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
February 28th, 1-3 loss vs the Pittsburg Penguins
March 2nd, 2-1 win at the Florida Panthers
March 4th, 3-1 win at the Chicago Blackhawks
The Predators weren’t done making moves after last week’s recap, and luckily the Preds were nice enough to put out a little recap video for everyone.
The Preds front office has had a busy week, to say the least.
We recap the trade deadline ↓ pic.twitter.com/1lzDC07msI
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 4, 2023
Saying goodbye to players who have been around what seems like forever – with Ekholm and others that have provided great memories like Granlund’s late-game heroics and Tanner Jeannot’s fearlessness and willingness to take up for his teammates – is never easy but this team is better for it with the amount of return in draft capital that David Poile was able to bring. The Predators will have a chance to capitalize on that return in Smashville as the 2023 NHL Draft will be held in Music City.
For now, the Preds still have a season to play out and figure out just what they have with this new core of players.
Any time the Penguins and Sidney Crosby come to town there’s a little extra behind that game (I don’t have to remind anyone how the 2017 run ended). The fight and hustle from this Predators team was a welcome sight but some fluky goals ended up being the difference for Pittsburg after Granlund missed two 1 on 0 opportunities before subsequently being traded to the Penguins.
That fight and hustle paid off in Florida as Nashville was able to get a win in a game where the Preds overcame some mistakes by this new younger group and get a close win on the road. Lankinen started in goal for Nashville, had a great outing, and was extended for another year.
What was once a heated rivalry between two of the top teams in the Central is now a contest between two teams looking to rebuild and find new identities. Chicago sent Patrick Kane to the Rangers and Nashville had a flurry of trade deadline moves of their own enlisting a group of call-ups from Milwaukee. Nashville was able to grind out another road win with a great game from newcomer Tyson Barrie. Here’s a trivia answer for you: Former Predator, Seth Jones, who was traded away in 2016 for Ryan Johansen, scored his first-ever goal against the Predators.
This Week
March 6th, at 9:30 at the Vancouver Canucks (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
March 9th, at 8:00 at the Arizona Coyotes (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
March 11th, at 9:30 at the LA Kings (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
March 12th, at 8:30 at the Anaheim Ducks (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
It should be a lot of fun moving forward to follow this team as they come together as a new group and see what Nashville has in these young guys with reinforcements coming in a big way at the draft. This is the perfect time to do so as Nashville is two games into a six-game road trip.
The Predators are now 31-23-6 with 68 points. That is 5th in the Central Division, 9th in the Western Conference, and 17th in the NHL.
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