Historical Moments:
1998/99: The idea of hockey in Nashville first got wide attention in 1995 when the New Jersey
Devils were threatening to move to Music City, while trying to get renovations
to their arena in the Meadowlands. However, after the Devils won the Stanley
Cup that season it was clear the state of New Jersey was going to keep their
team. However, the NHL would be coming to Nashville as they city was awarded an
expansion team, as the NHL began a 4-team expansion in 3 seasons n 1998. The team,
which would be called Predators, played their first game on October 10th losing
to the Florida Panthers 1-0 before a sold out crowd of 17,298 at the Nashville
Arena. The Preds would get their first win 3 days later as they beat the
Carolina Hurricanes 3-2, with Andre Brunette northing the first goal in Predators
history. The Predators would go on to complete their first season by finishing
in last place in the Central Division with a record of 28-47-7.
1999/00: In their second season the Predators would show flashes of brilliance as they ran
off an impressive 8-game unbeaten streak between December 18th and January 1st.
However, they would still not challenge for a playoff spot as they finished in
last place with a 28-47-7-7 record, as Cliff Ronning led the team in scoring
with 26 goals and 36 assists.
2000/01: The Predators started the season in the land of the rising sun splitting a 2-game
series with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Tokyo. When the Predators returned to the
states they rolled a 4-game unbeaten streak including a win over the Detroit
Red Wings on the road in overtime on a goal by Cliff Ronning. The Predators would
play solid hockey at times with several stirring comebacks and dramatic wins
in overtime including on December 23rd in New York when David Legwand recorded
the first overtime penalty shot goal in a 3-2 win over the Rangers. However,
the Predators would be a non-factor in the playoff race again finishing in 3rd
place with a record of 34-34-9-3.
2001/02: The Predators would continue to play inconsistent hockey running off an 11-game unbeaten
streak at the Gaylord Entertainment in November and December, but falling
short of the playoffs again as they finish in 4th place with a record of 28-41-13-0,
as the Predators struggled to score goals with only 1 player Denis Arkhipov
scoring 20 goals.
2002/03: The Predators would stumble out of the gates posting an awful record of 2-10-4-4
in the first 20 games. In a move to shake the team up Goalie Mike Dunham is traded
to the New York Rangers for Rem Murray and Tomas Kloucek, as Thomas Vokun is
established as the number goaltender after backing up Dunham for 4 years. The
move would pay off as Vokun posted a solid 2.20 GAA as the Predators climbed back
into the playoff race by posting a record of 25-15-5-1 between November 27th
and March 7th. However, the Predators would not win another game in the final
4 games as they went winless in their final 15 games to finish in 4th place with
a record of 27-35-13-7, as the Predators continued to fail to find the first
player to score 30 goals in a single season.
2003/04: The Predators would get off to a solid start and found themselves in the playoff
chase for the first time in franchise history as they held a 16-14-4-2 record at
the end of December. In January the Predators would make their move posting a
9-3-2-0 record. After struggling through the first half of February the Preds
began to look to improving their team acquiring Steve Sullivan from the Chicago
Blackhawks. Sullivan would have an immediate impact scoring a hat trick in his
first game against the San Jose Sharks on February 18th, as he recorded 10 points
in his first 3 games with Nashville. The Predators also would acquire Brad
Bombardir and Sergei Zholtok from the Minnesota Wild. The added strength would
help as the Predators made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history
with a record of 38-29-11-4. In the playoffs the Predators were matched up against
the President Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings. After losing the first two
games on the road Music City got its first taste of playoff hockey as Thomas Vokun
stopped 41 of 42 shots in a 3-1 win. In Game 4 Vokun was even better stopping
all 41 shots as the Preds evened the series with a 3-0 win. However, as the
series shifted back to Detroit the playoff tested Red Wings regained control with
a 4-1 win. Hoping to force a 7th game season came to an end in Game 6 at home
as they were held to just 15 shots in a 2-0 loss.
2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out
2005/06: Coming out of the Lock Out the Predators were looking stronger then ever as they
added a genuine star in Paul Kariya. Kariya would be just as good as expected leading
the team in points at 85. The Predators would come out of the gate smoking
as they won their first eight games, winning by just 1-goal in their first four
games setting a NHL record. With the continued emergence of Thomas Vokun in
goal the Predators were solid well rounded team all season as they were one of
the top teams in the Western Conference all season as they finished in second
place with a solid 49-25-8 record, topping the 100-point mark for the first time
in franchise history. Down the stretch the Predators would hit a bump in the
road as Goalie was diagnosed with thrombophlebitis of the pelvis, a blood-clotting
condition. While backup Chris Mason allowed the Predators to finish the regular
season strong, the loss of Vokun would catch up with them in the playoffs.
The Predators would capture Game 1 of their first round series against the San
Jose Sharks, but that would be it as the Sharks ripped the Predators in the next
four games to win the series in five games.
2006/07: After their strong but unrewarding season, the Predators looked to improve by signing
free agent Jason Arnott, while the Predators stumbled briefly out of the gate
by losing their first three games; they quickly found their stride winning
nine of their next ten games, as they battled the Detroit Red Wings, once again
for the Central Division. Despite the success on the ice the Predators continued
to struggle at the box office, as they team still losing money was put up for
sale. Despite a possible ownership change the Predators played strong hockey
all season, adding Peter Forsberg an experienced playoff winner in a trade with
the Philadelphia Flyers. With a 51-23-8 record the Predators would post the second
best record in the Western Conference setting an all-time franchise record
with 110 points. However, they would have to settle for second again as the Red
Wings finished with 113 points. In the first round the Predators were matched
up against the San Jose Sharks again losing the opener 5-4 in double overtime.
The Preds would quickly recover winning the next game 5-2 to even the series.
However, in San Jose the Predators would struggle losing both games, as they found
themselves in a 3-1 hole again. Even returning home would not help them dig
out as they lost in five games for the second straight year. The offseason would
be a turbulent one for the Predators as rumors of a move to Hamilton plagued
a potential deal with Jim Balsillie. Meanwhile another ownership group interested
in moving the team to Kansas City also made inquires to buy the team from Craig
Leipold, who has expressed his desire that team remain in Nashville.
2007/08: As rumors of the Predators moving hung around Nashville all season, the Predators
who a season earlier had considered themselves Stanley Cup contenders began the
season with a roster that was missing several key players, as the team was forced
to cut payroll, as the team was up for sale. Among the players the Predators
lost were Goalie Tomas Vokun, Captain Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya,
and Peter Forsberg. With lowered expectations the Predators got off to a
rough start losing six of their first eight games. However, the Predators would
not go down without a fight as they continued to remain competitive as they entered
the New Year with a record of 18-18-2. With Dan Ellis taking over the goaltending
duties the Predators stayed in playoff contention all season. Down the
stretch Martin Erat played the role of hero scoring a hat trick in a key 5-1 victory
over the Edmonton Oilers on March 4th. Ellis meanwhile had back to back
shutouts in late March over the Columbus Blue Jackets, which helped the Predators
sneak into the playoffs with the eighth seed, as they posted a record of 41-32-9.
In the playoffs the Predators faced the Detroit Red Wings, who had the best
record overall in the NHL. After losing the first two games on the road, the
Predators over came an early 2-0 deficit for a 5-3 win in Game 3, powered by three
unanswered goals in the final four minutes. The Preds would even the series
with a 3-2 win in Game 4, as Dan Ellis stopped 39 of 41 shots. As the series
shifted back to Detroit, the Predators continued to give the Wings a fight, as
Dan Ellis kept them in the game stopping 52 of 53 shots as they game went to overtime
tied 1-1. However, in OT Ellis would not be able to stop a shot by Johan
Frazen who scored 1:48 into overtime. That would take the steam out of the Predators
as they would end up losing Game 6 at home 3-0. The Wings who won the series
in six games would go on to win the Stanley Cup. |
