Nashville Predators: Tracking the Biggest Storylines of the Season So Far
By Chad Minton
![Nashville Predators center Ryan Johansen (92) receives congratulations from center Matt Duchene (95) after scoring in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Nashville Predators center Ryan Johansen (92) receives congratulations from center Matt Duchene (95) after scoring in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/32c2e355650c10e12d30fd6f43d325d977524a6729182d2dc1589419e734c5f6.jpg)
Duchene’s Resurgence
The welcomed resurgence of Matt Duchene is definitely one of the biggest storylines of the Nashville Predators season through the first 25 games, and you should expect it to carry on throughout.
All eyes are on if Duchene can keep this efficiency going, or will he just fade back into being an overpaid, underperforming player. For the sake of the Predators, he better keep it going.
There have been some interesting analytics shared to suggest that Duchene was never really that bad to begin with last season. It was more a product of some bad luck for himself and the team around him, while also being compared to a gigantic contract that he’ll probably never live up to:
Duchene really fell victim to the triple effect of poor individual shooting luck, poor on-ice shooting luck, and "big contract-itis" (where underperforming a big contract makes people decide a player totally suck) last season. https://t.co/nDbDP15AZ3 pic.twitter.com/mrwl3qUuHV
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 7, 2021
Duchene leads the Predators in goals with 13, second on the team in points with 25, second in shots on goal and fourth in assists.
Can Duchene end up breaking Viktor Arvidsson‘s single-season franchise goal record? He definitely could, but so could Filip Forsberg. Forsberg is actually chasing some career franchise records as well.
Whether he keeps this pace up or if he shows some decline, you better believe that Duchene will continue to be a main storyline for this Predators team.