Record Breakers:
When the Predators lost two consecutive games in regulation in the middle of February - a rare occurrence under head coach Peter Laviolette - those in the locker room realized their play could be better.
All they've done since then is rattle off nine consecutive wins to set a franchise record and collect 18 points in the standings, enough to give them not only a six-point lead over Winnipeg in the Central Division, but also a six-point point cushion over Vegas and those same Jets to pace the Western Conference.
Hockey players typically live day to day, not necessarily looking too far back into the past or thinking too far ahead into the future. But they knew about their streak, a chance to make their mark in the club record books - and they did just that.
"We talk about everything in there," Laviolette said. "We talk about a division [title], a conference [title], the regular season, Fisher coming back, putting your name on something. Those are all great opportunities for our club to fight for something, and I thought they did. I thought as the game went on and it was 0-0, I thought we fought to get that goal, and then I thought we fought really hard to keep it there."
Whether they've had to win by closing out a tight game or coming from behind, blowing out an opponent or prevailing in fairytale fashion, the Predators continue to find themselves on the right side of the ledger. And right now, that's all that matters.
"As a bigger picture, I think the last 30 games or something our stats are pretty remarkable," Rinne said. "It's fun right now with nine wins in a row. We're feeling good. The team is healthy, and we're clicking really well. It's so much fun."
"I've played with some good teams, but this one feels really special," Fisher said. "There's no question. We're doing all we can do to finish on top and play really, really well down the stretch here, and play as well as we can going into the playoffs."