Geoff JohnsonAfter taking the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup competition with an undeniable authority, the
Nashville Predators will try to do the same against the Phoenix Coyotes; game one of the series starts
this Friday at Jobing.com Arena.
Nashville played their best hockey in years against the Wings; they trusted their tight defense,
and took advantage of the power play opportunities to win the series 4-1; the Predators are the best
team in Power Play situations, in the entire league.
“We’ve grown to the point where we had great respect for the Detroit Red Wings, but we’re not in
awe of them,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “That’s the stepping stone that we’ve taken. Obviously,
beating Detroit in the first round is a step in the right direction”.
“It’s not time to celebrate,” Nashville forward Alexander Radulov said. “I mean it’s only the first round.”
The Coyotes, on the other hand, beat the Blackhawks 4-2 in the first round, but they might have an even
more difficult situation to handle against the Predators. Phoenix is the second worst team for power
play goals in the league with 0.4 per game.
“It was just one of those games when pucks were hitting me, and our guys were doing a good job to
get rebounds over there and tie guys up after their shots. It was just the rhythm of the game; it seemed
like,” Mike Smith said about the 4-0 victory that ended the hopes of the Blackhawks.
Curiously enough, and something to consider about this series is that the team playing away from home
had won the last six matchups.
