In a matter of days, the Nashville Predators will hit the ice for the start of the 2016-17 National Hockey League playoffs.
The Preds haven’t advanced past the second round in their previous nine visits to the postseason, but they’ve still produced plenty of memories for their fans.
Here’s a look at 10 of the Preds’ most memorable playoff wins:
April 11, 2004 – After the Predators had lost the first two games of their very first playoff series against Detroit, they rebounded at home with a 3-1 victory – the first postseason win in franchise history. The first draft pick in franchise history, David Legwand, scored the franchise’s first playoff goal.
April 14, 2008 – Trailing 3-2 against Detroit in the third period of Game 3, the Predators bounced back with a blitzkrieg. Preds Jason Arnott and Ryan Suter scored twice within nine seconds, knocking Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek out of the game and sparking Nashville to a 5-3 victory in the first-round contest.
April 16, 2010 – The Predators entered this first-round playoff game against Chicago having never won a postseason contest away from home. But thanks to a pair of third-period goals from former Blackhawk J.P. Dumont, the Preds snapped their 10-game road skid with a 4-1 win over Chicago in Game 1.
April 22, 2011 – The Predators were on the verge of suffering a critical first-round playoff loss when defenseman Shea Weber came to the rescue. Weber’s goal with 35.3 seconds left in regulation tied a pivotal Game 5 and allowed Jerred Smithson to end the contest early in overtime. The Preds took a 3-2 series lead back to Nashville.
April 24, 2011 – The Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in Game 6, marking the first time Nashville had won a playoff series in franchise history. Nick Spaling scored two goals in the game as the Preds knocked off the favored Ducks at Bridgestone Arena.
April 20, 2012 – In front of a wildly appreciative home crowd, the Predators downed the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 5 and captured the teams’ first-round playoff series. Fittingly enough, it was David Legwand – a Michigan native and Nashville’s very first draft pick – who scored the game-winning goal.
April 27, 2016 – The first Game 7 in franchise history was a good one for the Predators, who traveled to Anaheim and downed the Ducks 2-1 to move on to the second round. Pekka Rinne’s 36 saves led the Predators, who got goals from Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad.
May 5, 2016 – In the longest game in franchise history, the Predators’ Mike Fisher scored with 8:48 left in the third overtime – at 1:03 a.m. – to give Nashville a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. It marked the first time the Preds had ever won a home game in overtime. The victory tied the teams’ second-round series 2-2.
May 10, 2016 – In the Preds’ second home overtime contest in as many games against San Jose, forward Viktor Arvidsson scored just 2:03 into the extra session to give Nashville a 4-3 victory. Colin Wilson had tied the game in the third period. The outcome meant the Preds would play a second straight Game 7, where they lost 5-0 to the Sharks.
John Glennon