Nashville Predators Season Report Card as They Reach the Quarter Mark
Nashville Predators Lousy Record
Through the first twenty games of the season the Predators have posted a record of 9-9-2 for 20 points and currently sit at a mediocre .500 mark.
For comparison, last season the Predators had a record of 11-8-1, 23 points, at this point of the season. Not a major change in terms of record.
According to MoneyPuck the Predators have a 26.5% chance of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs with their record being as poor as it is. Only five other teams (Arizona, Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose, Anaheim) have lower chances to make the playoffs than the Predators.
Additionally, the Predators have only had a win streak of more than two games on one occasion during the first quarter of the season.
With the roster that General Manager David Poile built over the offseason, the Nashville Predators record should be significantly better than what it is. If the Predators are going to make the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season, they will more than likely have to go around 33-25-4, 70 points, the rest of the season.
Overall Grade: D
Pitiful Power Play
The Nashville Predators success on the power play from the 2021-2022 season was short lived.
Last season’s 24.4% success rate was sixth in the NHL, but sadly has been followed up with a 16.7% success rate ranking 27th this season. Even though the Predators rank seventh in power play opportunities, their inability to generate offense is killing them.
Too much passing and not enough net front presence has been two of the biggest factors in this slump. When the Predators get set up in the offensive zone, they are worried about the pretty passes and not just getting pucks to the net.
Roman Josi leads the team in power play goals with three, followed by three players with two apiece (Duchene, Niederreiter, Johansen). Forsberg with just one power play goal is concerning to say the least.
With only 13 Power Play goals and giving up two shorthanded goals, both power play units need to step it up and get pucks to the net.
Overall Grade: D-
Penalty Killing Crew
The Nashville Predators have one thing going for them and it’s the penalty kill. With how many penalties the Predators take it’s a good thing that their kill is decent.
Nashville’s penalty killing forwards have put their bodies on the line each game and for that the team is ranked 11th with an 80.6% penalty kill percentage.
Yakov Trenin, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund, Ryan McDonagh and Colton Sissons have all been phenomenal on the penalty kill.
Penalty kill minutes are the hardest minutes in hockey to play and the Nashville Predators penalty killers are called upon and answer that call multiple times per game. Killing off a penalty can lead to a turn in momentum and change the outcome of a game.
Overall Grade: B
Lack of Offensive Play
The Predators offensive core needs to live up to their contracts. The top four goal scorers in the lineup this season are Nino Niederreiter (9 goals), Filip Forsberg (7 goals), Matt Duchene (5 goals), and Ryan Johansen (5 goals).
These four goal scorers account for $28,500,000 of the Predators salary cap. Dividing those individuals cap hit into four quarters and then by the number of goals scored among them, each goal scored by those four players has cost $274,038. Those are some expensive goals.
Looking back at last season Forsberg had 42 goals in 69 games, while this season he is on pace for 28 goals if he plays all 82 games.
If Forsberg were to only play 69 games then he is on pace for 24 goals, just over half of what he had last season.
Duchene is in the same situation. Last season, 43 goals in 78 games. This season, five goals in 20 games. He is on pace for 21 goals this season, less than half of last season.
In order for success during the last three quarters of 2022-23, the Nashville Predators’ top players have to perform at a much higher level offensively. Average won’t cut it.
Overall Grade: C
Mediocre Defense and Goaltending
The defense during the first quarter of the season has been nonexistent at times. Where is the Norris Trophy finalist in Roman Josi this season? Where is the play that had Alexandre Carrier break the franchise record for most points by a rookie defenseman?
They have not shown up this year. And because of that, because of the defense not playing good in front of the goalies, goaltending has suffered as well.
The Nashville Predators have allowed 650 shots on goal against and Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen have a combined save percentage of .902. Very average.
The Predators have also allowed 143 high danger scoring chances against. These are a result of defensemen not clearing the slot and goalies allowing rebounds in high danger areas. Another really bad trend.
Even if the Nashville Predators offense starts firing on all cylinders, allowing 3.2 goals per game is not how you make the Playoffs or win a Stanley Cup.
Overall Grade: C-
The Results Are In…
Due to the Nashville Predators’ lack of effort put forth on the offensive and defensive side of the puck during the first quarter of the season, they definitely have a hole to dig themselves out of if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Their lack of goaltending, defense, and offense from their big guns have them sitting three positions out of the playoffs.
The Nashville Predators have shown quick flashes of good play this season and for that their grade has improved ever so slightly. We will take another look at this at the halfway point of the season to see if the Preds have improved their grade at all.