Nashville Predators deserve tons of credit for making NHL playoffs

Given all the off-season turmoil that the Nashville Predators went through last year, it is a remarkable achievement that they snagged a playoff berth last week.

Last year, it looked like a Canadian zillionare would buy the team and move it north. Fortunately, a local ownership group came through to keep the team in Nashville. Additionally, the team's roster was gutted to dramatically reduce its payroll. In spite of this, the Predators have played well this season.

The team is the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. Even though the Red Wings won the President's Trophy for accumulating the most points during the regular season, I think this is a pretty good match up for them.

It is definitely better than playing San Jose. This year, the Preds have gone 3-3-2 against Detroit, while going 0-4 against San Jose. Also, the Sharks bounced Nashville from the playoffs the last two years.

I don't know what the contract status of Predators' head coach Barry Trotz is, but I believe the man deserves a bonus and an extension.

Nashville Predators off to a blistering start

The National Hockey League quietly began its new season last week, and our Nashville Predators started with two impressive home wins. In beating Colorado 3-0 and Dallas 5-1, it had to bring a smile to the faces of fans who had concerns after an off-season filled with uncertainty.

I won't re-hash all of that, but the fast start by the team was certainly a relief. Obviously, attendance is a big concern heading into the season. Though neither game sold out, attendance was pretty good. More than 16,000 attended the Colorado game and 13,000 showed up for the Dallas game. Of course, that was the announced attendance, which is often a little higher than the actual paid attendance.

For those who are thinking those numbers are weak, Nashville wasn't the only club to post less than capacity attendance numbers to start the season. It amused me that Detroit didn't sell-out its home opener. I guess "Hockeytown" ain't quite "Hockeytown" anymore.

I am only a casual hockey fan so I won't pretend to provide insight about the team. I know some of you who read this blog follow hockey and the Predators a lot more closely than I, so please post comments regarding how you feel about this year's team. The general consensus I've heard is that the team isn't close to last year's squad, but what I've seen so far has me encouraged. Goalie Chris Mason did a great job the first two games.

Additionally, anybody reading this who hasn't attended a Predators' game needs to go. Seeing hockey in person is a lot more fun than watching it on television. Television doesn't do hockey justice.