Nashville Predators Quarterly Report Card: Much Improved
Offense: B- (Q1: D+, Q2: C-)
More from Predlines
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
- Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
- The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
- Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa
Look at that, we’re already improving! The offense started woefully at the beginning of the season, but it feels like the Nashville Predators have finally started to break bad habits while establishing more of an identity.
When you compare what the offense was in the first quarter of the season, and even the second quarter, it was a bit rough.
Turnovers in the neutral zone, dumping and chasing to no avail, and only getting one-shot opportunities defined this system…if you can call it that.
Looking at Q3, the offense looks more confident in transition. The neutral zone can still be choppy at times, but the team is much better about navigating into the offensive zone, and once there, they get sustained opportunities.
It helps that there are also other members of the team getting some good scoring opportunities, and not just Filip Forsberg and Eeli Tolvanen. Rocco Grimaldi, Colton Sissons, Calle Jarnkrok, and even Viktor Arvidsson are rounding into form on the forward group and reigniting what was once one of the more stagnate parts of the team’s game.
Defense: B (Q1: C-, Q2: C)
The Nashville Predators defense may have started a little rocky, but they have consistently graded out as the best phase of the team the past three quarters of the season.
What is nice to see is that they are finding much more solid footing in the third quarter of the season, albeit through unconventional methods.
You still have the defensive stalwarts in Roman Josi, Matteas Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, and even Dante Fabbro, but those four have also been injured in parts of the season, sometimes at the same time.
Amazingly, the spark to the defensive corp has come from young talent.
Alexandre Carrier is a strong defenseman who has an extra jump in the offensive component of his game, and has looked good on special teams as well.
Jeremy Davies has also looked pretty impressive in spot-duty.
Ben Harpur may not wow a lot of fans, but he’s a stay at home defender who doesn’t get burned, disrupts in the neutral zone, and plays relatively mistake free (knock on wood).
Former coveted prospect David Farrance has also looked good in limited time we’ve had to see him.
The youth have provided a spark to the defensive corp that shows how deep the team can be in a crucial component of the team, and they’ve played a big part in the teams success.
We can’t mention recent success without talking about the resurgence of Juuse Saros; he started the year off slow, as he did in 2019-2020, but since coming back from injury, he’s been absolutely unreal.
How unreal? Since his return on March 18th, Juuse Saros is the #1 goaltender in the NHL, leading in wins (9), Sv% (.961), and GAA (1.26) among qualifying goal tenders with at least 4 starts in that span. I mean…we are not worthy.
Let’s just hope Saros can keep the amazing streak up.
Special Teams: B- (Q1: F, Q2: C)
Easily the most improved on-ice component of the 2021 iteration of the Nashville Predators, the Special Teams units have really come on strong as of late, and are another big reason the team has found success recently.
The Predators power play ranks in the top 50 percent of the NHL for the first time since 2011-2012, and Tolvanen remains a big reason why, but one of the biggest unsung heroes for the power play has to be Mikael Granlund, who has consistently produced opportunities and plays a gritty style that sustains chances for scoring.
On the flip side, the penalty kill was the most woeful aspect of the Predators’ game early on, ranking as the worst in the NHL, or just above it.
The penalty kill was so bad that they still rank 29th in the league on the season, however, since March 15th, the Predators have the top-ranked penalty kill in the league, at 92.9% – if that isn’t one of the most mind blowing stats, I don’t know what is.
As the old saying goes, better late than never, and that seems to be the mantra of the 2021 Nashville Predators when it comes to figuring our Special Teams.
It also doesn’t hurt to have that Saros guy playing lights-out in the crease.
light. Must Read. Predators Puck Drop: Their Winning Ways Continue
Coaching: C+ (Q1: D, Q2: D-)
I’m going to keep it real for a second: grading a coach is almost entirely on perception, with really the only stat to measure being the record.
The Predators started rocky, got rockier, but then found themselves on an absolute tear.
I was one of the many who called for the firing of John Hynes, and while I’m very impressed with what the team has done since the halfway point of the season, I’m still not fully sure he’s the long term solution that fits the team’s needs.
All that said, I will give credit where credit is due – Hynes clearly deserves to finish out the season, and maybe just maybe he deserves a full (and somewhat normal) off-season and regular season in 2021-2022 for us to truly evaluate where he stands.
As of late, the team is buying into his system, if you can call it that, but what is clear is that the locker room hasn’t been lost. This team looks to believe in itself and trust one another.
The Predators have played an astounding 12 rookies at some point in the season, and still, the team finds buy-in, and the rookies may speak more to the spark than coaching.
Regardless, Hynes has the team in playoff position, and that’s certainly something we didn’t anticipate coming out of the first half of the season.
As they say, it’s not how you start, but how you finish, and the home stretch of 2021 is going to be a wild ride, to say the least.
Nashville Predators Management: C (Q1: F, Q2: D-)
Remember the first half of the season? I mean…remember even the off-season leading into 2021? We felt patronized as a fan-base.
All this talk of “youth movement” and not a lot to show for it. There is absolutely no way you could tell me General Manager David Poile predicted that injuries would precipitate the necessity for the youth to step up on this roster, because he left no room for youth at the start of the season, and yet here we are.
We’ve started 12 rookies due to injury and each have performed admirably, which invites the thought that sometimes your first instinct (youth movement) is the right one.
Regardless of what got us here, you have to give credit to Poile for at least believing in this team, and the youth waiting in the wings.
Poile could have begun the fire sale back in February, or even late March, but he’s stayed the course, and what has come from that has been a really special turn around that has the fan-base excited again.
Do we think we’re cup contenders? Realistically, probably not. But then again, neither did the 2016-2017 team. At the very least, we could play spoilers, and have something worth building on in the offseason and going in to 2021-2022.
Time will tell what the legacy of this rag-tag bunch will mean to the Nashville Predators, and ultimately, to David Poile’s legacy.
As said before, the final stretch of the season is going to be a wild ride, with the team fighting to stay in playoff contention.
Even now, we can’t predict how it’ll end, but we have to at least enjoy the ride for what it’s worth. This is a team worth rooting for.
All gas, no breaks, until the final horn of 2021 sounds – whenever that may be…let’s ride!