The Nashville Predators, thankfully, are not off to the nightmare start they suffered through last year, going a perfectly average 2-2-2 through six games so far. Obviously, they are still a deeply flawed team, and the main culprit is their offense, as they have a mere 15 goals through the first six games.
The Predators have benefitted from a strong start from Juuse Saros, and their overall defensive presence has been better so far than it was last year. But it has been a major stuggle on the other end of the ice, and even when they have gotten serious zone time and upped the pressure, they have mustered next to nothing.
Obviously, personnel is mostly to blame, as the Predators have a mix of mostly older guys who are not as effective anymore, and younger guys with virtually zero experience either. It is fair to put some fault on coaching as well, as this has been a continuation from last year, and eventually progress will have to be shown.
But it is also reasonable to blame some of the players and say they just need to be better, and that applies to Filip Forsberg, who is the one game changing forward the Predators have, and he has not performed well enough to start the season.
Filip Forsberg has been near invisible to start season for Nashville Predators
Offensive struggles are certainly nothing new for the Predators, but through all of it in the past few years, Forsberg has been the one constant. Fair or not, he is held to a high standard by everyone associated with the team, and right now he is not meeting it.
His base stats are bad, as he has just three points in the first six games, only one of which has been a goal. It is not like he is getting super unlucky either, we have hardly called his name as far as getting shots, let alone generating quality chances, and he just has not been very active.
Of course, every player goes through a cold spell at some point, and Forsberg sort of went through one last year, going eighteen straight games without scoring a goal. But during that time, he still averaged an assist per game, and that is not at all the case this time, so he is truly not pulling his weight right now.
Now, it is fair to cut Forsberg some slack, as it is still early in the season, he has not had a lot of help around him, and the Predators still have not figured out their top line. Even the best players will stall out from time to time when they are in this situation, so I am sure he will get his legs back under him before too long.
But the fact is that you expect your best players to be your best players no matter the situation, and Forsberg has not been that in the first six games. He needs to play better, and surely he would be the first to tell you.