Royal Welcome for Newest Team

NHL hockey arrived in Music City on Saturday night, and the fans were more than ready.

About 2,000 people lined up outside Nashville Arena three hours before the start of the Nashville Predators’ inaugural regular-season game, a 1-0 loss to the Florida Panthers, to see the players arrive and walk in on a red carpet.

Owner Craig Leipold waded through the crowd, shaking hands and receiving slaps on the back.

“More people just said ‘Thank you for bringing hockey to Nashville,’ ” he said. “ . . . It was really very emotional for me.”

Leipold said he is realistic about how well the team will fare this year, and said he believes fans are too.

“It’s a three-year plan,” he said. “We are going to compete this year and get better next year and, hopefully, make the playoffs in our third year. I think fans understand and have bought into that.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game and said he was impressed by the enthusiasm of the fans in a city where football is king.

“There is excitement on every level here,” he said.

Nashville, the first of four expansion teams approved by the league, sold more than 12,000 season tickets. The opener drew a sellout crowd of 17,298.

The fans, entertained by a band as they filed in, saw their first fight before the Predators got their first shot nearly seven minutes into the game.

The Panthers, however, spoiled the party. Ray Whitney scored a power-play goal early in the third period and Kirk McLean stopped 26 shots.