2005 Nashville Predators Preview
Welcome to the 2005 Nashville Predators Preview page. The NHL Hockey Season is around the corner and what better way to remind the public how exciting the NHL can be with a 2005 season preview from Maddux Sports. Remember if you are betting on NHL hockey look no further, as we are one of the few sports handicapping services that offers NHL picks against the hockey betting line and can help you be a winner this NHL betting season.
2005 Nashville Predators Hockey Season Preview
The 2003-04 season saw the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Playoffs where they were eliminated in the first round by a superior Detroit team 4 games to 2. Detroit’s scoring machine proved to be too much and their net minder was all but impenetrable for four of those six games. Of course Nashville was the eighth or last seed in the Western Conference which meant they were playing against the best in the west—a Detroit team that had won more games and scored more goals than any of the other 29 NHL clubs.
In the playoffs there was a lot of pressure on the Predator’s top goalie Tomas Vokoun, who played about as well as anyone could. In six games he saw a mind numbing 197 shots; yet he finished with an extraordinary .939 save percentage. However his impressive performance was not good enough to keep the powerhouse Red Wings in check.
For most of his six NHL seasons the aggressive Vokoun has been a stable influence in goal; he thrives on cutting down angles and challenging shooters. In 2003-04 he played in 73 games, second only to Broudeur, and recorded 34 wins, again a close second to the veteran and master Broudeur.
If this year’s World Championships are any indication of what Vokoun will do in the upcoming season then the Predators should be extremely optimistic. Playing for the Czech Republic the goalie shut down and shut out his Canadian opponents, leading his club to a gold medal victory.
There’s more good news for the Predators. On offense Steve Sullivan and Scott Walker, who played in 80 and 75 games and scored 73 and 67 points respectively, are both back, as is two-way and fifth-rated defenseman Marek Zidlicky. Things may even be even better than expected since the Nashville club signed veteran winger and free agent Paul Kayria. In 2003-04 Kayria had a shortened season due to injury, but for most of his 11 NHL seasons, the wily winger has been consistently at the top of the list in points. There’s no reason at the young age of thirty he can’t be the Paul Kayria of old.
By the end of the season listen for the Nashville hockey club
as they sing one of those happy country tunes and not the blues.
Their future looks good.
