Nashville Predators: Five Questions Surrounding Team Entering March

Question #1: Are the Nashville Predators deep enough for the playoffs?

This is a question we’re not going to get the answer to until the Nashville Predators actually perform in the playoffs for an eighth-straight season, and there’s still a lot of work to do to even secure a spot.

But if the Predators do end up making the playoffs, then are they actually deep enough to win a first round series for the first time since 2017-18? I remain skeptical, and it’s really goin to come down to drawing the right opponent.

This is why staying out of the wildcard is paramount for their chances of getting out of the first round. A first round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames or Vegas Golden Knights leaves me very little hope that they would be able to push it past six games again.

The biggest concern I have about this team’s depth is their goal scoring. They’ve got five players who are reliable contributors in this department in my book; Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Yakov Trenin and Tanner Jeannot. You need more than that to be a legitimate that can go deep in the playoffs.

The Predators are 15th in the NHL in goals per game, which isn’t terrible, but also not good enough against elite Western Conference teams like Colorado (2nd), Minnesota (3rd), St. Louis (5th) and Calgary (8th).

If the Predators decide to be buyers at the trade deadline which is just three weeks away, then I look for them to bolster up this area of their roster. But at what cost? That’s the next question.