Many hands guide Predators to first Final
Rinne, defense play key roles
The Nashville Predators have plowed through three opponents, winning 12 of 16 games, to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the franchise was founded in 1998.
Their three series wins this postseason match the total number of series wins the Predators had in their first 18 years.
Here are the people most responsible for this impressive run.
1. Goalie Pekka Rinne: With a 1.70 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, Rinne is the leading candidate to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Even though Monday’s seriesclinching 6-3 win against Anaheim seems lopsided, it was Rinne who carried the Predators to the triumph with several key saves. The Predators were outshot 41-16 and were outplayed for much of the game. Even coach Peter Laviolette said it wasn’t the team’s prettiest game.
But Rinne was the difference, as he has been throughout the playoffs.
2. General manager David Poile: The only GM in franchise history, he acquired everyone on this roster. That includes last summer’s bold trade for P.K. Subban, whose skating style fits perfectly with how the Predators want to play.
Poile’s acquisition of Filip Forsberg, the team’s leading playoff scorer, from the Washington Capitals in 2013 has to rank among his best trades.
Poile made another daring deal last season when he acquired Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones. Johansen was the team’s No. 1 center in these playoffs before he went down with injury.
3. Coach Peter Laviolette: His résumé speaks to how valuable he is behind the bench. He’s the fourth coach in history to reach the Stanley Cup Final with at least three teams (Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville).
Dick Irvin (Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens), Scotty Bowman (St. Louis Blues, Montreal, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings) and Mike Keenan (Philadelphia, Chicago and New York Rangers) are the others.
Laviolette plays an up-tempo style that seems like a perfect fit for the modern NHL. He demands defensive accountability while giving his players enough offensive freedom to drive the pace. He likes defensemen to engage with the forwards in the offensive attack.
Poile has given Laviolette players who can do that.
4. Top four defensemen: It’s difficult to discern which Predators defenseman has been most valuable in the playoffs. Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm and Subban all play roughly the same number of minutes and each is critical to the team’s success.
Ekholm receives less notice than the other three, but at 6-4, he’s the biggest of the four and he leads the defense in plus-minus (+10) in the playoffs.
The Predators, especially with Johansen and Kevin Fiala out with injuries, are not a dominant offensive team up front, but these four defensemen make the forwards more dangerous because of their smooth puckhandling.
Josi, Ellis and Subban are three of Nashville’s top six point producers.
5. The seventh man: Maybe it started as a marketing gimmick, but it’s now an important factor in the Predators’ success.
Bridgestone Arena is among the league’s loudest buildings. You can’t hear the person next to you speak when fans are standing and cheering.
The Predators feed off the noise and the crowd’s energy. That’s evident by their 7-1 record at home. The combined home record of every other playoff team is below .500.