Nashville Predators: The 5 Biggest Surprises from the 2022-23 Season
#5 Missing the Playoffs
Looking at the additions that the Nashville Predators made during the offseason, this should come as a surprise to anyone that follows the organization. The Predators are set to miss the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons this year.
All Predators fans and a lot of analysts had the Predators as a shoe in for the playoffs after they went out and got Ryan McDonagh, Nino Niederreiter, and Kevin Lankinen.
Add those three players in addition to the roster that the Predators and myself included had the Predators making a deep run this spring.
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That was not the case as the Predators were only able to put together win streaks of three or more games on six times. With their longest win streak being a four-game stretch in early January.
On the other hand, the Predators had losing streaks of three or more games on four separate occasions including a five and six game losing streak where they only got three out of a possible 22 points over those two slumps.
#4: Nashville Predators Power Play Goes from Top-10 to 27th in NHL
The Nashville Predators finished the 2021-22 season ranking sixth in the league in power play percentage with a 24.4% success rate. Many expected this success to carry over into this season however, the Predators struggled significantly on the man-advantage and have an abysmal 17.6% success rate through 80 games.
With players that play a key role on the top power play unit such as Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, and Ryan Johansen being out for significant periods, there is no doubt that this contributed to the lackluster performance of the power play.
There were a few times during the course of the season that this area of the Predators special teams showed some life, but they were very few and far between, and did not last long.
In a season where the NHL average for the power play is 21.3% as of April 11, there is no doubt that this area played a huge role in the Predators missing the playoffs and being one of the lowest-scoring team in the NHL and the worst team in terms of Goals Scored Above Expected at -45.6.
#3 Goalie Tandem
As always, it seems, the Nashville Predators relied heavily on their goaltending to keep them in contention night after night.
With key pieces from the defensive core being out and the trading of Mattias Ekholm at the trade deadline, Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen had their work cut out for them down the stretch.
Saros has played in 63 games with two games remaining on the schedule. Through those 63 games, Saros has a 2.69 GAA and .919 save percentage.
One thing that really sticks out about his performance throughout the season is his goals saved above expected. Saros is number one in the league in this category with 46.7 goals saved above expected, leading Linus Ullmark in second with 42.4.
Then there is Lankinen. Coming off a 2021-22 season where the Predators relied on the likes of David Rittich and Connor Ingram backing up Saros, Lankinen was a huge addition during the offseason.
Lankinen has not disappointed either. With a 2.67 goals against and .918 save percentage, Lankinen has been good when called upon. His play in the crease earned him a one-year contract to remain with the Predators through the 2023-24 season.
#2 Level of Play from Milwaukee Regulars
With the significant number of injuries the Nashville Predators have been dealt with the second half of the season, a lot of players from the AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, have gotten the call to play in the NHL.
Players such as Thomas Novak, Egor Afanasyev, Luke Evangelista, Kevin Gravel, Mark Jankowski, Zach Sanford, Kiefer Sherwood, Philip Tomasino, and Spencer Stastney have all seen increased play for Nashville.
Out of all these players there have been a few that have really stuck out and are expected to be on the opening night roster next season.
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Novak has 17 goals and 24 assists in 49 games played. Evangelista has not been in Nashville as long but still has six goals and seven assists in his 22 games in a Predators sweater.
The level of play from these AHL regulars combined with the goaltender tandem previously mentioned, is the main reason why the Nashville Predators were not eliminated from the playoffs sooner than they were.
#1 Front Office Changes and No Change Behind the Bench
One of the biggest surprises throughout this season happened on February 26 when the Nashville Predators announced that David Poile would be retiring at the end of the season and that former coach Barry Trotz would be taking over as the new General Manager.
I personally expected Trotz to be the next General Manager of this organization, I just was not sure when it would happen. He began immediately in an advisory role to Poile leading up to the trade deadline and the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Another huge surprise to me was that there was no change behind the bench for the Predators. At least not yet. I really expected for John Hynes to not be the coach of this franchise at the seasons end however I was proven wrong.
It will still be a shock to me if Hynes remains the head coach for the Nashville Predators when 2023-24 begins.
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