Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers attempt to silence critics – NHL Preview
Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers are well set to secure a playoff berth, but the main cause of concern for both these teams is not reaching the postseason, but accelerating further after qualifying for the playoffs.
Predators and Panthers are enjoying good position in the respective National Hockey League (NHL) conferences, but they have remained inconsistent, which will certainly harm them when they play against tough teams in the playoffs.
Both teams lost their respective last games against relatively weaker opponents and are now going to face each other on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida.
Here is a look at both teams.
Predators
They are ranked at fifth spot in the Western Conference with 81 points after 64 games.
They have been maintaining a good winning run since the last few months, but February did not suit them.
They started the month with a defeat and ended it with a loss and after playing a total of 13 games in the month, they could only win six.
Their last defeat came against the lowly Carolina Hurricanes.
Predators were leading by one goal at the end of the first period, but they conceded a total of four goals in the next two periods while scoring only two.
The final score settled at 4-3.
Predators’ coach, Barry Trotz, said after the game:
"We almost pulled it out. We were urgent in the third period and played more of our game. We've played five games in eight nights and we were really tired. That's no excuse, but sometimes you get tired mentally and you don't have the juice. In the end, it
ended up being the special teams that made the difference."
Panthers
They are ranked at third spot in the Eastern Conference with 72 points after 63 games.
Their three-game winning streak was snapped recently by Winnipeg Jets in a one-sided encounter.
Jets scored twice in the first period and managed five goals in the final to humiliate the Panthers who could not even register one scoring move.
Panthers’ coach, Kevin Dineen, said of the loss:
"You can't play that kind of hockey in October, and you certainly can't play it in March. It's definitely a man's game this time of year, and we did not look prepared."
Predictions
Predators have a slight edge.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might exceed six.
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