NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Nashville Predators believe they learned a couple of important lessons in reaching the first Stanley Cup final in the franchise’s history.
Play at home as much as possible.
As the second wild-card team in the West, the Predators lost only once on home ice while winning the Western Conference, and their second loss in Nashville came in a painful Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final . Every game was a sellout with thousands piled outside watching on outdoor TV screens for some of the biggest parties Music City had ever seen.
Starting even one playoff series at home could be the boost that helps them hoist the Stanley Cup next June, so a higher seed is the first goal as the Predators open their first season as defending conference champs.
“That’s something as a group we have to remember,” center Ryan Johansen said. “We had to scratch and claw all year to get ourselves into the playoffs and how difficult that was. It’s easy to forget. ‘Oh, we played in the finals, we’re one of the best teams.’ But that’s not the case.”