When it comes to chirping an opponent, Kiefer Sherwood is considered one of the best in Nashville’s locker room.
Sherwood calls the in-game exchanges “the game within the game”, and that verbal chess match, like so many other aspects of the sport, amps up during the playoffs. It may seem like the chippy on ice conversations are born from the heat of the moment, but for Sherwood it is a small but calculated part of his game.
“It’s something I try to give us an edge with,” Sherwood said after morning skate. “It’s all the game within the game, trying to get under guys skin, in their head a little bit.”
Head coach Andrew Brunette has continually emphasized being a team that is hard to play against, and the verbal sparring can be a small part of that.
“At the end of the day we want to be hard to play against as a team,” Sherwood said. “That’s a value that we preach and that’s one of the ways to do it.”
A potential seven game playoff series gives Sherwood a unique opportunity to be a repeated “thorn in their side”.
“That’s the beauty of the playoffs. Everyone ramps things up — the intensity, physicality,” Sherwood said.
“I try to play with competitive fire and whether it’s my chirps or my physicality, I want to wear guys down. It’s a marathon, right? It’s a series, so it’s not just one game. If I continue to be physical on their D, that might open up a time or opportunity for Fil [Filip Forsberg] or their line or our power play.”
“It’s just investing in the game,” Sherwood said of his chirps.
Is it ever difficult for Sherwood to keep his cool playing that “game within the game”?
“Yeah, but I’ve also worked on my fire or competitiveness and my energy,” Sherwood explained. “I try to let it fuel me. Whereas some guys it might distract or kind of take them away, I think it actually fuels my game.”
Getting any small advantage can be a big part of winning a playoff game, especially in a series that has been as tight as Nashville’s first round matchup with Vancouver.
“There’s so many different ways to skin a cat,” Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, you need a whole team effort to do it. You might not be scoring but it’s investing physically, mentally, emotionally.”
Adding an element of not-so-suitable-for-being-mic’ed-up chirping to his game is one way that Kiefer Sherwood has evolved over the course of his career.
“I think it’s just part of the growth or evolution that’s I’ve kind of adapted,” Sherwood said. “I’ve obviously had to adapt thoughout my career, and especially within the team here.”
Sherwood played 68 regular season games for the Predators and was a healthy scratch at times as he worked to find his place in the lineup and figure out where his specific skill set could add value.
“I really had to grow my game in certain areas, and that’s one of them,” Sherwood said of the verbal sparring. “Just being hard to play against and being I guess a thorn in the other team’s side is something that I try to pride myself on.”
“There are different ways to do it. Smitty [Cole Smith] might not chirp, but he’s definitely a pain in the other team’s side as well just from the way he’s physical and hounding and grinding. So there’s different ways to go about it.”
Sherwood earned him the trust of Andrew Brunette and a consistent place on a line with Smith and Michael McCarron in the second half of the season. Sherwood plays a physical game and brings an element of speed when it comes to depth players on the roster.
He and his teammates are getting ready to take on the Canucks in an elimination game 6 tonight at Bridgestone Arena, and it is not likely to be a game where he stays quiet on the ice.
“I’m not a psychologist by any means, far from it,” Sherwood said. “But I do think the power of the mind and just investing in a series, especially when it’s seven games, wearing guys down mentally, stressing them, and just being in their head hopefully will pay off not just for me but for my teammates.”
