Nashville Predators: MVPs of the 2019-20 Regular Season

Juuse Saros got them where they are now

Saros didn’t have a great start to the season, but flipped a switch in January. It’s almost like two different people were playing.

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The first half of the season was terrible for Saros. So bad, in fact, he only had five wins in 20 starts.

In October, his GAA ballooned to just a shade under four goals per game. It lowered a bit by December, but was still pretty bad.

By February, his GAA had dropped all the way to 2.33, before rising a bit to 2.7 goals allowed per game.

When John Hynes became the new head coach, Saros seemed to be energized by the change. He began to start more often, and by February had taken over the starting goaltender role from Pekka Rinne.

During the second half of the season, Saros piled up some impressive wins. He registered a shutout win against the New York Islanders, a win against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, and back-to-back shutout wins against the Dallas Stars.

Saros also had a career number of shutouts this season with four. What’s impressive about this stat is that his four shutouts happened in the second half of this season.

The Predators were riding a three-game win streak before the season was paused. Saros was a factor in this and should get the start when the playoffs start.

Saros’ play in this second half of the season has propelled him to MVP status for the team. This surge that he’s having is good news since Rinne only has one year left on his current contract.

The starting goaltender job is Saros’ for the taking.