Nashville Predators: Five Areas John Hynes Must Improve Upon Next Season

Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes talks with his team during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes talks with his team during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators center Matt Duchene (95) talks with Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Decide on consistent lines

Most of the Predlines crew has covered this multiple times, so I won’t spend too long on it.  But it is arguably Hynes’ most critical task heading into next year. Finding more consistency in the line combinations.

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Remember how the Nashville Predators had the same four lines almost every game down the final stretch of the regular season and were winning?  That didn’t happen by mistake.

Then when Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs came against the Hurricanes, Hynes put together lines that could not be kept, and that game and the next one were the team’s worst losses of the series.  It wasn’t the only reason they lost the series, but it played a part.

We cannot yet know what the team’s trios will look like at the start of next season, and will not know until the expansion draft at the very earliest.  But based on how this past season ended, Hynes should have an easier time devising lines this time around with a full and normal offseason.