Nashville Predators: Four Takeaways from Disappointing End to the Season

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The roller coaster season of the Nashville Predators has finally come to a screeching halt at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Let’s pick up the pieces.

First and foremost, the Dallas Stars deserve a ton of credit for riding their hot streak from the regular season into the postseason. The Predators, on the other hand, failed to do the same after locking up a second-straight Central Division title. The series as a whole was really lopsided when you break it down without any bias. The Stars controlled the tempo most of the time and dictated the flow of the game.

The series did go to six games with glimmers of hope in Game 6. The Predators didn’t lie down and get destroyed in their elimination game. They had several opportunities to get this to a deciding Game 7, but just couldn’t solve Ben Bishop of the Stars. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other team.

Now where do we go from here? The Predators will be back again next season and in the conversation for another playoff berth. However, they seem to be going backwards now. We were crushed after a second round exit last season, and now they’ve failed to get even that far. A bad trend that needs to be reversed quickly. Here are some takeaways from their first round series with Dallas that ends in six games.

NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 20: Nashville Predators right wing Viktor Arvidsson (33) is shown during Game Five of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, held on April 20, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Goose egg for the power play

We tried to stay hopeful that the Predators power play would finally figure it out in the playoffs. They just needed a clean slate. Well that certainly wasn’t the case, and, believe it or not, looked even worse against the Stars. The Predators failed to tally a power play goal in the series. They had 15 attempts, including a few that could’ve sealed the win in Game 6.

It’s so hard to explain how a team with so much talent and cohesion can be this bad on the power play. You can attribute some of it to bad luck, but most of it is poor execution. It looked like Dallas knew exactly what the Predators wanted to do on their power play and just simply snuffed it out before anything could get going.

When the Predators did get power play shots on goal, often times they were easily blocked by Dallas penalty killers, or Bishop had a pretty ordinary save to make. Bishop did make some amazing stops to keep the Predators from tallying on a couple power plays. However, too many times the power play failed to even get set up in Dallas’ zone. We feared that the putrid power play would keep them from getting anywhere far in the postseason, and that’s exactly what happened. They go down as the only team in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to not score a power play goal. How fitting.

DALLAS, TEXAS – APRIL 22: Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators makes a glove save against the Dallas Stars in the first period of Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center on April 22, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Pekka Rinne wasn’t the problem

Some of the very outspoken critics can’t use Rinne as the scapegoat this time around. Rinne most likely kept this from being over in five games, or even a sweep. He played incredible for most of the series despite very little defense played in front of him. He was called on time and time again to bail out his teammates and stop onslaught after onslaught from the Stars. He gave the Predators a chance to steal Game 6 and push it to a Game 7. If that happens, and it could’ve easily ended that way, then the conversation is much different right now.

If you just look at Rinne’s basic numbers in the series, you may rush to the conclusion that he had a terrible series. After all, a save percentage barely over 90 and giving up more than three goals per game isn’t good. However, I can argue that the Stars should’ve lit the Predators up for five or six goals per game with all of the pressure and scoring chances they piled up over the series. Rinne kept this from being a blood bath.

Both Dallas and Nashville accounted for the same amount of high danger chances in the series at 82. Dallas capitalized on just eight of those chances, per Natural Stat Trick. Those totals are much higher than every other playoff team outside of San Jose and Vegas. His high-danger save percentage of 86 is also higher than many of the other playoff goaltenders. So Rinne did a masterful job at keeping Dallas from really running the score up in a few of the games.

Rinne certainly wasn’t the problem in this series. It will be an interesting offseason to see how the dynamic unfolds with Juuse Saros waiting in the wings to take over. Saros did play well in relief of Rinne in the Game 4 blowout.

NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 20: Viktor Arvidsson #33 of the Nashville Predators skates against Miro Heiskanen #4 of the Dallas Stars in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 20, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Top line missing in action

I said all along that the Predators need support for the top line. That Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg can’t carry this team on their own in the playoffs. The reverse ended up happening. The top line manages just four points in the series, and none of those from Arvidsson. Credit Dallas for having a suffocating defensive plan that agitated the Nashville top guns from getting much room to operate freely. Arvidsson never looked comfortable and Forsberg often looked agitated and disinterested.

The top line disappearing is another major factor, along with the power play, for why the Predators are heading home early. You just can’t have that happen in the playoffs. The end result shouldn’t be too shocking when you see the lack of production from a top line that carried you for much of the season.

It actually got to the point that Peter Laviolette broke up the top line in Game 6, putting Rocco Grimaldi out there. Laviolette clearly saw something wasn’t clicking with this unit, but maybe he waited too long to have the courage to make that big of a move. Grimaldi is the top performer of the series for the Predators with three goals, and you can argue should’ve been moved up sooner. If the top line even produces half of what they’re capable of, then the Predators win this series. Instead they’re relegated to a non-factor, forcing the bottom lines to beat them. Not a formula for playoff success.

DALLAS, TX – APRIL 17: Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators watches the action from the bench against the Dallas Stars in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on April 17, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Laviolette’s seat is getting toasty for next season

This isn’t an overreaction on my part regarding Laviolette’s job security. The fact is this team is going in reverse despite having a roster full of players in their primes. The Predators should be trending up with their current roster of players. There is no excuse for the last two years, and yet teams seem to be figuring out Laviolette’s system for Nashville.

Laviolette now heads into next season needing to show that the Predators are still a force in the playoffs. Regular season accomplishments are nice, but not what this organization needs anymore. A trophy case that still lacks a Stanley Cup is what people focus on. Unfortunately this organization seems to be drifting farther away from that Stanley Cup since they came within two wins of it against Pittsburgh.

I’m not saying fire Laviolette at this juncture. What I am saying is now he’s going to be under a microscope for next season. His job security has always been safe here in Nashville, and this will be the first time when that’s not the case. If this team stumbles out of the gate over the first month or two, then things will get nasty quick.

Peter Laviolette's Nashville Legacy in Danger. dark. Next

Laviolette didn’t make it past five seasons with his last two teams, and he just coached his fifth season with Nashville. Plenty of regular season success and a Western Conference title is all well and good, but you can’t be going backwards at this juncture. He has to get this team firing on all cylinders out of the gate next season to feel confident in his long-term future as Nashville’s coach.

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