NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators didn’t get a chance to see U2 perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas as they planned.
They’ve enjoyed plenty of beautiful days since.
The Predators are on the longest point streak this NHL season, 16-0-2 in their past 18 games, since general manager Barry Trotz canceled the concert plan following a pair of bad home losses in mid-February. This stretch has shored up Nashville’s playoff positioning after looking to be on the bubble for several months.
“Obviously, it’s a crazy streak and there’s a lot of good luck in there, too, but we’ve done a great job earning it,” center Ryan O’Reilly said. “When things haven’t gone well, we have stuck with the program, have relied on each other and we’ve had different guys step up at different times all through this run.”
Their latest trick was erasing a three-goal deficit at the second intermission and winning in overtime Tuesday night, fittingly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, who play down the Strip from the Sphere.
“We never stop,” forward Gustav Nyquist said. “This team never stops. We believe in ourselves.”
That belief is easy to justify given Nashville has scored more than four goals a game and allowed fewer than two since this run began. The power play is clicking at 24% and the penalty kill over 84%.
“Our confidence is high,” said winger Filip Forsberg, who leads the team with 40 goals. “We keep working, keep wearing teams down.”
At the forefront of that process is captain Roman Josi, who scored the overtime winner against Vegas — his 24th point over the past 18 games — and is generating some Hart Trophy buzz as league MVP. Forsberg said Josi should be considered for that and the Norris as the top defenseman.
Coach Andrew Brunette said the game Tuesday was another reminder that the Predators shouldn’t take Josi for granted.
“We kind of get spoiled with him,” Brunette said. “He just takes your team on his back and goes.”
Not to be overlooked also is the goaltending of Juuse Saros, who has a 1.92 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in this stretch.
With Saros backstopping them, the Predators are at 94 points — just four back of the Central Division third-place Winnipeg Jets, whom they trailed by 13 points when this run began. But with the playoffs less than a month away, players are eager to say they haven’t accomplished anything yet.
“We still know that there’s tons of hockey left to be played: 10 games, lots of points on the board,” Nyquist said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good spot, but we’re not in by any measure, in the playoffs, yet, so we’ve got lots of work to do still.”
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