It’s been a mixed bag so far for the 2021 Nashville Predators as they’ve gotten off to a 2-3-0 start to begin the season.
A three-game losing streak has dampened the mood of the Smashville faithful after a promising start to the year with back-to-back wins against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even though they lost the game, I thought the best game of the season for them so far came against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-2 loss last week.
Then, it got ugly in Dallas. In today’s inaugural edition of Stanley’s Shots, we’ll dive into what has stood out so far about the Predators.
- Penalty kill trouble
Did I mention that things got rough in Dallas? That may be putting things mildly, particularly on special teams. The Stars destroyed the Predators on Friday night by a 7-0 final in a game that saw the Stars score five goals on the power play and an additional goal on the penalty kill.
Things weren’t drastically better in the second game against the Stars on Sunday where they allowed three power-play goals by Dallas. Joe Pavelski finished the two-game set with seven points (three goals, four assists) against the Predators.
Nashville has allowed nine power play goals on 20 shorthanded attempts through the first five games. Only the Florida Panthers are worse on the penalty kill, but they’ve only played in two games and have allowed three goals on five times shorthanded. I don’t believe the Predators penalty kill is as bad as they showed themselves to be in Dallas, but this is a problem. It was a problem last season as well. If it doesn’t get fixed, this team won’t sniff the playoffs.
- Need more down the middle
I’ll start by saying this: I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve seen from Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene up to this point. I think the chances have been there for the most part, and that’s certainly encouraging when comparing it to the lackluster seasons each had a season ago.
However, I’m tired to talking about chances when it comes to the top forwards on the Predators. It’s time for them to find a way to bear down and produce. Granted, it’s still very early into the season and it’s no time to panic. But Johansen and Duchene have combined for four points (zero goals, four assists) in five games. There’s still another level that both of them can reach and will have to reach if this team has got a chance of making some noise this season.
- Forsberg rock solid to begin play
Predators forward Filip Forsberg is off to a great start in his season, scoring four goals in the opening five games and doing so in different ways. He’s by far the best shooting option on the power play and should probably be utilized even more in that area. Forsberg has also put on display his elite shooting talent on the rush so far this season as well.
One of the things that has been pretty noticeable about Forsberg has been a commitment to playing more of a “power forward” type of game rather than relying solely on his skill. Some of the goals he’s already scored this season have reflected that nicely, with two goals beginning on strong efforts by him in the defensive zone.
Now, Forsberg needs to keep it up and have more players producing along with him.
- What is Juuse Saros’ future?
A huge question that will begin to be answered this season is what does the future of the goaltending position look like in Nashville? Juuse Saros has firmly established himself as a “good” NHL goaltender. Can he be great? Can he be the next franchise guy? To me, that’s still yet to be determined.
The Predators selected Yaroslav Askarov with the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. Obviously, they are excited about his future and the top-level NHL goaltending prospect that he projects to be. Saros has got to know that there will be back-pressure coming in the not-so-distant future from Askarov and potentially even Connor Ingram. How will he respond? It’s been a mixed bag so far through four starts for him.
- How soon can Roman Josi get going?
It’s been a relatively slow start to the season for Predators captain Roman Josi, particularly offensively. He’s got one assist through five games.
Obviously the bar was set extremely high for Josi after an incredible 2019-20 Norris Trophy winning campaign that saw him put up 65 points (16 goals, 49 assists) in 69 games. Getting the power play going would go a long way toward getting Josi going offensively. I do wonder if the system change with John Hynes maybe makes him getting activated in the rush offensively and carrying the puck less frequent.
Of all of the problems the Predators have had to begin the season, this one is by far the one I’m least concerned with. Josi will be fine. He will be productive. His entire body of work suggests that. He’s just got to get going sooner rather than later because this team relies so heavily upon his play in all three zones.
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