Nashville Predators Observations Week 1: Lines, Penalties, and Sissons

The Nashville Predators and the rest of the NHL are back underway. Here are some of the things we noticed as the Predators started their season.

Week Record: 1-2-0 (2 points).  Season Record 1-2-0 (2 points) 7th in the Central ,10th in the West and 22nd in the NHL.

Predators Parade to the Box

The Predators worked out their penalty kill early and often in their first three games. They racked up 10, 6, and 10 in the first few games. They’ve also given up 4 power play goals thus far on the year.

Winning games in the NHL is very difficult, and when you’re always finding yourself on the penalty kill, it gets even more difficult. Over time the penalties are likely to level out, but the glut to start the season has made 2 out of the 3 games an uphill battle. Putting Tampa and Boston on the power play held lead to the two losses that the Predators absorbed. It disrupts the lines and

Sissons Sizzles Early

Your week 1 goal leader! I wouldn’t have bet on that, but a 2 goal effort against the Boston and opening the scoring against Seattle leaves him with 3. He’s getting around 15:29 per game of ice right now and is using it. He’s shooting, and looking to strike even on the penalty kill, notching a short handed goal already. Eventually his lead will be overtaken but the start and the effort is very noticeable. The lines that were shuffled didn’t impact Sissons and his linemates, which has seen them look good in the early goings and show lots of chemistry.

Defensive Depth Used Early

We’ve been closely watching the defense and took note that Jeremey Lauzon got first dibs on the season, with Dante Fabbro watching from the press box. That changed after Luke Schenn got banged up in the first game of the season.

Enter Fabbro, who has played well enough in the two games. We’ll see who comes out when Schenn is ready to make his return. The defensive lines have been pretty much as predicted, and Tyson Barrie and Roman Josi have gotten the lion’s share of the time as predicted.

Chemistry Forming Early With Lines

The top two lines seem to already be clicking. It hasn’t resulted in a ton of offense yet, but the trios of O’Reilly, Forsberg, and Parssinen as well as Novak, Tomasino, and Evangelista are all showing the ability to cycle and create plays early on in the season.

Coach Brunette aka “Bruno” (which is way more friendly to type) has always been a proponent of offensive hockey and a free flowing style and we’ve seen that early from those lines. Even the third and fourth lines seem to be able to generate some buzz. So far the scoring hasn’t come but there has been some exciting plays thus far from the big lines.

We’re eager to see what new trends and changes emerge from week to week with the Predators as the season progresses.