Inside the NHL
Posted: Wednesday March 12, 2003 9:41 AM
Money in the Bank
Great play by Tomas Vokoun may get Nashville into the playoffs and save the owner from writing refund checks By
Stephen Cannella 
The predators have been full of surprises this season. Owner Craig Leipold's promise to refund this year's 6% season-ticket price hike if his five-year-old franchise failed to make the playoffs made headlines. After Nashville won only six of its first 29 games and then traded No. 1 goalie Mike Dunham to the Rangers on Dec. 12, it looked as if Leipold would spend the spring cutting rebate checks. Later that day career backup Tomas Vokoun, a ninth-round pick in 1994 who was claimed by the Predators in the expansion draft, was anointed the starter. "It was so sudden, we didn't have time to talk about it," says Vokoun, who stopped 22 shots in the 2-2 tie with St. Louis that night. "I wasn't expecting it."
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Since replacing Dunham, Vokoun has an eye-popping 2.07 goals-against average. Elsa/Getty Images |
Vokoun's promotion may ultimately save Leipold a lot of money. At week's end Nashville was 10-2-2-1 since the All-Star break and trailed the Oilers by five points for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Order forms for postseason tickets were mailed last Friday -- for the first time in franchise history. "Vokoun is the biggest reason we've been playing so well lately," says defenseman Kimmo Timonen.
As Dunham's backup Vokoun had never played in more than 37 games in a season, but coach Barry Trotz was impressed by the Czech goalie's steady improvement. With one of the league's weakest offenses, the 26-year-old Vokoun has given the Predators a chance to win in most matches. Through Sunday he had started 38 of Nashville's 39 games since the trade with a 2.07 goals-against average.
Vokoun was brilliant during a recent four-game winning streak that lifted the Predators, who were 27-25-10-5 at week's end, above the .500 mark. "Anytime we made a mistake early in the year, the puck ended up in our net," says wing Brent Gilchrist. "Those mistakes don't hurt us now."
Issue date: March 17, 2003
For more Inside the NHL see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, March 12. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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