Dante Fabbro of the Nashville Predators[Photo courtesy of NHL.com/NashvillePredators.com]

Dante Fabbro’s first started the comeback, and Viktor Arvidsson’s record-breaking 34th was the winner as the Nashville Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks by a 5-2 final to clinch the Central Division and home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With the victory Nashville finished the 2018-19 season with exactly 100 points in the standings, good for a second-consecutive division title, and the Preds will face the Dallas Stars in the first round of the postseason as a result.

As the game got older, the Predators got better. They scored twice in the second and three more in the third on their way to accomplishing one of the goals that was set forth way back in September during training camp.

Now, on this first week of April, that goal has been accomplished.

“We never stopped,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We were relentless tonight from start to finish. The first period, I just walked in and said, ‘Well that didn’t go our way.’ It was tough because it’s such an important game. Guys have been fighting for something. You walk in after the first, and it doesn’t go your way. What you really have to love about what they did was they never quit on it, and they kept fighting for it and eventually got it done.

“Every time you can hang a banner it’s great for your organization,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We’re in such a tough division, and I think the guys can be really proud of that. It’s a big accomplishment, and it wasn’t easier this year. We had a lot of up and downs, but we stuck together and it’s a great accomplishment for the organization.”

The Predators had a number of chances in the opening 20 minutes, but it was the Blackhawks who found themselves with a 2-0 advantage after the first period.

However, the second stanza belonged to Nashville, and this time, they had something to show for it. Midway through the period, Dante Fabbro walked in and roofed a shot past Cam Ward for his first NHL goal to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

“I honestly didn’t have much going through my mind, I was just pretty amped up about it,” Fabbro said of his goal. “The first guy I saw when I turned around was [Ryan Johansen], so he gave me a big bear hug. It’s such a surreal feeling and I couldn’t have done it with a better group of guys.”

Then, with less than two minutes to play in the period, Filip Forsberg launched a rocket from the point to even the score at 2-2 through 40 minutes.

It wasn’t long into the third – just 3:33 to be exact – when Arvidsson sniped his 34th of the season to set a franchise record for goals in a single campaign and give the Preds the first and only lead they’d need all night.

“It’s awesome, I’m so happy for him,” Forsberg said of Arvidsson. “It’s going to be a race going forward in the coming years between the two of us, but I’m so excited for him. I don’t know how many games he played but just doing it in that few games is unbelievable and I’m excited going forward for that.”

Colton Sissons and Nick Bonino added insurance before it was all over, and Pekka Rinne turned the Blackhawks aside 31 times for his 30th victory to finish the season.

The Predators were certainly taking a few moments to enjoy the win, but the Dallas Stars are waiting, and it won’t be long before Nashville’s fifth consecutive berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs commences in their home barn.

“It came down to Game 82, just how the fans wanted it,” Forsberg said. “Big win at home against the Blackhawks, and it set us up on a good spot. Now, the fun begins for real.”

Division Champs – Again:

The Predators weren’t about to let another Central Division title slip through their fingers.

In a game that didn’t go their way at the start, it would’ve been easy for the group to say it wasn’t their night. But that’s not how they operate. Not under these circumstances with so much on the line.

They didn’t buckle, and because of it, the Preds will raise at least one more banner next fall.

“It’s been a tough year just because we were dealt with a lot of stuff,” Laviolette said. “We use that slogan ‘Rise Up’ at the beginning and we talked about it – rise up from injury, rise up from whatever comes our way, fight for something and rise up. I thought the players, especially tonight, you think about it with knowing that St. Louis won it before us and down 2-0 in our building, our guys, they never stopped. They really competed hard and they made sure they got it done.”

There was a time where it looked as though the Preds may have lost their chance to even be in this position. On March 23 in Winnipeg, a game that many thought would decide the eventual winner of the division, Nashville fell 5-0.

“We were pretty down after that Winnipeg loss,” Arvidsson recalled. “We kind of knew that was the game that we had to win in Winnipeg, and they lost two games right after that, so we kind of stayed in it. We kept battling and we’ve been winning.”

Indeed, they did.

Even in these final two games of the regular season, Nashville found themselves down 2-0 after the first period, a situation that hadn’t been kind to them all season. All they did in both of those contests was come back to prevail, Saturday’s triumph bigger than any other over the past seven months.

And for an 82-game stretch that had plenty of moments of frustration, disappointment and dismay, in the end, the good outweighed the bad.

As Filip Forsberg said, now the real fun begins.

“I’m really proud of our guys just for how hard they competed and how hard they worked for it,” Laviolette said. “They should be proud, too. We wake up tomorrow and it’s the Stanley Cup Playoffs so it’s a whole different bird, but I’ve said this a couple of times, you can’t play the Stanley Cup Playoffs in December, you can’t even play them today. You can only play what’s dealt to you and that’s the regular season and I thought our guys were incredible tonight.”

Notes:

Dante Fabbro is the 181st player to score a goal for the Predators in franchise history.

By starting Saturday’s game, Pekka Rinne tied Miikka Kiprusoff (623) for second-most all-time in games played by a Finnish-born goalie.

Forwards Rem Pitlick, Miikka Salomaki, Rocco Grimaldi (upper-body), Cody McLeod and Frederick Gaudreau, as well as defensemen Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin, were scratched for Nashville on Saturday.

The Predators will face the Dallas Stars in Round One of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The full first round schedule will be released at 9 a.m. CT on Sunday morning.

Daniel Rios of Nashville SC[Photo courtesy of nashvillesc.com]

Daniel Ríos netted his first brace in a gold jersey, and Tucker Hume found the back of the net in his first start of the season.

The opening moments of the first half saw both teams try to feel out the defenses with a few good runs in open play, and the best chance came from Ríos in the 5’ minute with a shot over the bar. From there, Ottawa controlled possession, but Nashville’s defense kept Fury FC’s attack to the exterior of the 18-yard box. Nashville began pressuring midway through the half and finally found a goal in the 33’ minute thanks to a Ríos chip over the Ottawa keeper off of a free kick feed from Justin Davis. The Boys in Gold would take that 1-0 lead into halftime.

Nashville SC went right back to the attack in the second half and found numerous chances, including a Kharlton Belmar rocket that ricocheted off the crossbar. In the 67’ minute, Hume doubled Nashville’s advantage in the second half with a left-footed strike from the left post off an assist from Lebo Moloto.

Ríos tacked on one more and sealed the deal for Nashville in the final 10 minutes of the match off a rebound that fell to him around the penalty spot. Nashville’s three goals match the most the club has scored on the road in its history.

Three Takeaways

Offense Flows Through Rios

Nashville’s first MLS signing in Daniel Ríos has been an offensive juggernaut for the club through the first four matches. He has scored four of Nashville SC’s six goals so far, and his opening goal in the first half against Ottawa showed off his speed and technical skill. With fellow MLS signing Cameron Lancaster out with a hamstring injury, Nashville relied on Rios to provide an offensive spark, and he delivered. Rios also found himself at the right place at the right time to bury the third goal of the match on a rebound from a Belmar shot.

Hume’s Humongous Homecoming

Hume returned to Ottawa for just the second time since his 2017 stint with Fury FC, and he put on a show in his first start in 2019. He was a menace in the offensive third, using his big frame to wreak havoc in the box. In his 68 minutes of playing time, Hume took two shots and scored on one of them right before he was subbed off. He was able to feed off of Ríos by his side in the attack, as the two strikers were able to slice and dice the Fury FC defense.

Backline’s Big Day

Nashville’s backline was one of the best in the USL Championship last season, and with the addition of new pieces like Ken Tribbett, it showed why it’s still a force to be reckoned with in 2019. Despite owning 65% of the possession, Ottawa Fury FC only mustered four shots against goalkeeper Connor Sparrow and the Nashville defenders. Only two of those shots were on target. For comparison, Nashville SC took 16 shots with six of them going on target. The midfielders and forwards did their part as well by striking quickly on the counterattack and running smooth passing combinations when in possession.

Sparrow Earns First Clean Sheet
Keeper Connor Sparrow got his second consecutive start and earned his first clean sheet for Nashville SC in the 3-0 win. He made two saves, and has allowed just one total goal in his two starts this season.

Dominant Defense
Nashville’s strong defense from 2018 has carried over into 2019. Nashville has allowed just two goals through four games this season, the second-fewest of any USL Championship team. The two clean sheets this season is also the second-most in the league in 2019.

Standings Update
Nashville SC now has seven points through four games and is in 4th place in the Eastern Conference currently. The game against Ottawa was the first USL game of the day.

Up Next

With three points in the bag, Nashville returns home next weekend to face in-state rival Memphis 901 FC. You will not want to miss this matchup at First Tennessee Park. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT. For tickets, visit NashvilleSC.com/singlegame.

The Iowa Cubs maintained control over the Nashville Sounds for most of the game in front of a sellout crowd of 10,010 at First Tennessee Park Saturday night. With two big innings in the third and seventh inning, Iowa ran away with a 10-4 win.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning, where Iowa had 13 batters come to the plate and put up seven runs on five hits and five walks, including three doubles to give the Cubs a 7-0 lead.

Nashville answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. After back-to-back walks by Willie Calhoun and Matt Davidson to lead off the inning, Patrick Wisdom hit a three-run home run to left field to cut Iowa’s lead 7-3.

After relieving Wes Benjamin in the third inning, Tim Dillard threw three scoreless innings from the fourth through sixth inning. Dillard did not allow a hit by the 10 batters he faced in that span.

In the bottom of the fifth, Wisdom came to the plate again, this time with the bases loaded and two outs. On a 3-2 count and runners going, he grounded out hard to second base to halt the Sounds’ second rally.

Iowa caught fire again in the top of the seventh with three extra-base hits. With one out and a man on first, Taylor Davis originally hit a single off the top of the right field wall that was eventually overturned into a home run. Later in the inning Dixon Machado hit a double to only trade places with Ian Happ, who hit another double right after him extending their lead over the Sounds 10-3.

Nashville made some noise in the bottom of the ninth inning when Eli White hit an RBI single to score Danny Santana. However, it was all the Sounds could muster as they fell to the Cubs 10-4.

Game four of the five-game series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Richelson Pena starts for the Sounds against right-hander Colin Rea for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– Dillard adds to his Nashville Sounds’ career record of innings pitched total to 560.0.

– Wisdom’s three-run homer in the fourth inning was his first long ball of the season and his first career homer with Nashville.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Sarah West of Coffee County softball

The Coffee County CHS softball team opened up play in the Bob Jones Invitational on Friday with a pair of pool play games.  The Lady Raiders stayed perfect in their Alabama trip as they won both of their Friday games.

Coffee County opened up with a 4 to 1 win over Rogers, AL on Friday afternoon.  The Lady Raiders plated a pair of runs in each of the 1^st and 2^nd innings to capture the win.  Sarah West continued her hto hitting as she had a double and a home run as she drove in 2 runs.  Katie Rutledge had a double while Keri Munn laced a 2 RBI single.  Munn got the win on the mound as she scattered 6 hits and struck out 9.

In the nightcap against Madison County, AL, the Lady Raiders banged out 10 hits as Gracie Pippenger kept the long ball streak alive with a home run.  Haley Miller and Justus Turner each added doubles while Turner and Ashley Evans finished with 2 hits apiece.  Haley Richardson went the distance in the circle striking out 6 for the win.

The Lady Raiders return to action on Saturday as they open up single elimination bracket play.