Injuries pile up as things go from bleak to hopeless for Nashville Predators

It finally appeared that the Nashville Predators were going to find the win column again as they were leading the Calgary Flames 3-2 near the midway point of the second period, but once again the team shrunk in the clutch moments.

After giving up the lead again and the score tied at 3-3, Mark Jankowski took a rare unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while yelling something from the bench. The Flames would score a power play goal from it, and take the lead for good.

This is just another example of the Predators inventing new ways to lose, and while you can call into question why an official would choose to make that kind of a rare call when players always chirp from the bench, it was still on the Predators to find a way to score with over a full period left in regulation.

Nashville Predators choke away the lead, lose their Captain

Before all of this went down, the Predators were fully engaged on offense and the chemistry looked better than it had looked in a long time. Jonathan Marchessault was buzzing on the top line with Steven Stamkos centering and Filip Forsberg on the other wing.

Marchessault would tallied a gorgeous set-up goal from Stamkos and Forsberg to make it 1-0. He would score again on another assist from Forsberg, making it 3-2. All three Predators goals came it 5-on-5, which has been well-documented as their biggest weakness this season.

Tommy Novak got the other Predators goal, marking a personal milestone by reaching the 100-point mark. It was his first goal in nearly two months.

With injuries starting to take serious effect on the plummeting Predators, the team fell back into the rut of now being able to generate shots on goal after taking the one-goal lead multiple times. The failed to consistently test Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar, forcing him to only face 20 shots.

Roman Josi left the game and missed most of the action after the first period and it remains unclear how long he could miss. It doesn't need to be stressed how catastrophic it will be to the Predators, who already struggle to score, if they miss their one lone bright spot in the offense with their captain.

The team was already missing Ryan O'Reilly for the third consecutive game, which further disrupts an inconsistent power play that at one time was in the top-10, but since has fallen to 21st in the NHL.

Without Josi and O'Reilly patrolling the power play, this team is really about to become even more so the worst offense in the NHL. They're 32nd, dead last, in goals per game at 2.21.

The Predators were also missing Alexandre Carrier who took a brutal, but clean, hit in the previous game. That put Marc Del Gaizo back into the starting lineup, and left the Predators defensive corps stretched thin after Josi left.

Speaking of stretched thin, it was a horrendously poor performance from both Brady Skjei and Luke Schenn on the defensive end. Schenn was constantly getting beat up ice, while the $49 million Skjei had the wort GameScore impact card according to HockeyStatCards.

Jeremy Lauzon has also been out with injury since November 25, and you're definitely seeing the negative impact of not having his physical presence in the lineup.

So where do the Nashville Predators go from here? There's 53 games left in the 2024-25 season. Bridgestone Arena felt like an empty void with very little energy from the fans, and I can't blame them one bit for their displeasure.

Let's get one thing straight here; this season was sold to us as a Stanley Cup caliber team that General Manager Barry Trotz was assembling through free agency. It was an aggressive approach, but one that had the fanbase buzzing with the additions of Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei frehs off a season of returning to the playoffs and nearly knocking out the Canucks.

Many realistic fans are probably already turning their attention to the draft lottery and if the Predators can finally get a top-5 draft pick and select that elusive top line center that usually the Predators are picking too far back in the first round to get a chance to draft.

Aside from the draft lottery, which is so crazy to even fathom that we're doing in mid-December, but another thing to hope to see is seeing the young core prove they are everyday NHL players. Of course, that will require Head Coach Andrew Brunette remaining committed to some of these players' development and Trotz refraining from losing more young talent through waivers or pointless trades.

That is actually the only silver lining in all of this for me; this organization is going to be forced to play their young players, see what they have in them and maybe even go into an honest rebuild. Are the fans ready for that realization that this team could be a non-playoff team for a few years to come?

All you really have to build around is Juuse Saros, Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg. I'm not even convinced that the new free agents will stick around for the long-term anymore if they agree to waive their no move clauses.