How Nashville Predators got hot right as John Hynes comes to town

Just as John Hynes hits town as the new coach of the Minnesota Wild, his former team is on a hot streak.

The Nashville Predators, who Hynes coached for four seasons before being fired May 30, have won six games in a row, the longest active streak in the NHL. It is a reassuring sign after an uneven start to the season and a four-game losing streak just prior to the current run. They are tied for fifth with 22 points (11-10-0) in the Western Conference with the Arizona Coyotes entering Thursday's game against the Wild.

Dean Evason, who was in his fifth season with the Wild, was dismissed Monday. Hours later, the team announced it had hired Hynes as his replacement.

He inherited a team that was mired in a seven-game losing streak. In his first game, Hynes ended that as the Wild beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1. Minnesota is 6-10-4 entering Thursday's game and third from the bottom in the Western Conference with 16 points.

How Predators have their six-game winning streak

Nashville's six-game winning steak includes an 8-3 rout of the Blues, a 3-2 overtime result against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and heart-pounding thriller on Nov. 20. That game was against the Colorado Avalanche, in which the Predators rallied from a 3-2 deficit and scored the tying and winning goals in 16 seconds in the last minute of the game.

Forsberg leads the team with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists). Gustav Nyquist is tops with a plus-6, and has 13 assists.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wild coach John Hynes hits town with Nashville Predators on hot streak