Nashville Predators Are 16-0-2 Since Their Trip To See U2 In Vegas Was Canceled Achi-News

NASHVILLE, Tenn.: The Nashville Predators did not get the chance to see U2 perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas as planned.

They have enjoyed plenty of lovely days since then.

The Predators are on the longest point streak of this NHL season, 16-0-2 in their last 18 games, since general manager Barry Trotz canceled the concert plan following a pair of bad home losses in mid-February. This stretch has boosted Nashville’s playoff position after looking to be on the bubble for several months.

“Obviously, it’s a crazy run and there’s a lot of good luck in there as well, but we’ve done a great job of winning it,” center Ryan O’Reilly said. “When things haven’t gone well, we’ve stuck to the program, relied on each other and we’ve had different guys step up at different times throughout this run.”

Their latest trick was erasing a three-goal deficit at the second break and winning in overtime on Tuesday night, fittingly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, who play down the Strip from the Sphere.

“We never stop,” frontman Gustav Nyquist said. “This team never stops. We believe in ourselves.”

That belief is easily justified considering that Nashville has scored more than four goals per game and allowed less than two since this streak began. The power play is clicking at 24% and the penalty kill is over 84%.

“Our confidence is high,” said winger Filip Forsberg, who leads the team with 40 goals. “We keep working, keep wearing teams down.”

At the forefront of that process is captain Roman Josi, who scored the overtime winner against Vegas – his 24th point over the last 18 games – and is generating Hart Trophy buzz as the league’s MVP. Forsberg said that Josi should be considered for that and the Norris as the main defender.

Coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday’s game was another reminder that the Predators shouldn’t take Josi for granted.

“We’re spoiled with it,” Brunette said. “He takes your team on his back and goes.”

Also not to be overlooked is the goal of Juuse Saros, who has a 1.92 goals against average and a 0.932 save percentage in this stretch.

With Saros stopping them, the Predators are on 94 points – just four back of the Central Division’s third-place Winnipeg Jets, who they trailed by 13 points when this streak began. But with the play-offs less than a month away, players are keen to say they haven’t achieved anything yet.

“We still know there’s tons of hockey left to play: 10 games, a lot of points on the board,” Nyquist said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good place, but we’re not by any measure, in the play-offs, yet, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)