Predators clinch Central, Western, & President’s Trophy all in one night

The Nashville Predators went to Washington and edged the Capitals 4-3 to win their division, conference, and the Presidents’ Cup for the first time ever.

It was expected to be a heavyweight bout in Washington. Two playoff teams, Predators and Capitals,  colliding, with one team looking to make history, and the other looking to ride into the postseason with momentum.

It went just as advertised. The Predators took a 1-0 lead early first period with a Craig Smith powerplay goal , but the Capitals answered with two goals of their own in the second period. The Predators responded with another goal by Craig Smith to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the second intermission.

In the third period, the Capitals took a 3-2 lead off this beauty from Evgeny Kuznetsov.

But Roman Josi responded by tying the game at 3 on a power play goal, then followed up with a weird goal awarded to Ryan Johansen.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/982072672338219009

The Predators killed a late attack to win the game and make some unique history. The Predators, at the point of the win, became Central Division Champions and regular season Western Conference Champions. That is the first time they’ve won either in franchise history.

What a way to do it, right?

At that point, they have clinched home ice advantage through at least the first three rounds. But, it was not over at that point.

They began watching the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins game, hoping for a Bruins loss. Why? A Bruins loss would clinch the Predators the Presidents’ Trophy. Well, guess what happened?

You guessed it! The Bruins lost. That mean the Nashville Predators are the #1 seed in all of the NHL playoffs. They will have home ice advantage for every round they advance to.

In the Predators’ 20 year history, they’ve never clinched any regular season awards. On one night, they got three. They now will have four total banners in their rafters: Central Division Champions, Western Conference Champions (2016-17) and (2017-18 regular season), and a Presidents’ Trophy.

This is a huge accomplishment for this team, no doubt. But there is one banner they want the most. That is a Stanley Cup Championship.

"“The big goal for every team is to win the Stanley Cup, but you can’t win the Stanley Cup right now. It was something we took a lot of pride in and I think (winning the Presidents’ Trophy is) a big accomplishment for us.” – Roman Josi"

On the other hand, because of the notion of a “curse” attached to the Presidents’ Trophy, it has been regarded as an award you don’t want to win. Predators’ Filip Forsberg knows that the trophy is a big honor, but isn’t that big of a deal. Using the team they beat on Thursday night as an example.

"“We’ve seen, especially here (in Washington), that the Trophy doesn’t mean that much, but I think just the home ice is going to be huge.”"

The Predators will return home, on Fan Appreciation Night, Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets with three new trophies. What a way to return home on a night that recognizes the best fans in the NHL. Afterwards, the Predators will begin their quest for the cup, as the NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday, April 11th.