The eight-year-old Nashville Predators are still considered to be relatively new to the NHL, yet they are bent on making their powerful presence known this season. The Predators started out the season setting an NHL record by winning their first four games in a row by one goal each. They also made recent headlines by becoming the fourth NHL team to start the season 8-0. The last time a team set this kind of precedent was in 1993. Due to their winning record, Nashville Predators hockey tickets can't stay in the box office.
Oddly enough their fans show their support by throwing catfish on the ice. Speculation ranges from Nashville music festival roots to an ongoing fierce rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings, the latter most likely being the cause. The Red Wing's fans have a tradition of fans throwing octopi out on the ice as a symbol of the eight wins it once took them to win the Stanley Cup. Apparently Predator fans decide to retaliate by creating a Southern-based response to the Wing's tradition.
No matter how odd you may find Nashville's fan-based traditions, you can't ignore their steady climb to join the top teams in the NHL. After a mediocre start in their 1998 season, which carried on through 2002, the Predators finally began to pick up steam and prove themselves in the 2002-03 season when the franchise decided to mix things up a bit. Mike Dunham, the team's goalie, was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Rem Murray and Tomas Kloucek. As a result, Thomas Vokun became established as the team's backbone after backing up the recently traded Dunham for four years. In the middle of the season the team turned itself around and began fiercely fighting for a spot in the playoff race by completing a record of 25-15-5-1 ending March 7th, 2003.
Still, the 2003-04 season was where this newly reformed team began to make its mark in the NHL. They started off the season well and landed in the playoff race, holding a 16-14-4-2 record at the end of December, 2003. They began to struggle throughout February, but made a move which greatly improved the team by gaining Steve Sullivan from the Chicago Blackhawks. He hit the ice and immediately gained attention, scoring a hat trick in his first game against the San Jose Sharks in mid-February.
Joining Sullivan, the Predators gained Brad Bombardir and Sergei Zholtok from the Minnesota Wild. This pair added strength and speed as the Predators raced for a coveted spot in the playoffs and finally made it with a 38-29-11-4 record.
They faced the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings and forced 6 games, only to lose at the end of game 6 at home by a 2-0 loss. Yet fans aren't ready to give up just yet, as Predators ticket sales rise with astonishing speed. Fans can anticipate another neck-and-neck playoff race as the Predators are currently right on schedule to finish with a record of 58-17-7, their best record in history. |
