Nashville Predators’ Current Standing
The Nashville Predators find themselves in a precarious position as they currently sit at the bottom of the NHL standings, accumulating only 16 points over 21 games played this season. Recently overtaken by the Calgary Flames—who they defeated 4-2 earlier this month—the Predators are now three points behind Calgary, marking a challenging start to the season for the team. In fact, Nashville and Calgary are the only teams yet to reach 20 points this year.
Offensive Struggles
Nashville’s struggles have intensified, with the team suffering losses in 10 of their last 12 matches, including two in overtime. Their lone road victory occurred back on October 13, where they defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1. In the Central Division, they find themselves trailing the St. Louis Blues by four points, further highlighting their current difficulties.
Offensively, the Predators are lagging, having scored a league-low 48 goals, averaging just 2.29 goals per game. This dismal scoring performance is reflected in the statistics of their players, with nobody showcasing a positive plus/minus rating for those having played more than five games. Filip Forsberg leads the team with 15 points, followed closely by Ryan O’Reilly with 13 points. Other contributors include Matthew Wood, Erik Haula, Luke Evangelista, and Michael Bunting, who all stand at 10 points each. However, the underperformance of key players like Steven Stamkos (five points, on track for a career-low) and Jonathan Marchessault (six points and a troubling minus-11) raises concerns about the offense.
Defensive Challenges
Defensively, Nashville has allowed an average of 3.48 goals against per game, ranking them among the bottom six of the league. The return of captain Roman Josi, who has posted five points in his last nine games, offers some hope for improvement. However, Brady Skjei’s struggles—his minus-14 rating is among the worst in the league—continue to weigh heavily on the defense’s performance.
On a brighter note, young talents Spencer Stastney and Nick Blankenburg have shown promise, while the rest of the defense has performed better than expected, particularly in their penalty-killing efforts, successfully stopping 82% of opponent power plays. Surprisingly, the Predators rank 26th in power play efficiency at 15.4%, converting 10 out of 65 chances, although their discipline has been notably better this season, only accruing 157 penalty minutes, a stark contrast to their historical trends as a high-penalty team.
Goaltending Situation
In goal, Juuse Saros remains a beacon of hope, ranking highly in saves and shots faced. In contrast, backup Justus Annunen’s performance has been disappointing, posting a goals against average of 3.98 and a save percentage of .849, making him one of the least effective goalies in the league.
Looking Ahead
As the season progresses, the Predators have not yet made significant changes, despite general manager Barry Trotz voicing his disappointment. Following a tough loss to the Colorado Avalanche, head coach Andrew Brunette maintains optimism that the team can rebound, urging players to continue working diligently. Looking ahead, the schedule remains daunting with upcoming games against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and a trip to face the Atlantic Division’s Detroit Red Wings, among others. The Predators’ resilience will be put to the test in the coming week.
