The Predators scored 224 goals this season (2.73 Goals Per Game) which ranked 13th in the NHL. Picking out the five best and pushing the other 219 to the side was a tough task, but here are the top five goals of the Predators’ 2015-16 campaign.
Enjoy.
5: The New Guy Is Pretty Good
Forty-eight hours after he was traded to Nashville from Columbus, Ryan Johansen stepped on the ice and did this. Sure, the Predators lost the game in Colorado, but on his first shot in a Predators’ sweater the player the franchise has never had – a true No. 1 center – did this in his debut; it was something special.
This was one of the prettiest goals scored around the entire league this season.
4: Better Than The Goal In Boston?
So we saw Roman Josi make this same move in Boston in December, but that was just the game tying goal. This one against the Arizona Coyotes however, in a game that meant pretty much nothing, gave the Predators their second 3-on-3 overtime win of the season.
It was a big deal to say the least and you can’t argue that the goal wasn’t brilliant. As soon the puck found his stick you could almost sense the goal coming from the Swiss d-man.
3: Throw Hats At The Captain
This was nothing new, nothing new at all, but then again it kind of was. The sequence of the play as Filip Forsberg slid the puck to Josi who sent over a set up pass to Shea Weber to unleash his slap shot was nothing new but No. 6 scoring three goals in one contest certainly was.
Weber’s third goal in just over 50 minutes of action gave him his first career hat trick and the first by a Predators’ blue liner in franchise history.
This slapper was sent into the history books.
2: But he was falling down.
Viktor Arvidsson used all of his 5-foot-11 frame he had on this one. If you were like me and watching this game against the San Jose Sharks live on television you didn’t really catch just how special this goal was.
Arvidsson’s right leg is completely in mid air and his left knee is dangling above the ice as he goes top short side. You think we weren’t ready for it? How do you think Martin Jones felt when he heard the goal horn sound?
1: He did WHAT?
Sure it was in game 80 of the regular season which didn’t really mean a whole lot for the Predators at the time, but don’t tell that to Forsberg. Clearly the highlight moment here is Forsberg scoring with his stick between his legs but let’s break that down a little bit.
If you didn’t catch it, on what I’m sure was your 20th time seeing this goal, that was Weber with the slap shot that began the sequence to the goal. His slapper bounced off of the skate of Johansen towards Forsberg and he had the mentality and reaction time to not only get a stick on the puck and put a shot on goal but do so with his stick between his legs.
Honorable mentions: Mike Fisher cleans up his own rebound on the diving goal against the Los Angeles Kings, Mattias Ekholm giving the Predators their first 3-on-3 win, James Neal’s 30th of the year against Columbus.
Let us know which goals we missed in the comments, which I know you were already going to do.