When the NHL season started off in October, the Nashville Predators were a fairly popular Stanley Cup Final pick. But after a bumpy ride during the regular season resulted in the Preds landing the final wild card berth in the West and a date with arch-nemesis Chicago, the conference’s top seed, in Round 1, the championship sentiment around the team generally soured.
A lot of people who picked them in the pre-season didn’t feel so confident with an opening series against the NHL’s version of a modern dynasty.
But the Hawks managed just three goals in four games as the Predators became the first eight seed to sweep a one seed in the opening round of the playoffs — and they finished it off with a decisive 4-1 win in Game 4.
After so many wrote off the Predators in the playoffs, the team and its supporters relished the victory with some good old-fashioned online payback.
Brackets. Busted. href=”https://t.co/sN1NL0LLrw”>pic.twitter.com/sN1NL0LLrw
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) April 21, 2017
#Preds SWEEP! Bye, Chicago #CHIvsNSH @PredsNHL pic.twitter.com/la5qbPk43X
— Melissa Ku (@Melissa_Ku) April 21, 2017