You can call me one of the many doubters that the Nashville Predators have right now despite a 2-2-2 overall record after just completing a four-game road trip in Canada that resulted in a 1-2-1 record.
The Predators return home to Nashville for their third home game of the season as they'll host the 2-2-1 Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks lost to the Blackhawks in overtime in their previous game and have suffered back-to-back games with only one goal in each game to show for it.
As for the Predators, I'm feeling more lucky than I am confident about a 2-2-2 start. Certainly it's much better in the standings than what happened last year through six games. They had opened the season with five-straight regular losses before finally capturing a win.
Even with a better start, confidence in the Nashville Predators remains ice cold
Even though this is so early in the season, I have this game against the Ducks at home circled as a critically important game to this team's overall psyche. Some troubling trends have lingered from last season into this season, most notably a lack of consistency on offense and also a lack of finishing on scoring chances.
If we're to believe that the Predators are a different team from last season's 68-point performance, then they can't have long stretches of bad hockey creep back in. Every team is going to go through mini bad stretches throughout the course of an 82-game season, and the Predators are in one of those right now. You can end that bad stretch with what I would call a winnable game at home against the Ducks on Tuesday night.
You can argue that the Predators have kind of stumbled upon their two wins so far. Stumbled as in, Juuse Saros was in the crease. Their season-opening 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets required 38 saves and two goals saved above expected from Juuse Saros.
The other win for the Predators in this young season took another gladiator performance from Saros. Another 31 saves and only one goal surrendered by Saros. Also that's another two goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.
So where I'm getting at here is really pretty straightforward; Saros is bailing out the Predators in their only two wins, and then even in the overtime loss to Utah in the second game of the season, Saros finished in the positive in goals saved above expected despite only having to make 20 saves.
In that overtime loss against Utah, Saros only had to make 20 saves but the Predators wasted five power play opportunities to bring that game home for two points. They instead settled for the overtime point.
Another thing that has me nitpicking on this early start is who is actually having to score the goals. Two goals from Nick Perbix, which is great for bonus offense, but let's be real that he's not who the Predators should be relying on to score breakaway goals like he did in flashy manner against Montreal to put the Predators up 2-1.
After that Perbix go-ahead goal, Nashville had an 84 percent chance to win with just over eight minutes left in regulation.
You look at the goal scorers for the Predators through six games, and it's not encouraging at all. Is it nice to see Erik Haula chipping in for two early goals? Sure, I'm certainly not mad about it. The problem is, where are the bellcows at? Where are the supposedly elite goal scorers at like Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos. Even Jonathan Marchessault, who really just has one goal if you take out the empty netter against Ottawa.
Forsberg is actually a little alarming for me. He has always been the constant. The one you don't ever worry about producing no matter how bad the dumpster fire is around him. However, and again very early, Forsberg has one goals. He's carrying a 5.3 shooting percentage on 19 shots, which suggests his luck will turn around. They need it to happen soon, like next game against Anaheim.
The Predators are already trending towards being one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL again. If you account for how many games teams have played, most of the team who have scored fewer goals than the Predators to this point have also played one fewer game. Only the Calgary Flames have scored fewer goals with the same amount of games played.
It's still way too early to make sweeping assumptions on who the Predators are, but returning home after a four-game road trip to host a middle of the road Anaheim team feels kind of important just for building some confidence and convincing someone like me that last season was a fluke and this team is different in 2025-26.
I need a lot more convincing, so get a win at home against Anaheim and do it without Saros having to carry the team by himself. I'll gladly admit I was wrong in my preseason predictions if this happens. Tuesday against Anaheim can be a start. Winnable game, not an opponent that should scare anyone.