Nashville Predators Untrustworthy after Another Sinking Loss to Canucks

We’re learning as we go about this Nashville Predators team who sinks back down below .500 after a second loss in a week’s span to the Vancouver Canucks.

Both losses to the Canucks have been deflating and seen the offense really have trouble to find consistency and sustained pressure for 60 minutes. The Canucks were the more opportunistic team that made Nashville pay when they got their scoring chances.

I’ll go back to my original expectations before the season started when I said that if the Predators can go an even 5-5-0 to open up the first 10, I’ll be pleased. They need a win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday to meet the very modest preseason expectations of mine.

A Fork-in-the-Road Western Road Trip for the Nashville Predators

This five-game Western road trip that will span nearly 5,000 travel miles is an early fork in the road to 2023-24 for the Nashville Predators. If they can hover around swapping out wins and losses then that leaves them that window of opportunity to get hot as the season progresses.

As of right now, it’s hard to trust the Nashville Predators. It’s feast or famine. They’re certainly not a bad team by any means, but they are definitely one that keeps you guessing on what they’re going to look like each night out.

This game was no different in an early season rematch against the Canucks. They only put up 18 shots on goal in the first meeting, while this time around the Predators managed 11 more shots on goal, they got stonewalled by Thatcher Demko to the tune of a .931 save percentage.

On the other hand, Kevin Lankinen didn’t look comfortable at all in his first start of 2023-24 as Juuse Saros‘ backup. He seemed to not see the puck well, even when he did make the save, was erratic at getting out of his crease to play the puck.

Not sure if Saros would’ve made that much of a difference, but the J.T. Miller goal to make it 4-2 early in the third period was the ultimate back breaker for Nashville. A low percentage shot on the perimeter and poor rebound management by Lankinen allows Miller to find the loose change for the goal.

With Saros in the starter’s crease for this one maybe this is a one-goal game late in the third period and the Predators have a chance. It’s not all on Lankinen for the loss, but he certainly didn’t play well enough to beat many teams in this league.

Despite the assist, this was a downright awful game from Filip Forsberg. Zero shots on goal on four shot attempts. It’s one thing to just get beaten by better goaltending, but missing on all four shot attempts just can’t happen.

The passing was also very off from the entire team, especially early on in the game. The Canucks didn’t look much better. Both teams were choppy with their offensive rushes, and it did allow the Predators to get a 2-1 lead after quick goals from Colton Sissons and Dante Fabbro.

Sissons Stays Hot, Foudy Blanks on the Penalty Shot, O’Reilly’s 1,000th Game

It’s Sissons’ 5th goal of the season, which gives him the team lead. Sissons didn’t even score his first goal of 2022-23 until November 17, and his fifth goal didn’t come until January 3.

Sissons has had a nose for the puck lately. Just finding spots in the zone to get scoring chances and be available for rebound opportunities. His shooting percentage is at 27.8 percent, but on just 18 SOG.

For Fabbro it’s hist first goal of 2023-24, and just his second goal dating back to December 13, 2022. It’s very rare to see Fabbro skate into the slot like that and snipe a goal. We need that on tap if he’s going to be a top pairing defenseman for years to come in Nashville.

Liam Foudy appeared in his second-straight game and tallied an assist for his first with the Predators. He had 14 points in 62 games for the Blue Jackets last season.

Foudy also got a penalty shot in the opening moments of the game and blew a tire when trying to make his move towards the net for a shot on Demko. He did get more involved in this game going from just 5:25 of ice time in his Predators debut to 12:55 of ice time in this one.

Ryan O’Reilly got a tribute and standing ovation for playing in his 1,000th NHL game. He also notched an assist to get his career point total to 709.

After being re-inserted back into the starting lineup after three games on the bench, Philip Tomasino was a healthy scratch again. Your guess is as good as mine on what’s going on behind the scenes there.

Just a gentle reminder that no one should be shocked by how this team has started or their 4-5-0 record. They’ve got some impressive wins over the Rangers and Maple Leafs, but have laid some duds as well.

In other words, they’re hard to trust. They can surprise you one night, and then let you down the next. With it being so early, the hope is they can tread water and get hot at the right time to make their surge.

The Predators have been pretty good at making adjustments and avoiding any lengthy losing streaks so far. The Kraken have been a major disappointment in the early going, and the Predators beat them rather handedly in the first meeting.