Fisher feeling as good as could be hoped during Predators comeback

As Mike Fisher contemplated a comeback with the Nashville Predators, he envisioned a future filled with wheezing, throbbing muscles and aching bones.
It was a realistic outlook for a 37-year-old forward who didn't have a training camp and barely had skated in months. Not only would his lungs, heart and legs be tested, so would his resolve.

So far, so good.
"To be honest with you, I feel great, probably as good as I could have hoped for," Fisher said after scoring his second goal of the season in the Predators' 4-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. "I really do. I feel better than I thought I would, at least in the early going."
Fisher had expected there would be weeks of pain ahead when he announced Jan. 31 he would be coming out of retirement to return to the Predators. He began practicing Feb. 12.
"The first two weeks were real hard, skating, trying to get in shape, just because I hadn't skated," he said. "But it's come back to me. And the way I feel now, well, I probably couldn't ask for anything more."
The Predators have been cautious in their handling of Fisher, opting not to play him in both ends of back-to-back games. Their depth at center with Ryan Johansen, Nick Bonino and Kyle Turris has allowed coach Peter Laviolette to bring Fisher along slowly.
Fisher made his 2017-18 debut against the Vancouver Canucks on March 2, and scored a goal in a 4-3 victory. He has two goals in seven games and is averaging 12:23 of ice time.

"He looks good to me," Laviolette said. "He's strong. He's not coming to the bench gassed and looking like he can't play. He's not coming in the next day sore because he wasn't doing anything or because he hadn't been preparing for the season."
To Laviolette's point: After the Predators returned to Nashville from Buffalo early Wednesday morning, Fisher did not spend the remainder of the day nursing aches and pains.
Instead he went fishing with his son Isaiah, 3.
Instagram from @mfisher1212: Day off= fishing with Izzy! Little man got this one with his first cast today and reeled it in himself. #prouddad
"Day off= fishing with Izzy! Little man got this one with his first cast today and reeled it in himself. #prouddad," Fisher captioned the Instagram photo of father and son, both wearing huge smiles in honor of Isaiah's catch.
If you get the impression that Fisher is in a good place in his life these days, you'd be right. Of course, even he admits he never thought he'd be in this situation.
Fisher announced his retirement Aug. 3, two months after Nashville lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final. He'd just completed his 17th NHL season, and had 585 points (276 goals, 309 assists) in 1,088 games with the Ottawa Senators and Predators.
He became a stay-at-home dad, enjoying life with his wife, country music star Carrie Underwood, and Isaiah. There were plenty of fishing trips on the lake and hunting shows to keep him occupied.
All the while, he watched his buddies on the Predators play with an intense focus to get back to the Final and win it this time.
"You could tell how hungry they were," Fisher said.
He wasn't surprised at how driven his teammates were. He'd been their captain in 2016-17 and had 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 72 regular-season games. He had four assists in the six-game Cup Final loss against the Penguins.
"After I retired, I was done," Fisher said. "At least that's what I thought at the time."

Laviolette and general manager David Poile thought differently. They approached Fisher midway through the season, selling him on the notion that he had unfinished business.
When he thought about how excruciatingly close the Predators had come to winning the Cup, he agreed he wanted another shot.
"I knew the potential of our team and how good they were," he said. "I know all the guys and love the team. The fact that I wanted to be back, it was kind of a perfect fit.
"I didn't think it would happen when I did retire. When the possibility came about, I just couldn't turn it down."
The Predators are 6-0-1 with Fisher in the lineup, and can extend their team-record point streak to 16 games when they play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-TN, SNO, NHL.TV).
The Fisher-led win against the Sabres has the Predators 14-0-1 in their past 15. They have an eight-point lead on the second place Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division and have clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Toronto is in third place in the Atlantic Division, six points behind the second-place Boston Bruins and 12 points ahead of the fourth-place Florida Panthers.
"They're a great team," Fisher said. "They're young, they're fast, they're strong, they play hard. It's going to be a good game. They're one of those teams that's battling and have really improved.
"We have to be ready for them."
Laviolette knows Fisher will be ready.
"To me, the process we put him through was the right process, one of patience," he said. "I think our record afforded us the luxury of being patient with him. His conditioning, his strength … The staff did a great job with him.
"Every time he's on the ice he looks stronger and stronger to me."