A long slump without a Conference Finals appearance has ended ... but it's not by Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Nope. It's the Nashville Predators.
The Predators came into existence during the 1998-99 season and things didn't start out so great. During the Predators' first five seasons, they finished each year with a points percentage below .500. Among teams that played in each of that five-season span, the only ones that had worse records than the Predators (.434) were the Lightning (.393) and the Islanders (.423).
In fact, the Predators’ playoff struggles included …
• Not winning a playoff series until 2011, their 12th season in the NHL.