If you were waiting for the Nashville Predators to hit a "soft" portion of their schedule, you're going to have to wait a while longer. In fact, we know that in reality nothing is ever easy in the NHL, but the upcoming opponents might spell the final nail in the coffin of the Predators' 2025 playoff hopes.
The Predators are just two points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks for last place in the Western Conference. They're sitting at a shocking 6-11-3 record with loud rumblings that Head Coach Andrew Brunette doesn't have much longer as the bench boss.
Brunette's last stand to avoid getting fired by General Manager Barry Trotz is to rally his team to string together a long winning streak, but it's going to have to come against legit 2025 playoff contenders to do it.
Andrew Brunette's last stand as Head Coach of Nashville Predators?
Up next the Predators return home after the failed five-game road trip to host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Jets opened up the regular season as the most successful team to start a season in NHL history, winning 14 of their first 15. Since then, they've lost a couple but still boast a 16-3-0 record overall.
If the Predators somehow pull off the major upset to beat the Jets, perhaps that could be a jolt of momentum that can springboard another long point streak similar to what happened last season when they rallied for an 18-game point streak to push the down and out Predators into the postseason in Year 1 of the Brunette era.
Even if they do pull off the improbable of beating the Jets, they need wins in bunches. No matter how impressive the win is, they all count as two points and the Predators need a bunch of points to make their long climb up the standings.
They'll go back on the road to clash with the New Jersey Devils. Another team that has Stanley Cup mojo and a top-10 scoring offense led by Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. A young and dynamic offensive team that the Predators will have trouble matching the speed of.
Let's say somehow against all odds the Predators beat both the Jets and the Devils. Sure, we will be feeling infinitely better than we do now, but it still will mean little if the Predators turn around and lose their next two. Again, the Predators cannot afford to swap wins and losses anymore. They have to get into a habit of winning four of five in multiple stretches to have any chance.
The Predators return back home and get the Philadelphia Flyers, who are hit or miss so that might be winnable. Then it gets really challenging again with more playoff caliber opponents in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs.
That's just the next six opponents. Even if the Predators pull off a couple wins over high quality opponents, it won't be enough to stop the bleeding, They need a winning streak, like a five-game winning streak and at least a six-game point streak.
So let's just say the Predators pull off the upsets in five of these next six, or at the very least make it a six-game point streak with them at least getting like 10 of a possible 12 points. As unlikely as that is, if they manage to do that, I can see Brunette buying himself more time to right the ship.
I've done my best to give Brunette the benefit of the doubt considering he's only 20 games into his second season, and quite frankly the players deserve a large portion of the blame for just not executing. The analytics show this team is just awful at finishing on their scoring chances.
But as we know, the head coach is almost always the first one to fall on the sword, Question is, how loyal is Trotz to Brunette? Perhaps he gives Brunette more time if this team respond in these next six games to beat top tier teams like the Jets, Lightning and Maple Leafs.
Against these six opponents and with the way this team is playing right now with their offense in the gutter, it seems almost impossible that this will happen. But that might be what it's going to take for Brunette to hold onto his job into 2025.