After the Nashville Predators secured their first Stanley Cup finals berth with a 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl -- awarded to the winner of the Western Conference -- was received by a familiar combination of the team's captain, its leading point producer and a clutch goal scorer from an earlier round.
What was unusual was that the captain was wearing a suit and a shiner, not a jersey and a helmet, and the other two players were on crutches.
After meandering through the regular season and breezing through the three-time champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, captain Mike Fisher, star Ryan Johansen and the rest of the Predators have faced one rigorous test of mettle after another. So what made this team, which confronted obstacles ranging from an outbreak of food poisoning to outbursts of goals allowed, go from regular-season also-ran to Cup finalist?
Cool-handed coaching
The Predators had one coach, the gruff, highly structured Barry Trotz, for the first 16 years of their existence. Peter Laviolette, who was hired in May 2014, brought a free-flowing system and history of success. His 2006 Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes did not resemble Trotz's Predators, but the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers -- whom he led to the Stanley Cup finals -- were similar to this year's Nashville squad, having qualified for the playoffs with a shootout win in the final game of the season before surmounting a 3-0 deficit in the second round to reach the finals.
Laviolette has tied an NHL record by using 18 forwards this postseason, having tweaked his personnel based on preference as well as because of injury after losing Fisher, Johansen and Kevin Fiala. He has found a delicate balance with lines filled with seldom recognized names, a further tribute to his ability to sense potential and create synergy.
Laviolette is a master motivator who has kept his team prepared and in a position to win. He has also leaned on assistant coach Phil Housley, who runs Nashville's power play and works with its defensemen. The former All-Star defenseman, whose previous job was coaching high school hockey, has surged to top of the short list for the next NHL head-coach opening. The Predators' five-man cycle is reminiscent of the one Housley innovated as a player in Winnipeg, well before it was fashionable.
Calgary Flames assistant coach Martin Gelinas, who won a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1990, played one season with the Predators and transitioned soon after into a role in player development with Nashville. Gelinas says the key to making Laviolette's merry-go-round of forwards keep spinning successfully is knowing what works for different players.
"They've done a good job [in Nashville] of developing those players and making them understand their role," said Gelinas. "Now they're making the jump and contributing, playing their best hockey at the right time."
The defense never rests
Nashville's top-four defensemen have shouldered a huge load, reminiscent of the yeoman's work performed by the Blackhawks' vaunted blue-line quartet in 2015. The Predators, however, have a serviceable third pairing and do not lean as heavily on any one player, as the Hawks did on Duncan Keith.
Nashville's four defensive cornerstones are Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban.
Josi is an understated, oh-so-smooth rearguard who has emerged as a leader since the trade of his former partner, captain Shea Weber, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Subban last summer.
Ellis was a big offensive contributor in the first two rounds, and in Game 5 he outmuscled the much larger Ryan Getzlaf before stripping him of the puck.
Gelinas worked with Ellis, Josi and Ekholm when they were coming up through Nashville's system. "They're all the same type of players. They're good listeners and they're willing to do the work to get better," Gelinas said. "Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi are elite character guys. They play for the right reasons and they want to make a difference."
Subban was the 2013 Norris Trophy winner and a 2015 finalist. His blockbuster trade for Weber before the season was one of the most notable swaps of this generation of NHL players. Early on, Subban's injuries and slow start cast a shadow on the acquisition by David Poile, the only general manager Nashville has ever had.
Subban's play crystallized after he switched defensive partners, going from playing alongside Josi to teaming with Ekholm. As a duo, they provide a mix of balance and subtle contrasts that has made them highly effective and unequivocally trusted. Ekholm and Subban have been Nashville's shutdown pairing, matched consistently against prolific opponents. They held Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan Getzlaf to a combined four goals in 17 games.
Ekholm has quietly emerged as a star this postseason. He saved a goal in Game 5 and then, even while gassed from an extended shift, keyed the rush that netted the winning goal. He assisted on the winning goals in Games 1, 3 and 5 for Nashville while providing gritty defense as well as a steadying presence at both ends.
Rinne stood tall -- and on his head -- in net
The Predators were overmatched on paper against Chicago and often matched in intensity by the St. Louis Blues in the second round. Against Anaheim, they absorbed the play frequently, especially in the series-clinching Game 6. The Predators have been opportunistic on counterattacks, but the main reason they have made their chances count is Pekka Rinne. The 34-year-old Finn leads the playoffs in every major goaltending category. After matching wits and catching mitts with Anaheim starter John Gibson during the first four games of the conference finals, Rinne thoroughly outclassed Ducks backup Jonathan Bernier in Games 5 and 6.
During the season, Rinne was dominant every other month, posting remarkable numbers in November, January and March but giving up more than three goals per game in October, December and February. Rinne, often criticized for playing an overactive style that didn't suit his 6-foot-5 frame, has meshed aggression and poise brilliantly in these playoffs. In Game 5, he challenged and played on the top of the paint often. In Game 6 -- in which the Predators were outshot 41 to 18 -- he played deeper in his net and consistently took away the entire lower portion of his cage.
Gelinas said the reason the Predators are playing better now than in the regular season is simple. "Pekka Rinne in net is a really big part of it," he said. "During the season there were some ups and downs, up front and in net. To get that consistency, it starts in goal."
Rinne is the longest-tenured Predator and was selected in the eighth round (No. 258 overall) of a draft that now has only seven rounds. Twenty-seven goalies taken ahead of him. If the Predators go on win the Stanley Cup, he will have established himself as a near mortal lock to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy.