It’s put up or shut up time with 31 games left in the regular season for the Nashville Predators as they resume play on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.
As of Wednesday, the Predators are tied with the St. Louis Blues in the Wild Card race at 54 points just on the outside of being a playoff team.
So, what have been the brightest spots & weakest points of the Predators to this point? General manager Barry Trotz has a lot to gauge here in the next few weeks as he approaches his first NHL trade deadline. Will he buy for the future or sell for the development of the team?
I asked fans what they thought and split up six responses and answered them to see how Smashville is feeling.
NEGATIVES
1. I’ve been disappointed in the effort from younger players who I’d think want to be in the league. Maybe that’s a learning curve but the team still has these lapses of effort way too much. Losing is ok if the effort is there which sometimes it’s not and the coach has said so much in interviews.
Kieser: There’s certainly been a theme of the younger or less experienced NHLers not living up to their own expectations. However, the one thing to remember is most players go through an adjustment when a new coach comes in. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh expressed last month how at this point the growing pains should be over. We’ve seen how the lack of confidence bites players, a player that comes to mind is Juuso Pärssinen. Cody Glass and Tommy Novak are others who battled injuries earlier in the season.
2. Juice just hasn’t played up to his expectations part of that is not his fault but still he hasn’t stolen many games.
Kieser: Yes, the Predators starter has not looked like himself at times. It reminds me of how Sergei Bobrovsky hit a bit of a wall last season. Saros stands at 19-19-2 this season with a 2.94 goals-against average and a save percentage of .903. Part of me would’ve liked to have seen Kevin Lankinen get some more starts but Andrew Brunette has opted to go with Saros. I’ll be curious to see how Nashville views Saros after the season since he can sign an extension. His play the rest of the season may dictate his future as a Predator with Yaroslav Askarov tearing up the AHL.
3. The team is where I expected. As a season ticket holder, I wish they would win more at home. I’d like to get rid of a few players.
Kieser: Through 26 home games this season Nashville is 13-13 with a goal differential of -5. In the last 10 seasons, Nashville has had 14 or fewer wins four times in the initial 26 home games. It’s certainly a rarity for this team to deviate away from playing well in Bridgestone Arena. A few losses have come from blown leads and chasing games. Brunette has expressed to both his team and the media that games at home should mean more and see better results.
POSITIVES
1. Some of the younger players finding their groove and up until recently, our 1st line was pretty phenomenal.
Kieser: Nashville has scored 151 goals this season with 35% of those coming from the top line of Forsberg-O’Reilly-Nyquist. Luke Evangelista has grown the most to this point with 22 points in 50 games while Philip Tomasino has 20 points in 40 games. Forward Tommy Novak is sitting at 23 points as a 26-year-old, not your typical blossoming player but there’s more to be hopeful for as the Milwaukee Admirals currently have five forwards with at least 10 goals. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a young gun or two get a call to the NHL before the season ends.
2. It’s nice to see Trotz’s moves paying off perfectly and them winning but at the same time l think we all know they’re destined for another early exit. Is that really what we want?
Kieser: It shocked me back in the offseason when Ryan O’Reilly signed a deal with the Predators. The 33-year-old has been one of the best free-agent signings across the NHL and was exactly what Trotz wanted as a piece to build around. Gustav Nyquist falls under the same category having two extensive point streaks of at least nine games. These two skaters have been the highlights of Trotz’s early work as the new GM. If Nashville’s veterans push them to the playoffs I’m certain this locker room would still benefit from playing more meaningful hockey. All of that should become clearer in the next few weeks.
3. Jeremy Lauzon has been a very pleasant surprise on defense. Almost night and day compared to last season. The dude has a case to be top 4 nightly.
Kieser: Jeremy has been a delight to see when it comes to seeing a younger veteran take the next steps to being a reliable NHLer. He leads the league with 229 hits and already has a career-high in goals for a season at five. Brunette said he’s seeing Lauzon become an elite defenseman, perhaps the Predators felt there was something more to his game when he was acquired from Seattle. After this season he’s locked up for two more with an average salary of $2 million. He and Carrier have been one of the staples on defense this season with only more to build on out of the week off.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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