Nashville Predators: Top Takeaways as Juuse Saros Isn’t Enough in Leafs Loss

Carrying an impressive 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games, the Nashville Predators had another difficult test against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. Despite the valiant effort, they suffered the 3-0 defeat.

If you just look at the 3-0 final score and the analytics, you’ll probably assume that the Predators never had a chance in this game, and you’d be getting ahead of yourself. Yet again, Juuse Saros kept the Predators alive and able to possibly steal a point or two.

In the end, the Maple Leafs were too much and Saros could only do so much. Tell me how many times you’ve heard that one, and odds are you’ll still probably be underestimating that total.

Nashville Predators couldn’t steal the points vs. Leafs

We’ve seen it plenty of times in the past; the Nashville Predators steal a point or two in the standings despite not playing all that well, thanks in large part to goaltending. Saros tried to take his inner Pekka Rinne and do that for the Predators on Tuesday in Toronto.

Unfortunately the Predators couldn’t keep their winning ways going against an equally hot Maple Leafs team that has now won nine of their last 10 games and now tied for the 2nd-best point total in the NHL.

When you really break down this game, you have to be honest in your assessment that the Predators didn’t have any business being only down by one goal entering the final four minutes of regulation. Saros didn’t put up the massive save total, but his saves were certainly quality over quantity.

In all situations, the Maple Leafs doubled the Predators in high danger chances for by a margin of 16-8, per Natural Stat Trick. The Leafs were constantly getting strong scoring chances while the Predators had an extremely hard time even getting through the neutral zone, especially after the first period.

Saros will keep the Predators in the playoff race and win them a lot of games this season when he plays this way against the majority of teams in this league. We’ve already seen that on display as the Predators are now 9-6-1 on the season and still just one point behind 1st-place Minnesota.

There’s no reason to lose any sleep over this loss other than you hate seeing another gem of a start wasted for Saros as he takes another loss. Other than that, it’s the product of the Predators running into a team that’s superior on paper and should win when you stack the rosters against each other.

The important thing here is to not let this loss linger into a long losing streak. In 2019-20 the Predators started the season in similar fashion with a  9-4-2 record, only to proceed to lose their next six games in a row.

Saros was the sole reason why many predicted that the Predators had a shred of hope to make the playoffs again. He showed that against the Maple Leafs, and he was good enough to beat a lot of teams in this league. Just not this loaded Leafs team on this particular night.

Other takeaways

A big moment for the Predators early in the game was a scoring chance for Philip Tomasino, who was having a bit of a homecoming as he grew up close to the Toronto area:

If Tomasino scores there, then who knows how the game ends. But it takes more than just one or two “close calls” to beat teams like the Maple Leafs. The Predators’ quality chances were few an far between.

Mark Borowiecki nearly got in a fight with former Predators player Wayne Simmonds, another well-known brawler. It never got going despite the gloves being dropped because Borowiecki took an accidental poke to the eye. It resulted in a 4-on-4 situation.

Finally,

Mattias Ekholm

is being heavily scrutinized for the goal given up to make it 2-0 late in the third period. He was definitely overpowered defensively and gave up the puck, which quickly lead to the goal by

David Kampf

to seal the fate of the Nashville Predators:

It’s not been a particularly ideal start to the season for Ekholm who is in the last year of his contract. Along with Filip Forsberg, he’s a player that might be dealt at the trade deadline if things don’t improve.

Speaking of Forsberg, this felt like the first game since his injury absence where the team really missed his presence and needed his offensive skills to break some thing open. The team needs him back quick if they’re going to hang with the top tier NHL teams.