2017-18 Nashville Predators
53-18-11 117 points
Stanley Cup Champs – Washington Capitals
The Nashville Predators followed in New York, Boston, and Vancouver’s steps by winning the Presidents’ Trophy the year after reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Pekka Rinne and the crew were ready to make another run at the Stanley Cup.
Nashville was stacked with talented players like Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, and P.K. Subban, to name a few. The only real issue with the Predators was they looked past too many opponents.
Rather than focus on the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the playoffs they were already watching the Vegas Golden Knights getting ready to face off against them in the conference finals.
Nashville ended up losing to Winnipeg in a Game 7 in Nashville, what else is new for Presidents’ Trophy winners? At least Nashville put up a fight in Game 7, managing to score 1 goal compared to the Jets 5.
Nashville in 2017-18 represents a team that got burnt out too soon following a postseason run the year before and a very long regular season. The funny thing when it comes to 2017-18 is who ended up holding the Cup that spring.
Ovechkin and the Capitals managed to win the Stanley Cup without the home ice on their sides, and they managed to do it without having the best regular season in franchise history. Management had already deemed the Capitals a done team after failing to win in 2017 so that just goes to show how much we all know right?