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

[Flgatorguy87]

Honestly I was listening on the radio when it happened but the Predators radio color man went off about it.
It occurred before Weber went after Cooke and the refs missed it even some Wild fans says it happened.

You can see it quite plainly in the Wild GDT. Around page 7 I think.

Spears him and Weber turns to shove him in the chest and Cooke pops him in the face with his stick clinched firmly between his hands.....and that's the last thing Cooke remembers until he feels a tapping on his back as he's lying in the fetal position.

 

[Gnashville]

You can see it quite plainly in the Wild GDT. Around page 7 I think.

Spears him and Weber turns to shove him in the chest and Cooke pops him in the face with his stick clinched firmly between his hands.....and that's the last thing Cooke remembers until he feels a tapping on his back as he's lying in the fetal position.

Kudos to the Wild fans for not defending Cooke.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Kudos to the Wild fans for not defending Cooke.

Yeah you can see it on the Wild broadcast before it happens from a different angle just before it goes out of frame. Cooke got a pretty good spear to Weber's stomach.

 

[Predsrule]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how far Wilson has come this year? Last season we were willing to trade him for a bag of peanuts and it was basically coming down to this season to make the call on bust or not. He's looking like the player he was drafted to be finally and it's a bigger part of the preds current success than people want to admit. Especially in the past few games with neal out.

We do it every year and any player that takes time to grow. hamhuis and Klein were the worst pairing in the nhl, Smith was a bad contract to some 2 years ago.. Ellis was a MAB to be, Wilson was shipped out long ago.. It's our fan base. We like to jump the gun on our players next year is Jones I guess.

 

[Magnus the Duck]

It's not like this was 2-3 months, we're talking about a year, which is a significant amount of time when you're talking about the growth and strength development of a 19/20-year old. He just didn't look physically ready for the NHL game at the beginning of last season, spent a year working on his game in the AHL, and came into this season a stronger and physically more mature player. Surely that's not all that outlandish?

I'm not talking about picking him up from AHL in 2013, I'm talking about 2014. You can find articles where Trotz is still negative about Forsberg late spring 2014.

Yeah you can see it on the Wild broadcast before it happens from a different angle just before it goes out of frame. Cooke got a pretty good spear to Weber's stomach.

To bad ref got in so fast. Would have been nice to see Weber get in more punches to Cooke.

 

[KeepCalmandCorsiOn]

I don't think they'll hold on to first. But they would really have to Leaf the last half of the season to not make playoffs.

 

[FossilFndr]

I don't think they'll hold on to first. .

Want to change your prediction yet? It's 5 weeks later and now up on the whole league by 5 points. This after losing Rinne for several games and Ryan Ellis still on IR.

 

[DieByTheShield]

Nashville is the first team to reach 80 points. Unreal what some good goaltending can do.

Not to discredit the team, but the reason why the Predators sucked last year was because Rinne was out for long periods of time.

 

[penguins2946*]

I'm taking the Predators out of the West, even more convincingly if they add another top-9 forward at the deadline.

 

[Cashville]

May not be Cup favorites still (and fairly so), but this is a very different NSH team than previous iterations; I'm excited. We paid a decent price for Franson / Santo, but they provide some real depth and Franson is talented on the PP which is one of our weak points.

 

[Rodzilla]

Very excited for Nashville, classy org. that I have a lot of respect for. From what I read in here too, great fans. Happy to see them do well, always have a little spot in my heart for them because of Fisher


And seriously, would have been nice to see Weber destroy Cooke. This guy is embarassing, I'd absolutely destroy his 2 knees if I could, what a punk, so dislikeable

 

[AfroThunder396]

I can't see them being stopped as long as Rinne keeps playing the way he is. He was well on his way to a Hart trophy before the injury and may still have a shot at it.

 

[rynryn]

didnt' see it coming at all, but TBH despite the Suter-inspired sour grapes I'm really kind of happy for their success. I mean, outside of the fact that it means the Wild are less successful.

They have excellent goaltending but a very solid if not spectacular team of skaters in front of it. If only the Wild had Doobs the whole year. Sigh.

 

[fsanford]

There is regular season hockey and then there is playoff hockey. Until the King's or Hawks don't make it or are eliminated by someone else than each other, still have to go with them. That said I do think Preds are better equipped for the playoffs given their great goal tending and strong d.

 

[tntkid]

Nashville without Rinne misses the playoffs year after year.

 

[Soundgarden]

Nashville without Rinne misses the playoffs year after year.

Any team without their Mvp or starting goaltender doesn't make the playoffs.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

They just don't lose.

The Blues went 12-0-1 for the majority of January. They gained 3 points on NSH. Then after a 2.game skid the Blues were back to where they were before the streak.

How do you beat a team in a 7 game series that refuses to lose more than 1 game at a time?

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Not a lot of experience on the backend though

I think they'll bow out in the second round but they are definitely on the right track to become a contender

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Really impressive team and no real weaknesses. I'd say they're the clear favorite for the cup right now. Teams like LA, Chicago, and Boston don't look quite as good as they have in the past.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Predators were always my #2 team. Love seeing this

Would love to see a Nashville//Carolina winter classic at Neyland or something

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I think we'll see Anaheim/Nashville in the western conference finals. Both teams are stacked.

 

[Sikhander]

I think we'll see Anaheim/Nashville in the western conference finals. Both teams are stacked.

Seems likely. And I totally agree with the word stacked. That is what I see in Nashville - they have all the ingredients of a team that can go very very far.

 

[Osprey]

Nashville is the first team to reach 80 points. Unreal what some good goaltending can do.

Not to discredit the team, but the reason why the Predators sucked last year was because Rinne was out for long periods of time.

There is so much more to it than that. This is not the same team plus Rinne. He's great, but he's not that great. They would not be where they are without Forsberg and Ribeiro, either, and probably not without the coaching change, which has helped get more out of nearly every other player. Nashville is in first due to a whole lot going right throughout the lineup, not just in net. That's the only way to get to the top and stay there as long as the Preds have.

 

[ozzie]

Can we please give Weber some credit? He is playing up to his usual Norris contending standards, which is normal for him. But he is so good, so consistent, people just accept it as the norm.

Weber is amazing, night in and night out and needs to be appreciated. If he keeps up his second half pace, he might just win that elusive Norris. Either way is amazing and a great leader.

Looking forward to see the fans of Nashville in the playoffs, always a good crowd there.

 

[Eagle Eye Cherry]

With their recent trade, I'd say the predators can make a serious run in the playoffs. Anything less than a 2nd round appearance would be a massive disappointment. It's either 2nd round or better for the preds.

I'm not even a preds fan but if they crash out in the first round. I would actually feel kinda sorry for their fanbase. You guys deserve a deep run after all these years.