After Slow Finish To The Regular Season, Predators Hope For Spark in Playoffs

The Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks both limped across the finish line of the regular season like a pair of long distance runners who’d hit the wall.  

But tonight both teams hope to be re-energized by the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 of the Predators’ opening round series is tonight in Nashville as they play host to the Blackhawks.

Chicago lost four straight to end the regular season; Nashville dropped its last six. But Preds fan Debbie Vojtek  remains confident her team will be ready.

“I think we’re going to go. I think we’re going to get it together and go all the way,” said Vojtek.

It’s the eighth playoff appearance in team history.  The Predators posted first-round wins in 2011 and 2012 —   the team’s last postseason appearance.

Nashville and Chicago have met once in the playoffs, with the Blackhawks eliminating the Preds 4-games-to-2 in the opening round of the 2010 postseason.  This year, Chicago won three-of-four from Nashville, but two of those games were decided in overtime.

Sellout Record

Only 11 times this season did the Predators play a home game where the building wasn’t filled to capacity. Team CEO Jeff Cogen says some of that can be chalked up to the winning season, but not all.

“The majority of what we sold was sold as of October 15th. The season ticket base is in, the suites are in, the sponsors are in. Now you’re dealing with groups and individuals. So you can make an incremental difference and we did. But the real story is next year,” said Cogen.

Fan Steve Probst says he sees it outside of the arena too.

“It used to be that I would be the only one coming in on Fridays or various days during the week in a Preds jersey or Preds shirt at work,” said Probst.  “Now it’s become more prevalent. You hear talk about them on the street. They’re a happening thing.”

TV Ratings Soar

The team saw an 80 percent uptick in viewership on its TV broadcasts according to Fox Sports Net.  Cogen says it’s a result of using marketing dollars to advertise road games.

“We treat it as if it’s a game — a home game — and we advertise in partnership with Fox to watch the games,” he said.  Cogen then rifled through a stack of papers on desk, searching for a detailed ratings breakdown on the previous night’s TV broadcast.

“At some point last night, 20,000 people were watching our game and another 17,000 in the building. So now we’re impacting 40,000 people.  And there were probably a thousand people at Ford Ice yesterday,” said Cogen referring to the team’s ice rink in Antioch where many children now play hockey.

Cogen says every time someone in Middle Tennessee thinks hockey, he wants them to think about the Predators.

“You start looking tactically and strategically how to engage with those people and turn them into fans,” he noted.