Preds March Proud
By Buddy Oakes
The Nashville Predators have ended one of the most successful months in franchise history. Now the team moves into April, which will feature fewer games and a chance to exorcise an old demon by making it to the second round of the playoffs.March was indeed a great month.
After Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Kings, Barry Trotz said, "We've played 17 games, the most of any team in the league this month. We're 11-5-1 now and if you had told me that in February, I'd say let's go to April now."
Every year, before the season starts, teams wonders how the squad will come together and what it will look once they actually hit the ice. What we saw in March, as a whole, should be pleasing to Predator staff and fans alike.
After five months of ups and downs, the true character of this year's team finally came together.
Some positives during March, after the return from the Olympic break, include
- The return of Pekka Rinne's dominance in goal, with him winning three star honors two weeks in a row.
- The emergence of Colin Wilson as a dependable every day player who appears ready to stay in the NHL.
- Positive additions to the team in Dustin Boyd and Denis Grebeshkov, even though the latter has been sidelined with a freak injury.
- Patric Hornqvist becoming the fourth Predator to hit the 30-goal mark.
- David Poile's gamble to keep Dan Ellis and Dan Hamhuis paying dividends.
- Playing 17 games in a month and going 11-5-1.
- Off the ice, attendance goals were met.
Of course, things weren't perfect during the month as the following list will bare out:
- The return of Jason Arnott's reoccurring head injury and injuries to Marty Erat, Joel Ward, Denis Grebeshkov, and others.
- A downturn in the Preds' ability to score, especially as the month wound down.
- Inconsistent play on special teams with a yin-yang thing going on between the power play and the penalty kill... each having good runs and dry spells at opposite times.
- A trend of third period defensive lapses, including giving up two goals in three of the last four games and a complete melt down in San Jose where the Preds gave up six goals.
- A few games where the team failed to show up including games in Detroit and at a Sunday home game with the Canucks.
- Bad quality of ice at the Bridgestone Arena as the weather has warmed.
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