So... Nashville is 1st in the NHL...

[Dbrownss]

I would guess that a team that leads the league in 5 on 5 play with near the league bottom special teams play would have an advantage in the playoffs. When the whistles get swallowed, special teams play becomes less important.

I disagree, special teams are very important in the POs. A PK or PP can be the difference

 

[MoPucks]

They have great D & great goaltending. Seem to be scoring more than previous preds teams. They would have been a playoff team last year (likely) had Rinne not gotten hurt.

To me the only question mark is can they really win in the playoffs with Ribeiro as their #1 center? Personally I don't think so. If they add someone at the deadline, watch out.

 

[MNRube]

Can't be too surprised that Nashville is back in the playoff hunt. I'm surpassed they are among the best teams in the league so far. I don't think it is sustainable, but I don't think they will drop off too far. The forwards are better than we thought they'd be. Rinne is playing world class hockey. I think the Preds finish 3rd in Central as the Hawks as Blues eventually pass them. But they are here to stay. A sound roster with a top 5 goalie and blueline.

 

[Drake744]

NHL.com has the Preds at #6 in the power rankings (for some reason), so clearly the decline is underway.

 

[Cashville]

Fun stat that aired on the broadcast last night against DAL: Nashville has won 27 games and Rinne has been the goaltender for every single one of them.

NSH Record with Rinne: 27 W / 6 L / 2 OTL
NSH Record without Rinne: 0 W / 3 L / 2 OTL

Combined with what happened when he missed ~52 games last year, this is why I think Rinne deserves the Hart this year.

 

[HOLDITHERE*]

Well it looks like half of your prediction might come true (hint it's the Western conference team in your guess).

Yeah. We all know that no Eastern team would ever make the Finals.

 

[Maelmoor]

Has Riberio played as well as his numbers indicates? I remember a lot of people telling him would be of no good when you signed him!

 

[triggrman]

Has Riberio played as well as his numbers indicates? I remember a lot of people telling him would be of no good when you signed him!

Yes, especially late.

Early it looked like he was riding the FF9 train. Now, it's flipped a little.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

Ribs is a great playmaker but it's amazing how little he shoots. He gets goals on fast breaks or rebounds but his shot is solid he just never uses it.

Wish he would shoot a little more.

 

[Osprey]

They still haven't lost consecutive games this season. Based on that, I think that it can last the rest of the season. Well, by "it," I don't mean 1st in the NHL, which they probably won't keep, but near the top (say, in the top 6) is entirely possible. It's really hard to imagine a team with this much consistency totally going off of the rails and plummeting in the standings.

The real question is whether it'll carry over into the playoffs, when everything changes. Sometimes, the hottest, most consistent teams during the regular season stumble when the playoffs start (ex. Canucks and Blues in recent years).

BTW, it's not just on the backs of Weber, Rinne and Forsberg/Ribeiro/Neal. They're leading the team, but many others have picked up their games. Guys like Wilson, Josi and Ellis are having career years and the team wouldn't be quite as good as it is without it. Star players can put teams on their backs for a month, but it takes contributions throughout the lineup to stay so hot and consistent through half of a season.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Barring injuries they're for real. Solid, solid team

 

[Osprey]

The Preds success really should not be that surprising. Last year's team was not nearly as bad as it seemed. Pekka missed 53 games and the Preds missed the playoffs by 3 points. The young D and forwards have all improved, Forsberg is having a breakout rookie campaign, and a couple of the offseason acquisitions (Neal and Ribs) have payed off.

The biggest difference this year is Lavy's system. The Preds have been built from the goal out. Playing an ultra-aggressive offensive game plays to this strength since they have the goalie and D to cover for the mistakes that will occur. They also have some very good offensive D-men that can handle the puck well.

Well, certainly, the success isn't surprising when, after the fact, you list all of the reasons for it . You can't tell me, though, that you expected Forsberg to have a breakout rookie campaign like this or for acquisitions like Ribeiro to pay off as well as they did. Even the improvement of the "young D and forwards" isn't something that you can just take for granted, as, a lot of times, they stay the same or take steps backward.

As you said, the biggest difference is Laviolette, but the impacts of coaching changes are very hard to predict. New coaches can make a world of difference or, seemingly, no difference at all. It's safe to say that the vast majority of us thought that Laviolette would have a positive impact on the team, but I highly doubt that anyone predicted that he'd be a serious Jack Adams contender just halfway through the season.

What the Preds have done so far has been simply unexpected. If any fans seriously expected or predicted this in the off-season or pre-season, then it was almost certainly due more to wishful thinking than educated prediction.

 

[KCC]

The team has has solid defense and goaltending for some years now. Offense has always been a problem with them, but they seem to be scoring enough this year. Surprised they're at the top, but not surprised if they drop as I easily had them in the playoffs this year anyways. Hope they do some damage when the time comes.

 

[chaos4]

Peter Laviolette...I like that guy.

 

[Lacaar]

They're like the antithesis of Edmonton.

 

[jwhouk]

They're like the antithesis of Edmonton.

Which is probably why the fans in Edmonton keep coming onto our boards and plying trade scenarios.

 

[BigFatCat999]

When the Preds signed Mike Ribeiro I had them peg for the WCF, but I had them sneaking into the playoffs and riding a hot Rinne. They are winning games I had projected as losses. They are pulling wins out of the jaws of defeat. Also the defense is just solid

 

[HisIceness]

Laviolette is bawse.

 

[Mypetrobot]

I don't see 100pt season in three years with the current roster.
Ribs is old and not signed. Forsberg is still an unknown. Aging Rinne. PL's message will be stale, but..... We shall see.

 

[Soundgarden]

Laviolette is bawse.

ADRIAN!!!!

I don't see 100pt season in three years with the current roster.
Ribs is old and not signed. Forsberg is still an unknown. Aging Rinne. PL's message will be stale, but..... We shall see.

Most of our core is 25 and under, Weber will still be in his prime, and even though Rinne might not be at his peak he still has a few good to great seasons left in him. It's also hard to call Forsberg an unknown when he's just been dominate for the majority of the year, I can pretty much count the games where he wasn't our best forward on one hand. He's made it.

 

[777]

This season pretty much confirms that Trotz had worn out his welcome.

Very good coach but they needed at least a partial shift towards the offensive side of the game to really contend for a cup.

I don't think that's fair for a number of reasons:
1. Rinne was injured last season.
2. Adding Neal + Riberio + Forsberg to the top 6 is a HUGE improvement. Name another team that added that much quality to their top 6 during the offseason
3. Their youth. Jones, Ellis, Wilson, Smith, Ekholm, Jarnkrok are all trending up.

The coaching change has obviously worked out well, but I think Trotz could have gotten a lot out of this roster. This isn't a fluke, the Preds have a VERY good roster with some great youth and have gotten markedly better since last year.

I don't think they're the best team in the league. They aren't going to be favored against Chitown or the Kings, but this is a team that should be contending in the West for a while.

The Isles had a similar offseason adding Halak, Boychuk, Leddy, Grabovski and Kulemin for very little and unsurprisingly they're much improved.

 

[CMDEADLY]

I don't think that's fair for a number of reasons:
1. Rinne was injured last season.
2. Adding Neal + Riberio + Forsberg to the top 6 is a HUGE improvement. Name another team that added that much quality to their top 6 during the offseason
3. Their youth. Jones, Ellis, Wilson, Smith, Ekholm, Jarnkrok are all trending up.

The coaching change has obviously worked out well, but I think Trotz could have gotten a lot out of this roster. This isn't a fluke, the Preds have a VERY good roster with some great youth and have gotten markedly better since last year.

I don't think they're the best team in the league. They aren't going to be favored against Chitown or the Kings, but this is a team that should be contending in the West for a while.

The Isles had a similar offseason adding Halak, Boychuk, Leddy, Grabovski and Kulemin for very little and unsurprisingly they're much improved.

Trotz had worn out his welcome though, great coach, but he didn't take risk with Rookies, Forsberg would be relegated to 3rd or 4th line all year with Trotz here.

 

[777]

Trotz had worn out his welcome though, great coach, but he didn't take risk with Rookies, Forsberg would be relegated to 3rd or 4th line all year with Trotz here.

15 years as a coach is a very long time in this day and age. But I do think he is one of the better coaches in the league. You're both probably right that it was time for him to go, I guess my point was the roster (not the coaching change) is a much, much bigger reason for the team's improvement.

You could also argue his development of a lot of these players is a huge reason for the Pred's recent success. I'd love Trotz on my team and think his offensive side gets underrated around here

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Pekka Rinne. Do I have to say more? Of course the whole team has played really well ala Forsberg, but the main key is Rinne. He is just something else...

 

[habsolutle]

well top 3 goalie in the league..the best duo in weber and josi and a great balanced offense. its possible