Goaltending and Defense Heating Up
The Nashville Predators have never had a shortage of help on the blueline, always relying heavily on their defense. During the first quarter of the season the Predators defense at times seemed as though it was non-existent on the ice.
They have started to turn things around over the course of this quarter. The Predators currently find themselves in 12th in the league in goals against. They have given up 121 goals through 41 games averaging 2.95 goals against per game.
The top defensive pairing of Josi and Ryan McDonagh has been nearly impenetrable during this quarter of the season having a stretch where that defensive tandem went multiple games without a goal against.
Also, the combination of Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen has been picking up steam as of late.
After his slow start, Saros has rebounded nicely with an overall average of 2.65 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Likewise, Lankinen has posted a 2.81 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
With a tandem like that in the crease, they give the Predators a chance to win night in and night out. This is going to play a factor in the final stretch of the season as the Predators have a very busy schedule coming up.