WCQF Round 1, Game 3 - Chicago at Nashville: W 1-4

The morning after.  It’s never quite as thrilling as the events of the night before.  You’re tired.  Your body is quietly rebelling against you because you didn’t get enough sleep.  Your voice is well, hanging on, scratchy at best.  But these symptoms…they are the battle scars left from a night like last night.  Having missed the postseason last year, it is easy to forget just how exhilarating playoff hockey can be.  The building was electric before the puck even dropped.  So much so that I couldn’t hear a thing over the roar of the crowd.  There is nothing greater in the world of hockey than that.

From a TSN article about the game:  Nashville coach Barry Trotz said they could barely hear on the bench. The Blackhawks noticed the noise as well. "I really thought we lost all momentum in that second period, and they took the game over," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think the building was alive. It had some personality.

A little aside…during the second period TV timeout ovation, I took a moment to watch the players’ reaction from the bench.  It is the best feeling in the world to see how appreciative and almost in awe of the moment all of the guys were.  Every one of them kind of took a step back and just watched their fans cheering them on.  It made the moment all the more endearing for me.  I LOVE THIS TEAM.

The Bridgestone had a lot to be loud about.  Joel Ward drew first blood and even though Chicago came back to tie things up for a bit, Nashville remained on top for the duration.  Though the final score reads just like it did last Friday, there were no empty netters this time.  The Predators controlled the game from start to finish; goaltending was unbelievable, the defense leveled everything in its sight, and the offense came from (somewhat) unlikely sources.

Last night was a terrific night to be a hockey fan in Nashville.  I can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow.

Photo by Frederick Breedon/NHLI via Getty Images