Nashville Predators Ranked Outside Top-20 in NBC’s Power Rankings

According to NBCSports.com, the Nashville Predators are ranked No. 21 in their most recent power rankings. They have them listed as a bubble team.

There is a lot of hockey left this season, and as unpredictable as the Nashville Predators currently are, it’s tough to tell exactly where they will fall in the race to the playoffs. After recent power rankings though, it’s apparent that Nashville has some catching up left to do.

It’s worth noting that these power rankings from NBC were posted prior to the last three games the Predators have played, in which they’ve had a 2-1 record. Not sure they’ve changed much in terms of power rankings based off the last three games.

With top contenders in the power rankings showing Washington, Tampa Bay and St.Louis, it’s no doubt that Nashville doesn’t deserve to be near the top, but do they belong at the bottom of the playoff bubble nine spots below a team like the Chicago Blackhawks?

Blackhawk down

Chicago has some players that can shake a team up, such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but the Predators are ahead in the standings, and neck-and-neck to say the least. Not to mention the Predators pulled a 5-2 win over Chicago earlier this month, including a memorable goal from Pekka Rinne, and a 3-0 shutout in October.

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Even with Chicago’s 7-2 win in November, it’s still clear who is more of a contender this season. If This spot is the only ranking that is easy to argue against. The Predators haven’t done a whole lot to instill confidence in them being ranked ahead of too many other teams.

Chicago is a long-time running rival of the Predators, so I may seem biased, but even though they are close in standings, Chicago doesn’t deserve to be nine spots ahead of the Nashville Predators in any power ranking list.

In fact, it could easily be argued that with their star players and past trends in standings, that Nashville could battle the top contender in the wildcard spot. The storm is just starting to brew with the Nashville Predators, and they have a lot left to show.

Where the Predators should be ranked

I personally say that Nashville should sit somewhere around No.13 or No.14 in the power rankings. Honestly, Dallas (No.11) should fall under the New York Islanders (No.12) themselves in the rankings.

One interesting note is the Predators have beaten the top-three teams in these rankings at some points this season. They defeated the top team, the Washington Capitals, just a few days ago after these rankings were already posted.

It’s agreeable that these two teams should be placed ahead of the Predators, but there are other teams such as Arizona, Calgary and Toronto that the Predators should be outplaying, but just aren’t producing enough wins to validate.

With players like Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen, being ranked out of the top-20 shows how much this team has fallen short of expectations. The lack of consistency has become their own worst enemy along with other components of the game that has caused setbacks.

The good news is that Nashville has possibly found their rhythm, and modest improvements are being shown. Head coach John Hynes is taking it further day-by-day with coaching certain elements of the game such as defense, offensive attack and attacking the middle lane and crease.

Where the Predators will finish

There has been some positive vibes thrown into the mix of things. Expect Nashville to come out around between spots 12 through 15 when writers start putting out their final power rankings at season’s end.

All in all, I can understand the need for the Predators to be classified as a bottom underdog who is needing some wins to make their stand. They’re a hard team to trust, and that means you can’t throw them up in the top half of the rankings.

However, placing Chicago over the Predators have left a lot of people in confusion as Chicago just doesn’t have the numbers to show for a nine-spot differential. It’s a controversy for sure, but Nashville is at an uprising, and this power ranking will not stay this was for long.