The Juuse is Loose
What a turnaround, and much-needed turnaround, it’s been for Juuse Saros this season. Much like last season, he got off to a rugged start.
Since then, he’s recovered nicely and really helping the Predators improve their defensive numbers in terms of goals allowed and even their penalty kill.
Great and reliable goaltending can be a huge difference-maker once you’re in the playoffs, but the Predators still have a lot of work to do before they even get that opportunity. Saros is the main guy that can surge the Predators to a playoff berth.
Since Head Coach John Hynes took over in early January, Saros has a .935 save percentage and has taken over the Predators’ main starter over Pekka Rinne.
Without Saros finding his footing and playing so well over the past couple of months, the Predators probably would’ve fallen even further and had no chance to be in the middle of this wildcard race.
Saros stopped the bleeding and helped the team recover in time to keep pushing forward to where they are now with 14 games left.
Honorable Mention: Craig Smith, Rocco Grimaldi, Mikael Granlund