Updated on 06.24 | Posted on 06.23
New York. The Nashville Predators are the hottest in the entire NHL.
They earned their fifth straight win last night – beating Winnipeg in an equally thrilling fashion.
“It is always difficult to explain correctly what suddenly happens, but we understood how to play and we are doing it with confidence now,” top scorer Gustav Nyquist told Sportbladet after the 3-2 win.
Nashville had four straight wins before Sunday’s loss at Bridgeport Arena — and Winnipeg had five straight.
So, it’s no exaggeration to describe this match as the showdown between the two hottest teams in the league – and it turns out the temperature is hottest in the home camp.
The Predators won 3-2.
– A strong effort from us, except for the first twelve minutes. Then it was Jose Saros in the tub that kept us there. But the rest of the game, I think we played really steady and deserved the win,” Gustav Nyquist said when we reached him on the Tennessee evening.
He himself scored his third goal of the season – after an impressive performance from compatriot Filip Forsberg.
– Yes, he made a great pass and it was actually a change that we talked about and trained on. It’s not often that things like this come home, so it was fun, Gus continues.
– It’s been pretty good overall since they put the series together with Philip, myself, and Ryan O’Reilly. We really have fun and work together on the ice.
Exactly what happened otherwise, how the Preds, after a very shaky start to the season, managed to have such great success and suddenly snap the Western Conference playoff streak, the 34-year-old Swede can’t really explain.
– It is always the most difficult question to answer, but… Yes, we have understood how to play, especially in the central zone, and we are doing it with confidence now, he says.
-It’s fun, of course. After a start like the one we had, it’s difficult to get to where we want to be, but we’ve really found our groove now.
1/2Photograph: Mark Zaleski/AP