You can't get too high or too low when the season is still this young, but the Nashville Predators have managed to claw their way to an even 2-2-2 record through the first six games of 2025-26 after their most recent loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
The question I have for myself and for the fellow fans is if this start should be encouraging or are we doomed for another season hanging out in the basement of the Western Conference. Cue the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes in the lottery already?
For perspective, it took until the sixth game for the Predators to notch their first win last season, so there is at least a little progress that has been made so far. However, the same weaknesses are showing up again even with two regulation wins and two games that went to overtime for a point.
Bad trends from last season have lingered into 2025-26 for Nashville Predators
The Predators were the lowest-scoring 5-on-5 teams last season, scoring just 130 goals. That works out to an average of 1.58 goals per game at 5-on-5. Through six games this season, the Predators have 11 goals at 5-on-5. That's slightly better, but not by much.
Then we go to the power play, which last season came in at 18th in the NHL at a 21.9 percent success rate. Albeit still very early, the Predators power play is the biggest eyesore of this team right now. They're coming in at an ice cold 8.7 percent success rate, which is 30th in the NHL. Only Columbus and Philadelphia are worse.
To make that even more clear, that's a 2 for 23 mark on the power play. That's your sole reason why the Predators actually don't have a much better and legitimate start that would have me thinking we might actually have something good cooking here. But until the power play starts showing consistent improvement, then I'm going to be hard-pressed to believe this team is nothing more than a sub-80 point team again.
Another reason why I'm afraid to lean towards this start being fool's gold and more losses will start piling up as the superior opponents come up on the schedule is I just don't know how long Juuse Saros can hold up. Sure, he'll bail out the Predators for a few more wins and keep them from being dead last in the standings, but a playoff team? He would have to have the best season by a goalie in Nashville Predators history for that to happen, and even then I might be skeptical.
Winnipeg Jets jump on Nashville Predators early, and the Canada road trip ends with a record of 1-2-1
Saros had his first sub-par start of the season against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. One of those superior opponents I just mentioned, and it showed.
First it was a penalty taken by Steven Stamkos just one minute into the game, and then a Mark Scheifele power play goal on a one-timer that I've seen Saros stop plenty of times. A really difficult save nonetheless, and you can't be putting yourself on the penalty kill in a tough road environment that early in the game.
Then the Predators defense gets diced up with Brady Skjei chasing down Nino Niederreiter, who beats Saros on a breakaway. Again, a save we've seen Saros make regularly in the early going of this season, but it wasn't to be on this occasion.
To make matters worse, over 10 minutes into the game and the Predators had just one measly shot on net while going up against another Vezina Trophy caliber goalie in Connor Hellebuyck. I have warned over the course of the previous five games that the Predators are not testing opposing goaltenders nearly enough and that will come back to haunt them when they go up against elite goalies like Hellebuyck is.
To be fair, the Predators did wake up in the second period with 15 shots on net and then added another 11 in the third period to actually post a respectable 4.69 Expected Goals. That's much better than previous games, but ironically they end up losing 4-1 anyway. Saros wasn't there to keep this close this time around, and it's unrealitic to expect him to do that every single game.
Another alarming trend that is developing in the early going of this season that was worst in the NHL last season is Goals For Above Expected. Last season the Predators were the worst in this department with an inconceivable -52.11 Goals For Above Expected. That was 12 goals worse than the next team on the list, the Florida Panthers. It worked out pretty well for Panthers hoisting the Stanley Cup, but not for the Predators who finished on the other end of the spectrum.
Where are the veteran goal scorers? Someone put out some flyers looking for Forsberg, Stamkos and Marchessault
Now to current times through six games and the Predators are once again among the worst teams in this area. They are a -5.17 Goals For Above Expected, and funny enough, the Panthers are leading this category again.
Finally, I'm pretty concerned with the production from the veterans right now. They seem to not be bouncing back from what was collectively bad season from everyone in 2024-25 with the exception of Filip Forsberg, who still managed 76 points in 82 games.
However, Forsberg has just one goal in six games so far. Sound the alarm if that lack of efficiency on offense continues for one of the few pure goal scorers the Predators have.
In fact, no one has scored more than two goals for the Predators yet. Your players who have two goals are Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula, Ryan O'Reilly, Nick Perbix and Michael Bunting. Yes, all of those guys are veterans, but not necessarily who you would call your bellcows on offense with the exception of Marchessault and O'Reilly.
One of Marchessault's two goals is an empty-netter, and he should've had a second empty net goal but I don't need to bring up that nightmare that happened in the overtime loss to Montreal.
It's actually rather fortunate that the Predators have a 2-2-2 record right now. Yes they have showed more heart and grind on the defensive end and on the penalty kill, but there are still a lot of weaknesses that have lingered from last season.
This is an 82-game marathon and certainly not a sprint, so there is still plenty of time to prove me wrong. But despite having six points in six games, I remain very suspect about this team and about Head Coach Andrew Brunette.