Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette asks fans to stop throwing catfish on the ice

The catfish throwing thing has been fun and all, but as the Nashville Predators get ready for a crucial Game 4, head coach Peter Laviolette would like fans to cut it out for the next home game.

In a PSA sent out by the team Twitter account, Laviolette makes a stiff and very scripted plea with fans to stop throwing anything on the ice, including catfish, as they want to avoid any unnecessary penalties.

Hey, everyone. Showing good sportsmanship is part of being good citizens of Nashville. That means not throwing anything on the ice, putting both our players and the officials in danger. Help us secure our home ice advantage and prevent us from being penalized for unnecessary reasons. Please don't throw anything on the ice and thank you for being the best fans in the National Hockey League.

In Game 3, five catfish were thrown on the ice as well as hats, rally towels and t-shirts. Per NHL rules, officials have the right to hand down a 2-minute delay of game penalty to the team for fan behavior. While the Predators penalty kill has been outstanding, and Penguins power play abysmal, it's not a chance they want to take. The Penguins are 1-for-13 so far on the power play against the Predators, but they're not going to stink forever. Give them enough chances, as the Predators have, and they'll find their way back.

Will people listen? Who knows, but Laviolette does have a point. It's no fun, but the end of the Game 4 the Predators will either be down 3-1 or even at 2-2, which is a huge difference. There's no way they want this to come down to a Penguins goal that was scored on a bad penalty because of fan behavior.