Confidence Reigns Supreme and the Nashville Predators Are Overflowing With It
Confidence can be a great or dangerous thing and the Predators definitely have the most in the NHL right now.
Confidence Reigns Supreme and the Nashville Predators Are Overflowing With ItConfidence is a huge part of sports and it is no different for hockey, whether it is individual players or a team as a whole. It can be really difficult to come out of slumps because confidence is low most times. But everything can feel so easy and seamless when confidence is high.
The Nashville Predators are showing what confidence can do for a team that most people counted out. Of course each team, no matter the skill level, believes in themselves from the start of the season. It is always a new opportunity and a chance to prove something. So belief wasn't the problem.
The Predators were put through a big test early on by starting the season 5-10-0. Confidence was likely low at this time, but the group overcame the odds and remained confident in their abilities, pulling themselves into a playoff spot and nearly clinching their place in the postseason.
The players in Nashville undoubtedly feel confident in the team as a whole since they have gone on a 16-0-2 run, but must have confidence in each area of their team and every player as well. Sometimes it is easy to feel less confident in goaltending if the goalies have let in some weak goals or are struggling. That isn't the case for the Predators. With all of the injuries on the back-end, there isn't a built confidence in some of the players, but the team has battled and won with different players on defense regardless. The Predators are also a strong third period team and if the goals don't always come, this deep group has come in clutch to win games.
Roman Josi touched on confidence after the comeback win against the Vegas Golden Knights saying, "There’s a lot of belief. There’s a lot of confidence in this room. Like I said before, there’s a lot of trust in our game. We trust ourselves that we can play a really good game."
While the Predators have the most confidence in the world right now, they definitely have an edge on some other teams in the Western Conference, which gives them an advantage as the playoffs draw close. The Winnipeg Jets, for example, have lost four games in a row, and the Vancouver Canucks have lost three of their past six games. Either are still a possibility for the Predators to play in the first round, but any other team can just as easily lose some confidence at the wrong time. This includes the Predators. But for right now, there is no team overflowing with confidence quite like Nashville.
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