Enterprise Road Warriors: Preds Photo Blog

The Predators have embarked on a franchise-record, eight-game, 15-day road trip, and there will be plenty of stops along the way. Trips to Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida - bookended by visits to Dallas - are on the schedule, and I'll be showing you some of the sights over the next two weeks with the Enterprise Road Warriors Blog.
Follow along, won't you?

March 7-8 - Dallas:

After facing off against the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena, the team immediately headed to the airport to begin the excursion ahead. A flight to Dallas was up first to make up the first of two games that were originally postponed back in February due to extreme weather and power outages in Texas.
Touching down in the Lone Star State was much different this time around - a beautiful sunset greeted us as opposed to snow, ice and temperatures that were more fitting for Winnipeg than Dallas.

Game day arrived on Sunday, but there is rarely a full on-ice morning skate on the second half of a back-to-back set. Instead, that time is reserved for off-ice workouts and meetings for the team, and without any media obligations in the morning, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine.

Protocols are understandably strict during these times - we're pretty much confined to the hotel or arena on the road - but we are allowed to go outside for a walk or other exercise. One of the more notable historical sites in Dallas - and in the entire country, for that matter - is only a quick jog from our accommodations downtown.

In November of 1963, Dealey Plaza became the spot where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the Sixth Floor Museum at the plaza provides a fascinating look at the history of the event. I took the tour a few years back when I was in Dallas for the NHL Draft, and it's a visit I would highly recommend.

But this time, a quick run to look around, and then a loop back to the hotel was the perfect way to start the day.

Game time arrived later that evening, and although they needed a shootout to prevail, the Preds started the trip with two points. As Mikael Granlund said, that's what they came to Dallas to collect, and they did just that, no matter how it happened.

The Predators stayed in Dallas that night after two games in two days, and the team then jetted off to Carolina on Monday afternoon in advance of a pair of contests against the Hurricanes on Tuesday and Thursday.

March 9-11 - Carolina:

Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina, home of the Hurricanes, and our home for the past few days as well.

As I write this on March 11, 2021, it's rather incredible to think about where we all were and how we all reacted one year ago today. In some ways, that span of about 24 hours in Toronto feels like just a few months ago - in other instances, it seems like a decade has passed.
The Predators had played the night before in Montreal and won against the Canadians to push their winning streak to three games, a solid stretch for a team that looked as though they were rounding into form at just the right time and were going to make a push for a Wild Card spot in the postseason.
The Preds did not practice that day in Toronto, and while there was some hesitancy beginning to arise about what the next few days and weeks might hold with the coronavirus beginning to dominate the news cycle, I don't know that there was a lot of doubt that we would at least be able to complete the regular season over the next month.
I went to dinner that night in Toronto with Preds Associate Producer on the broadcast side - and my good friend, Jake Hartzfeld - as we often do together on the road. In our jobs, the smartphones and social media are never far away, and it was during that meal we found out the Columbus Blue Jackets - Nashville's scheduled opponent on that coming Saturday night - had announced they planned to play the game at Nationwide Arena without fans, an idea that seemed almost unfathomable at the time.
We then spent the rest of our dinner discussing what that would look like, sound like, feel like, and how we could cover such a monumental event. Little did we know…
After dinner, we walked a few blocks back to the hotel in a major Canadian city full of people, no masks, no social distancing, no idea of what was to come.
But in just a few hours, everything changed.
That night, the NBA announced they were indefinitely suspending their season, which then made it clear for us something would be coming from the NHL as well. Actor Tom Hanks also announced that night he and his wife had contracted the virus, and the announcement was made the U.S. was planning to close its borders from all international flights within a matter of days.
I won't lie, I mildly panicked and ordered some food and cleaning supplies online that night. That seems a bit silly now, but considering I hadn't prepared for a pandemic before, I went for it.
The next day, instead of playing the Maple Leafs in Toronto, the NHL announced they were indefinitely suspending the 2019-20 season. Our entire traveling party jumped on a bus later in the afternoon, and instead of heading to Scotiabank Arena, we drove to the airport, got on a plane and flew back to Nashville without any indication of what was to come.
One year later, we are wearing masks, social distancing and following a slew of protocols all designed to keep us safe and healthy as we try to navigate our way through an NHL season played during a pandemic.
Honestly, the fact we're playing at all is remarkable, and the men and women behind the scenes who all worked so hard to make this happen - and continue to do so - deserve some heartfelt recognition. Of course, so do the healthcare workers, including those who administer our COVID-19 tests every day, who have been at this for at least a year in most cases.
To everyone, we say thank you. Because of the efforts of so many, players get to play, coaches get to coach, and people like me continue to get to work in the sport that we all love, and we are certainly grateful.
With that anniversary in mind, our road trip continues here in North Carolina, and one of the aspects of my job that has changed most dramatically over the past year is how we conduct interviews with players and coaches.
We've all become used to seeing someone's face on our computer screen as opposed to an in-person interaction, and since that night in Montreal, that's how every media availability with a Predators player, coach or staff member has occurred.

Not only do we have our own setup back home at Bridgestone Arena, but each NHL building we enter on the road is required to have a dedicated area for the visiting team to conduct virtual media availability this season. We bring our own backdrop from place to place, and a member of our communications staff mediates the sessions with Preds players and Head Coach John Hynes.
Our room here at PNC Arena in Raleigh includes some NC State Wolfpack logos - the arena is located on their campus next to their football stadium, and NC State basketball also calls this building home.

Being on the road myself, I am in the room as the interviews are occurring, and I simply get to ask my questions in person, one of the perks of being around the team during these times. After those sessions occur, it's always back on a bus and either to the hotel or the airport and onto the next stop, a journey we feel fortunate to be making these days.

March 12-15 - Tampa:

As far as NHL cities are concerned, Tampa ranks up there among the top spots to visit along the way.
The weather is tough to beat, especially if the stop comes in the middle of winter, but Tampa is a great town with a passionate fanbase, and the atmosphere inside AMALIE Arena is always enjoyable.
I've recently started discovering this fact, as my professional partner-in-crime - NashvillePredators.com's Thomas Willis - has almost always taken the one-game trip to Tampa over the past few seasons. However, this season's temporary division realignment put the Predators and Lightning in the Central for the first time, and the schedule has included two visits and four total games on Florida's Gulf Coast.
Another reason Tampa ranks high on the list of favorites for many around the League is convenience. Any city with hotels close enough to walk to the arena will always receive top marks from me, and there are a number of spots close by in the newly-renovated Water Street Tampa area surrounding the rink. In the years to come, the area will only continue to blossom with a number of high rises, shops and restaurants currently under construction.

As mentioned earlier in this blog, current protocols are strict throughout the NHL with the pandemic continuing on, but an outdoor walk and/or run is allowed and is always on my daily itinerary. AMALIE Arena sits right along the Garrison Channel, which also includes the Tampa Riverwalk, the perfect spot for a stroll.
Check out some of the views I enjoyed this time around during our visit to one of the sunniest cities in the League.

The Preds fell to the Lightning on Saturday night, but they rebounded with a satisfying victory on Monday afternoon at AMALIE Arena to conclude their two-game set in Tampa. Now, it's on to the other side of the Sunshine State for a pair against the Florida Panthers on Thursday and Saturday. Stay tuned!

March 16-20 - Florida:

After a triumph in Tampa on Monday afternoon, the Predators jetted off to South Florida to continue our extended stay in the Sunshine State. The meetings with the Panthers didn't come until Thursday and Saturday, so that allowed for some time to rest, recuperate and enjoy the sun a bit.
My red hair forces me to stay out of the sun as much as possible, however, but the mornings and evenings presented excellent opportunities to get some fresh air.
When facing the Panthers, whose home building is located in Sunrise, Florida, we sometimes stay near the rink and away from the crowds at the beaches. However, with a longer trip, it makes sense to stay along the ocean instead for a change of scenery, and each team in the Central Division made that decision this season.

In each NHL city, teams usually choose between two of three hotels to reside in when they visit during a normal season, but with expansive protocols during the current campaign, the decision was made to choose a single hotel in every market for each visiting club to call home for a few days. That allows for some consistency when it comes to housing each team over the course of the season and ensuring every club is receiving the same setup to keep things within as much of a "bubble" setting as possible.
Of course, choosing a spot along the Atlantic Ocean makes sense in Florida, and so the Preds, as well as the other participants in the Central this season, rested their heads in Fort Lauderdale Beach when they're in town to play the Panthers.
As was the case in Tampa, a trip to Florida at any point during the season, especially when the weather back home may not be ideal, can certainly raise the spirits over the course of a long grind.
Following Monday's win, the Preds had a day off on Tuesday and a practice day on Wednesday before facing the Panthers for the first time on Thursday. Goaltender Juuse Saros returned from injury to make 40 saves, and a pair of goals from Calle Jarnkrok gave Nashville a 2-1 victory at the BB&T Center.

The Panthers took Saturday afternoon's matchup by a 2-0 final, and as soon as the equipment was packed, we headed straight to the airport to head back to where the trip began in Dallas.
The entire process for getting out of a city after the game is quite impressive. The goal is to at least be on the plane approximately four hours after the opening faceoff to a game. On Saturday, the puck dropped at 2:08 p.m. ET in Sunrise, and as soon as the final horn went around 4:30, an organized and efficient operation began.
Each team in the NHL has their own equipment truck, and that is often used to help get the opposing team's equipment to the plane following the contest. Ideally, the truck is gone before the players and coaches leave the arena to allow for extra time to get to the plane and load everything up.

We're traveling with two buses this season - one for the players, the other for coaches, management and staff (including yours truly) - and we're usually pulling away from the arena 30 to 40 minutes following the end of the game.
I always finish writing the game recap on the bus, and my goal is to have it uploaded and published to the website before we get on the plane. All of the logistical elements fell into place on Saturday, as they usually do, and we were off to Dallas right around that four-hour mark from that first faceoff.
Seven games down, one more to go…