At the midpoint of the season, the Nashville Predators have a 25-14-3 record, good for 53 points and tied with Calgary for fifth in the Western Conference. After opening the season with a 12-8-1 mark and tenth place in the conference, the Predators have improved over the next 21 games to 13-6-2 and have played themselves into the thick of the playoff race.
Once again, let's look at the components of this team and the individual player performance to see what has changed for this team:
Coaching
It goes without saying that head coach Barry Trotz and his staff get the most out of the talent that they have put on the ice every night. Trotz attributed the turnaround in play to the simple fact that this team started to play like they are, not who they wanted to be.
Translation: This is a blue collar team that will never win games with flash. They will win by playing sound, fundamental hockey, and doing what Trotz calls the "dirty work" to score goals, shoot the puck, go to the hard areas in front of the crease, and win the puck battles. This team has bought into the message that the coaches have ...
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Article written by Mark Willoughby
Nashville Predators’ Midseason Report Card
January 3rd, 2010 by Mark Willoughby Leave a reply »
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