On at least a few occasions this season, the Predators had what they considered to be a statement win. But in their next outing? Less than an ideal result.
So, when Nashville defeated the NHL’s top team, the Colorado Avalanche, in a shootout on Tuesday night, they viewed Thursday’s tilt against St. Louis as a chance to find the consistency they’ve been searching for.
Mission accomplished.
All the Preds did was score seven goals - four of them off the stick of Steven Stamkos - en route to a 7-2 victory over their division rival to give Nashville victories in six of their last eight.
And while Head Coach Andrew Brunette cautioned Thursday’s triumph wasn’t a perfect win - and the Preds aren’t a perfect team - a showing like that at a moment in time where they’re simply trying to collect as many points as possible in the standings wasn’t a bad thing, either.
“There's games we talked about when you play a team like Colorado, where you want to win every game, and you play a good team and you win,” Stamkos said Thursday. “And then there's games where we're at home, we're playing a team that is in a similar situation as us, where they're clawing for points and they want to win. These are the games, especially at home, that you need to win if you want to make up ground. And [Thursday’s game] was the effort that we needed.”
“I think we were prepared,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “We knew coming in that, obviously, we found a way to a good win against Colorado, but we haven't been really consistent. That was a big focus for us coming out, and having that energy, having that jump, and getting to our game…it's a good win. [We] feel good about this, but turn the page and prepare for Colorado. It's going to be a tough test going into there. So, our focus has to go there.”
Indeed, the Predators will now face these same two teams - Colorado on Saturday, St. Louis on Monday - away from home, and the opponents are sure to be irked considering the most recent result they both received from their divisional rival.
And while the challenge in the next two will be notable, especially at Ball Arena in Denver to start, the Preds have reason to feel better about their game than they did less than a month ago.
Consider wins over Detroit, Chicago, Calgary, Florida, Colorado and St. Louis in the last three weeks to match Nashville’s total through the first seven weeks to start the campaign. While every game is different, there are still commonalities as to why the Preds have found success as of late.
“I think it's that resilience and finding a way to play a full 60 [minutes],” Preds winger Luke Evangelista said. “There’s going to be periods in the game, a couple shifts, where maybe you lose that momentum, and we’ve got to find a way to grab that back. I think lately, we've done a really good job of that, and just playing until the very end. You look at a game like Colorado, for example, where you kind of think you have it in the bag, and they score with eight seconds left. We’ve got to lock in and find a way to get two points. And we did, and it's just that resilience. I feel like it's paying off for us right now.”
“[We were] going through that rough stretch and not winning…and it wasn't fun coming to the rink,” O’Reilly said. “Like, everyone’s heavy, you're kind of exhausted, and when you win, you can feel how much that changes. I know for myself, you feel a lot lighter out there. You seem like bounces start to go your way. It's fun to come to the rink. Winning’s fun. Winning cures everything, and [we're] doing a lot of good things. We have to follow that up.”
Brunette and a number of his players have also mentioned “winning the week” as of late. The mindset may seem simple - win more games over the course of a week than lose - but considering Nashville’s spot as of Friday afternoon, that simplicity is an ideal way to view the situation.
“It is important,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said of the viewpoint. “I think right now, we’re playing three to four games a week. I think winning the week is definitely a good mindset. A lot of times, it's three games, two or three [to win], and obviously we've won the first two. Now, we've got a big game against the best team, probably in toughest building this year, in Colorado. It'll be another great test, but definitely a good start this week.”
The Predators have six games remaining until the Christmas break, which will be a welcomed reprieve in a season that has seen a compact and grueling schedule refuse to let up.
But in the meantime, they have an opportunity to be in a much different spot when the holidays arrive that they might have envisioned last month.
Yes, the Preds found that consistency they’ve been searching for on Thursday night. As the bench boss stated - that’s a good thing, but there’s still work to be done.
And at this time of the year? Oh, what fun.
“I think we're believing,” Brunette said following Thursday’s win. “I think the path hasn't been easy. We've gone through some stuff together, and we’re hung in there… Everybody’s all in. We've never been tighter, and we haven't deviated from our game plan. And it's nice for our group. [I’ve] been saying this all year that, through the process we've been in, the result was there, and it hasn't always been there. And I give the group credit. They’ve stayed with it, and now they’ve reaped a little bit of the benefit of their hard work. Now, can we be consistent with it?”
