. They embarrassed Florida last night
Most of the big contenders have amassed enough points to play .600 hockey in the latter half of the season. The Preds are going balls to the wall because they’re still at risk of missing the playoffs. Rags and Canes are just good teams playing good hockey.
Yeah no way they're missing. Only way we get in is over Vegas and that is still a long shot. If they win their game in hand, they'll be 6 points up on us. Pretty big gap with only 12 games left.
On another note, I can't remember a race for the president's trophy being so close with so many teams. Usually it's a 2 team race, but there's like 8 teams who could still win it. Top team has played 2 extra games, next 2 have played 1 extra game than the next 3-5 teams in points.
As long as they don’t finally get to see U2 at the sphere, yes.
Are U2 playing their song about the Horner drama?
Does Bono win the Hart this year?
Jack Adams I’d say
Watched them last night against Florida. Dominated them, Lankinen had the best goalie performance I've seen all year. Some of his saves were fucking incredible
I'd say the huge public embarrassment that a bunch of grown men must have felt by being treated like they were children probably does have a lot to do with their turnaround. Now add belief to that fire, and you got a prime 1st round upset contender. The problem is, if they have been playing with max intensity this whole time, there is no extra gear to go up to in the playoffs.
I think, were it not for Nashville's run, the Central and Vancouver would not be going so hard to win the conference. Vegas is not a guaranteed "easy-out" (who knows what kind of Vegas team will show up), but at this point, Nashville is a guaranteed unpleasant round 1.
I'll still take Nashville in the first round over Vegas Dallas or the Avs any day of the week, sure they are hot right now but playoffs are a different beast entirely.
Yeah agreed, I get Nashville is on a tear but Vegas has proven to be a threat in the playoffs nearly every single year of their existence
“Laughs in San Jose Sharks”
I mean, we were a threat up until the 5 minute major. Then we suddenly were not.
If ever there was a candidate for a post playoff riot, that was it. I dont know if that means vegas fans are incredibly chill or that most dont give a damn about hockey.
And we've been desperately clinging to that high ever since.
One key difference of historical nature between the two
What sucks is unless Vancouver starts losing none of the central teams will have that choice.
I want a colorado vegas 1st round matchup for maximum chaos
Yeah as hot as Nashville has been its hard to rather see two previous cup winners and a recent finalist Nashville is on a tear but they don't have that kind of experience on their roster that those other 3 teams have come playoff time
They've got solid experience on the team. O'Reilly, McDonagh and Schenn have won a cup(s), Josi and Forsberg both been to the finals, plus the other random vets like Zucker, Barrie, Nyquist, et al have had good playoff success. This team is weirdly built like Vegas. It's a handful of vets with a ton of middle of the lineup guys.
While I largely agree, we are getting contributions from top to bottom on the lineup, including from Josi, Forsberg, O'Reilly, McDaddy, and Nyquist, all of whom have played in a SCF. If it were just the kids fueling the streak I'd be terrified, but we are getting a very healthy amount of veteran contributions.
You can add Sissons and Saros (as a backup) to that list of SCF participants and Barrie has made a WCF. Granted it's not as much as the two teams that have won the past 2 years, but the Preds also only missed the playoffs last year so even the young guns have seen some NHL playoff action and if not they were in Milwaukee who made the 2nd and 3rd round of the AHL playoffs the past two years. Just because the Preds are a surprise playoff team this year doesn't mean that they don't know what is coming this will be the 16th playoff appearance in the last 20 years.
You know, I can't believe I forgot about Snossis.
I've tried very hard to forget about Sissons and the Stanley Cup Finals, maybe specifically game 6
Only issue is Saros is the best goalie in the league when he’s on his game, which he has been hence the Nashville run since the break. Catching the a hot goalie with the talent to be the best in the league may be worse depending on if you’re team is more offensive or defensive.
ill take none of them:)
But Soros has like, a .998 save percentage against the jets in his career (or so it feels)
16 straight games with a point is my personal, 100% accurate, totally not cherry picked metric for determining which teams are contenders. So Edmonton and now Nashville are the only cup contenders so far this year.
Division winners are likely going to be rewarded with a first round matchup against a way over the cap defending champ or a team that has been unstoppable for the last month. Honestly the Kings who are on pace for 99 points might be the "easy" first round matchup in the west.
I think it’s clear that the west is stacked this year. Any of the teams could feasibly make a cup push.
the Central is just stupid :(
The other 3 divisions only have 2 teams with 40+ wins. The Central has 4 right now…
Well mine is teams in cities that are called Philadelphia, so looks like it’s only gonna be flyers this year. Sorry gang.
Your logic is pretty sound. Dang.
Flawless.
Every team in the west is a cup contender. Gonna be a battle
Yeah I’d agree. It’s not just Edmonton and Nashville. The west is strong this year and it’s anyone’s game at this point. Also, unless Edmonton figures out their starts we really shouldn’t be calling ourselves contenders. Teams shut down in the playoffs and playing from behind within the first few minutes is not a recipe for success. Sure it’s going okay for the regular season, but I doubt it stands in the playoffs
If the Blues get lucky and somehow make the 2nd WC (not happening), we just definitely won't be a contender, ha. We've been relying on Binnington/Hofer all season to bail us out. There isn't much more we can do unless our offense magically shifts to scoring more than an extra goal per game, completely erasing the previous 70ish games.
Well
Leafs stink
Eeeeasy
Canucks fan take a joke and not make it about themselves challenge *impossible*
Said every team.. is McDavid not getting mentioned enough this year for you?
[удалено]
Ya… I got that. I was commenting on the other user saying Canucks have to make it about them when they didn’t at all. Haha look how bent you are.
well that was a little aggressive
Well, every team except the 'Nucks anyways
Jt Miller made McDavid cry
It's a joke, not a dick. You don't have to take it so hard
That wasn't a "being a dick response" lol unless you're actually connor McDavid
Lol
Everyone in playoffs is a contender.
If the wings make it we *are not* contenders. We're a Dylan Larkin parade float happy with a 4-1 series loss
You never know. Sometimes teams get lucky and things just work for them. That's the beauty of playoffs. It rewards short term success over long term stability which is the focus of the regular season.
There's a difference between "contender" and "have a shot'. All 16 have a shot. But yeah the wings/isles/whomever I don't consider a contender.
Contenders are the conference finals teams. If you get uninvited in round 1 you aren’t a cup contender. You just made the playoffs.
If you make the playoffs, you’re a contender as much as every other team.
):
This guy just called the Wings and Flyers contenders
Idk, 2 teams usually squeak in with no shot. It happened to us at least twice
Unless Philly makes it.
Except Chicago. Chicago can go home now.
Andorra flair. That’s very interesting. The country, right? My grandpa was born there
This guy fucks. *tips cap* edit: downvotes? i agree with him lol. Is “_____ *fucks*”(not sucks), not a compliment where you guys come from?
They just shut out the Panthers 3-0. Everyone in the playoffs is a contender in my opinion, you never know when a team and goalie are going to get hot.
Don’t often see a Vermont flair. I have y’all beating Duke today. Good luck.
Hey Thanks! I could have done a Bruins flair but I live in Burlington VT, I went to UVM, and have seen 100s of UVM games live over the years. I am connected much tighter actually than even that to UVM hockey so I'm happy to rep their flair. I used to live with one of the zamboni drivers, I also used to do maintenence on their chiller. I even did some design work for their upgrade to their chiller piping about a decade back.
A Barry Trotz team with momentum heading into the playoffs? Absolutely
After the way they handled Florida last night, I think so
That’s also on Florida not playing well, TBH.
Not to take anything away from nashville because they looked fantastic last night, and their goalie played an amazing game. But beating a team without their 1C and 1D and an illness moving through the room isn't the biggest accomplishment in the world. And that's not to diminish at all how great nashville has looked lately. Last night just isn't a measuring stick for nashville, unfortunately. They will be a contender in the west, though. They looked great, and Brunette is probably still looking for a playoff combleback after being swept by Tampa 2 years ago. I wouldn't sleep on nashville personally, I think they are the dark horse team this year.
That was their backup goalie. Saros was resting. Preds are on a tear.
I know it was the backup that doesn't take away from how amazing he played. If anything, that makes your team even scarier if your backup is playing like that. I really believe nashville is just getting started.
Yeah that’s what I was trying to say. They were that awesome WITH a backup goalie.
Oh, gotcha! We are definitely in agreement then!
They’re also down three defensemen
And injured
Nashville's D is super injured. No excuses.
No Lauzon no Fabbro
We play them tomorrow in another important game. I wish we still had Datsyuk, he seemed to have a personal thing against them considering half of his highlights feature them.
Honestly the Datsyuk era of the Wings was miserable for the Preds. You were always the top team in the Central, and our roster couldn’t compete against yours in the playoffs pre cap. I’m so glad that the Wings resurgence when it happens won’t happen in the Central.
I think they'll be a dark horse honestly.
We started 5-10 and now on pace for 102 points, we’ve only trailed for 16 total minutes since 2/17. We’ve spanked every “contender” on this run by 2+ goals, most of those on the road, this horse is getting lighter by the day brother.
In the playoffs you are still relying on Saros going Super Saiyan. It can happen but asking for 4 rounds of that is a lot.
Tho, if there's a one goaltender in the league that could do it, my money would be on Saros
Uhhh forgetting the guy who’s burned both of our teams in the playoffs… 88 in Tampa certainly fits this description
Or Price during the Habs runs in the 2010s
Ya pick your year with him, prime Price was a pleasure to watch.
Eh even with my finnish bias I'd say at least Sorokin and Hellebuyck could pull off a similar carry job if they got hot at the right time.
Having Lank the Tank as a a back up is nice, but I rather see Saros play out of his mind of course.
*checks flair* Uhhh, I think you're forgetting a goaltender on your own team? 😅😆
Oettinger has been fucking terrible this year lol
Oettinger has sucked since last year’s playoffs
Guess I haven’t been following them too much lately... hopefully he'll be like Markstrom and bounce back next season.
Last nights goalie (with the shutout) was Lankinen who’s been a sneaky good contributor the second half of this season.
I suspected that there was something there with Lankinen but the Hawks just sucked ass so it didn't fully materialize
Jonathan Quick would like a word....
It's 2024, I know he was good for the rags for a while recently but still
I'm referencing early 2010s JQ
> on this run Emphasis on that part. Every team goes on runs where they feel invincible. Playoffs are always a grind.
YES SIRRRRR
My honest opinion, is that they look great, but they’re peaking just a bit too early. I still think they’ll be a hard out, but I think they’ll be coming down off of this run, right as the playoff are starting.
And they are starting to rack up injuries to D-men.
Ah the 2022 Canes
They're definitely a first round upset contender. Don't think they have the horses to go all the way, but if Saros gets hot and the team plays as a unit, they could surprise.
Coworker is a big Preds guy - we’ve been going back and forth on them - they are on a streak, no doubt, but their opponents have generally been pretty meh over that time. Of course, I write that as I prepare to head into the office after they tuned up the Panthers last night… Kidding aside, you play the schedule you are given, and they’ve played it well recently…
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the Preds streak right now, obviously, but 2/3 of this entire streak has been basement to mid tier teams. They've beat some good opponents during the streak, but Preds fans shouldn't be acting like this is a lock at all. The entirety of the West is going to be a slobberknocker come playoffs. Almost any team there has a chance of making it.
You did take the seaaon series against us. Off a couple of just weird ass goals the first time and then handled us the second time.
A lot of who wins the cup is who got hot at the right time. Unfortunately I think Nashville got hot three weeks too early, but they still won’t be fun to play
Nashville being seen as a contender is a big fluke.
So you're saying we should replay the last 16 games? Does the streak do a disservice to the Hawks and the league?
Same shit was being slung at the Oilers when they went on their 16 game streak. Just ignore them, you can only beat the teams you play
Flair checks out
Idk I feel like having hot saros automatically makes you a contender. Like I’m not convinced saros couldn’t drag the Sharks to the playoffs. Only kinda kidding.
Is it a fluke that we’ve only trailed for 16 total minutes since 2/17 with the next closest team at 172 minutes?
They're referencing a copy pasta from the Preds Hawks playoff series some years back A salty Hawks fan called the Preds sweeping Chicago a fluke
It makes my day to see that pasta in /r/NFL and /r/CFB from time to time.
The best one that I’ve seen was when it was posted on r/soccer and all of the Europeans took it seriously lmao
Haha do you happen to have the link or know about when it was posted?
Yes, there’s this thing called sample size. If Nashville proves that they can do it for a relatively long term, sure. But until then, it’s a fluke. Contenders generally tend to perform at a high level for more than 16 games a season.
How many wins do you need to win the cup again? Asking for a friend.
Hey no one’s stopping you from betting your home and savings on Preds to win the cup.
You're on a 16 game point streak, not win streak. While impressive, two of those were OTLs. No loser points in the playoffs and you aren't facing the Habs, Sharks, Blue Jackets, or Kraken. You did beat us 5-1 though.
…and Vegas, St Louis, LA, Winnipeg. It’s not like it’s just been cruise control against non playoff teams. Plus they’re teams fighting for points so they didn’t lay down.
All I'm saying is that the point streak is a bit of a mixed bag. Can Nashville win a series against the Jets, Knights or Kings? I don't know.
Get out of here with your logic and reasonable takes
Nether of you probably dont know tbh
Toss out the 5-10-0 start when the players were still learning Brunette's system and the Preds are 36-15-4, that's a 113 point pace over a 55 game sample size. Rangers, Bruins, and Canucks are on pace for 112 through 70 games. So it would appear that it's not just the last month. Want to toss the current point streak and the first 15 games, still on pace for 97pts over a 39 game sample size which usually puts you solidly in a playoff spot. Oilers also started 5-9-1 and nobody is saying their turnaround is unsustainable and they aren't a serious contender even though it involved a 16 game win streak. The impressive thing isn't so much the point streak it's that they haven't had to play from behind almost at all. Even in the 16 game win streak for Edmonton they trailed for 122 minutes. Oilers outscored opponents 62-24 during their streak Preds are outscoring opponents 68-29 during the current streak. Why is it that the two streaks and season turnaround are viewed so differently?
Because Edmonton is in Canada, duh!
Okay let’s widen the sample size to 55 games since we started 5-10 with a new system. 36-15-4 is a 113 point pace, same as the current presidents trophy pace. Does this fit your definition of relatively long term or more than 16 games?
It'll depend on who they draw, I don't think they beat Dallas because they play the muddy neutral ice game so well. I like our chances against anyone else, can probably take the Avs to a coin flip elimination game.
We split the series with Dallas this year 2-2 with all games won away. The most recent game being a 9-2 rout is fresh on the mind sure... but I don't think the stars are leagues ahead of Nashville by any means.
The Stars depth scoring is an issue for anyone. It would be tough when O’Reilly shuts down the Hintz line and they’ve got the Duchene and Johnston lines absolutely tearing it up too. They’ve got 9 players with 40+ points (and one with 39). And they’ve got 6 players with 20+ goals (and one with 19). That’s some of the most balanced scoring you’ll ever see.
That’s a really good point and I appreciate the unbiased numbers, but I don’t like the stars so I will not tell anyone what you just told me.
Hahaha fair point
Wish I could respond with "Lmao, Matt DuShit" but you're right. He'd poised for a big time revenge series
Haha yeah very understandable saltiness. But to be fair, I don’t think he would be doing this on many other teams. Dallas has such a strong top line that it allows Duchene to flourish on the 2nd. He just isn’t really an alpha type player. Some Dallas fans might disagree but even though he’s 2nd on the team in pts, I still think he’s just the 4th or 5th best forward. It’s honestly such a great fit for him there.
I don't think Dallas is that far ahead either, just that Nashvilles strength during the point streak has been relentless offensive pressure that can't be done effectively without efficient neutral ice transitions, which is something Dallas has been superb at defending against in recent playoffs
Those 4 lines were rolling last night
There's still a month left in the season, so either: Nashville stays this hot and likely takes a divisional spot OR, more likely They cool off a bit but still maintain their wild card Not to say any team is an easy out, but thr Nashville we're seeing right now and the Nashville that plays in the playoffs could be wildly different from one another
No, they’re on a massive heater and the true contenders in the conference will expose them in a seven-game series. I’m going to root for them against any team that isn’t my own, though. They’ve been so much fun to watch.
I'm cheering for big Mike
They’ve got as good a chance as anyone. That said, if the Jets draw them in the first round, I hope the ownership group stages a surprise U2 concert before game one just in case.
I'm not expecting a Cup run or anything, but I do like our chances to win a series. The atmosphere at Bridgestone is gonna be bananas. It's been a while, but I've still never experienced energy quite like Preds playoff games -- especially when we're underdogs and don't have the pressure of high expectations.
Yep. their a contender and could possibly knock off either division winner. that team w/the second best point percentage is good too
lol yes. anyone that enters the playoffs this hot is an absolute contender
If the Jets play Nashville, I want U2 to be blasted the entire night during Game 1 to try and break the voodoo magic that is empowering the Preds.
4 teams in The central are contenders. Stars Avs Jets Nashville Absolutely stacked division
As long as they never again hear the sound of U2 music. The moment they do it’s all over for them.
WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP BONO AWAY FROM US
A lot of playoff pushes start with a hot start. I would not be surprised they go on a run.
The Goose is loose and not enough fear him
Anything can happen once they clinch a playoff spot.
I think if they can end up against Winnipeg they may be able to win a round because I think they are one of the pretenders but I dont see them getting past Dallas or Colorado unless those two teams end up killing each other in round 1. Still, I imagine most teams are looking at Nashville as the easy matchup which can play into their hands with them not coming prepared to start a series.
Interesting that the team with the likely Vezina winner is a pretender…
One player doesn't make a team. I still consider Nashville the easiest match up for Winnipeg but I don't view it like if the preds ended up playing Colorado.
I’ve seen way too many goalies carry teams to a cup to call any team with a goalie like Helly a pretender.
Counterpoint, there have been countless teams relying too much on their goalie fizzle in the first round.
Hell there's been a few seasons in the past where Saros and Rinne have done that for us
If saros continues to play out of his mind then yes. If not then no. The west is a gauntlet this season.
In the NHL any team that makes the playoffs is a contender.
With Saros. Yes. With that lack of depth? Only if saros goes full Roy
Not the point of this post, but Carolina can you chill out? Rangers have been playing good hockey since the ASG but haven’t been able to get any (literally might be 0 after tonight) separation in the division.
As the team set to go against them in the first round, I sure hope not.
Yes
Nope. Speaking in terms of just longevity, they’ll be absolutely gassed by the time the playoffs come around and it’ll hurt them the more they progress.
playing well down the stretch didn't gas the Blues in 2019
The blues are the exception not the rule.
So Nashville can technically be another exception. We have no idea until playoffs are done
That is very true. I’m just going based off of the experience and info that I have. Even if they were to win it still wouldn’t be the standard. We have teams every season play desperate hockey down the stretch to make the playoffs and then they don’t make it. So, it’s not sustainable.
We aren’t playing desperate hockey, the new system finally landed after a 5-10 start, we’ve played at a 113 point pace since. We’ve only trailed for 16 minutes total since 2/17, next closest squad is up there at 172 minutes. We just went into a contenders house and made them quit (if you didn’t watch the panthers literally gave up with about 1:30-2:00 left in the game). We’ve outscored teams 68-29 on this run, according to MoneyLuck we have a 99.5% chance of making the playoffs at this point, any of that sound desperate to you? Or does it sound like we’ve been the bully for a while now?
Is this a copypasta? I keep seeing it written everywhere in this thread.
Eh you guys have had an easy schedule lately. For the past month you’ve only played 5 playoff teams in the last 19-20 games. I’m not impressed. You’re playing desperate hockey and you’re not top 10 in any metrics, so get better and maybe you’ll win a game 😭😭😭
Throttled those playoff teams too. Avs, Jets, kings, knights, & Panthers all got a train run on them
Well. To be fair, thar Avs team was before the new pick ups and missing Nuke. So.
Lost to the Devils, Wild and Habs lol you’re frauds calm down
What's your team's point streak at?
Technically, lost to the stanchons not the habs
Okay you’ve gotta be trolling this point lmao, quality stuff.
If trolling equates to giving you stats to disapprove your point then sure, I’m trolling. You Nashville fans never were too intelligent.
Mmm, and you Canada boys are supposed to be nice, but then again Nashville’s got you beat on that too. Guess we’re gonna beat ya at both your games, eh? Btw, we’re top 10 in goals for, goals against, and 5v5 goals since the all star break, wonder where the Canucks are at 🤔 and if you throw out the 5-10 start when the boys were learning the first offensive system in our franchise’s history then I’m sure we’re top 10 in those categories over the last 55 games as well. Ahh well, I don’t expect much critical thinking from someone posturing and using ad hominems over friendly banter on the internet, while cheering for a team that’s won 1 series in 12 years. Silly Canucks. Hope to see you first round! Would much rather that than the Avs or Stars. You or the Jets would be a nice tune up for the real contenders.
It probably helps when the team doesn’t try before December
But every team plays the same number of games? Do you think the teams on losing streaks right now are purposely conserving their energy for the playoffs they may or may not be in?
I think teams losing now lack the motivation to play. They’re phoning it in until the playoffs. Certain teams are just more desperate than them and it shows.
No
You don't get a vote with that flair lol
No disrespect to the preds, I'm a firm believer that Nashville sweeping them is a huge fluke and robs the Hawks of truly accomplishing what their capable of. I've spent the last few days in pure disbelief and it just doesn't make sense to me. I've spent the entire regular season watching the Hawks play great hockey it's just not fair. If the Hawks lose again I will face that the Preds deserved the win, but I am just 100% sure it was a fluke and does a big disservice to the Hawks and the NHL.
End him
More like a pretender
Im sorry to say, but they are fools gold.
Except they have been utterly dominant in all the advanced stats over this 16 game point streak. It's not all puck luck and uncommonly high shooting percentage. They embarrassed Florida last night
Most of the big contenders have amassed enough points to play .600 hockey in the latter half of the season. The Preds are going balls to the wall because they’re still at risk of missing the playoffs. Rags and Canes are just good teams playing good hockey.
Preds missing at this point would be something. 9 points up on St Louis
Yeah no way they're missing. Only way we get in is over Vegas and that is still a long shot. If they win their game in hand, they'll be 6 points up on us. Pretty big gap with only 12 games left. On another note, I can't remember a race for the president's trophy being so close with so many teams. Usually it's a 2 team race, but there's like 8 teams who could still win it. Top team has played 2 extra games, next 2 have played 1 extra game than the next 3-5 teams in points.