After a valiant effort to force a Game 6 the Nashville Predators season has come to a close losing in six games to the Vancouver Canucks.
“We gave up a few grade-A chances with our puck play,” head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Overall I thought we were trending toward overtime, one play was going to make a difference and they made the play.”
The Predators blocked 24 shots in the loss and dished out 25 hits. Goaltender Juuse Saros stood on his head making 28 saves, but at the end of the day, it’s that one that can crush a team’s world in the playoffs.
“It hurts. It’s hockey at times,” Brunette said. “They’re a good team every game was basically coming down to a margin, a bounce. You’re going to think about it for the rest of the summer. There’s opportunities and some little things that stand out.”
Nashville has now lost six straight home playoff games with their last coming in double overtime back in 2021 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nashville fell 1-0 with a late goal from forward Pius Suter coming with just 1:39 to play in regulation. Suter has been drinking smoothies out of a straw since he got hit in the face by a puck earlier in the series and ultimately he ended up gutting it out to be a hero.
“Try to focus on winning your next battle and obviously it worked out,” Suter said sticking to his plan of attack.
At the end of it all Brunette is proud of his team and the effort they brought all season. As a first-time head coach, he witnessed a team grasp his beliefs and pull the rope the entire way.
“It was a pleasure and I’m grateful to coach them. They were unselfish and came to work every day, and there wasn’t a day with a lack of work ethic,” Brunette said. “It hurts them and it hurts me. I would have loved to get to Game 7 and roll the dice. We were close but that group should hold their heads high.”
Now that Brunette doesn’t have a game to prepare for he plans to sleep for a week he said. Brunette added the hurt and the pain are bigger than anything but since it didn’t happen he’ll reflect on how it all unfolded.
“I’ll hide in my basement for a while and I’ll come out and maybe see the light,” Brunette said.
In the grand scheme of things Brunette and general manager Barry Trotz have plenty of talent to evaluate. In the Game 6 loss forward Juuso Pärssinen was just a microcosm of what’s to come with the Predators.
“The more experience these young kids get the better they’ll be,” Brunette said. “The more they’re around what I want from them the better, and the more they understand it the better we’ll be organizationally. This was great for those kids, but now it’s about what we learned and how we get better.”
Following the loss defenseman Luke Schenn said there was a lot to be proud of and now he feels at home with his family in Nashville no matter what the result would be in the playoffs.
“We have a lot of good character guys in the room and good veteran guys and younger guys that have improved,” Schenn said.
“Our family loves being here. It was a great transition this year. Great community and great crowds here at Bridgestone. Excited to be part of things down the road.”
Schenn said this season exceeded his expectations now that he has a full year of being in Nashville under his belt. The loss is a lot to swallow but enough to build a strong foundation on.
Now the Cancuks will take on the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. The last time these two met in the playoffs was 1992.
After his first season at the helm, Brunette finishes his first season as a Jack Adams Award finalist alongside Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and the Jets’ Rick Bowness.
Nashville ended the regular season with the NHL’s 11th-best record going 47-30-5 posting 99 points, just the eighth time the Predators finished with 47+ wins.
Now eyes will be on what the Predators do with their roster having six unrestricted free agents on the current roster.
They’re certainly ahead of schedule organizationally and can opt to add this offseason or add in-house with upcoming prospects.
That’ll do it this season for Nashville. A valiant effort no one expected this season. Lots to be proud of moving forward. pic.twitter.com/MeKfIr4IWG
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) May 4, 2024
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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