Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes addressed the team's mindset looking ahead to the final games of the season.
Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes addressed the team's mindset looking ahead to the final games of the season.
After being eliminated from the playoffs last night with Winnipeg's win over the Wild, Predators head coach John Hynes wants the team to finish their last two games well.
It was a disappointing evening for the Nashville Predators as they watched former teammate Nino Niederreiter and Central Division rival Winnipeg Jets defeat the Minnesota Wild last night. The Jets' 3-1 win officially closed the chapter on an unexpected playoff push for a Predators team in transition and ended the franchise's eight consecutive season playoff appearance streak.
"It was certainly disappointing just because of how it played out with the win against Calgary and the last 15 to 20 games here," Hynes shared this morning. "To not be able to continue that with two games left was disappointing."
"We were in the playoff race, we were right there," Hynes continued. "Unfortunately, last night that was taken away from us."
With two games remaining in the season, John Hynes addressed how he wants his team to respond.
"I think it's also important that we finish strong. As I've said to the team, be where our feet are."
With games against playoff teams Minnesota and the Colorado Avalanche to wrap up their season, the Predators will have plenty of challenging hockey to focus on if they hope to finish their season well.
It won't be as easy task against either the Wild or the Avalanche who are two teams still vying for playoff position with the Dallas Stars in the Central Division. The Predators welcome the 46-25-10 Wild tomorrow night at Bridgestone Arena and wrap up the season Friday night against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Avalanche.
Hynes will once again lean on the remaining veterans in the locker room to help rally the younger players through two games of what is often thought of as "meaningless hockey". Hynes credits Ryan McDonagh, Colton Sissons, Tyson Barrie, and Juuse Saros for mentoring the newer players in the locker room and helping them navigate an emotional and physically taxing stretch of late season hockey after drastic changes due to a pivot in the team direction and injuries to top players.
"Those veteran players have been very beneficial," Hynes reflected. "They had to have a bigger voice, a stronger voice, a more consistent voice."
Despite missing the postseason for the first time since the 2013-2014 season, Hynes believes there are still things to play for in these final games.
"Now we've got to master the task of the next two games the right way, playing in front of our fans, playing with a good effort," Hynes said. "In this league, you're always playing for something, someone's always watching."
The young players and veterans alike have two more games to prove what they bring to the ice to a coaching staff and front office looking to start a new chapter. Whether it ultimately results in a player ending up back in a Nashville Predators jersey or somewhere else in the offseason, there is always something to play for.
"When you're in this league, which is the best league in the world, you should never take a game for granted and an opportunity for granted, and that's the way we're going to go about our business."
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