The Predators are Swept Aside by the Avs

The Colorado Avalanche have mercifully put the Nashville Predators out of the playoffs. With a four-game sweep being completed barring one game it was not much of a series. Nashville didn't lead in a game until eleven periods into the series, that's right you read that right ELEVEN PERIODS. Going into the playoffs the Preds knew they would be without outstanding goaltender Juuse Saros who is up for the Vezina Trophy for the best goalie in the NHL. He was injured just before the playoff started and wouldn’t have been cleared to play in the playoffs unless the Preds made a deep run. The Preds have wasted Saros’ amazing season, Roman Josi’s Norris Trophy caliber season, a breakout season for many of the younger players on the Nashville roster, a revival of Matt Duchene, and what could be the final season that Fillip Forsberg in Nashville. With the rise of talent in the Western Conference, it may be time to blow up the team. As this is the fourth straight year the Predators have made a first-round exit in the playoffs. I fear that names like Forsberg, Saros, Duchene, Ekholm, and others may not be wearing the gold in the coming years. Time will tell however and I can be nothing, but hopeful that the new core will help propel the Preds over the top in the coming years. For now, however, it is time to let the playoff streak end and say goodbye to many faces of the franchise I’ve come to know and love over the past ten years.