5 Keys for the Nashville Predators to Survive Tough January Schedule
With a tough January schedule coming up, there are several parts of their game that the Predators need to refine before facing these powerhouse teams.
1. Scoring Depth and Lineup Consistency
It is no secret that the Fil Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, and Gus Nyquist line has been the strongest and most consistent line on the Predators, but if they want to beat offensive powerhouses such as The Vegas Golden Knights, the LA Kings, the Dallas Stars, and the Edmonton Oilers, it is vital that the other three lines find a way to contribute.
There are several forwards who are capable of scoring goals in dire situations, but recently, these players have been having scoring slumps. Tommy Novak was one of the players who had a great start to the season in regards to goal scoring, but ever since coming back from his injury, he has yet to find the back of the net.
It is very important that Novak and his linemate Luke Evangelista are able to finish on their scoring chances. They are able to get to the net, but both players have been having trouble finishing their plays.
Another pair that the team needs scoring from is Michael McCarron and Phil Tomasino. The two have been paired together relatively consistently, but ever since the loss to Dallas, neither have helped on any scoring chances.
In order to get more depth from the bottom three lines, it is important that Brunette start to find some consistency in the lineup and lines. Cody Glass has been a healthy scratch very frequently in the last few games, and it is important that Brunette finds a way to use the former Golden Knights first round draft pick.
If Brunette can start to find some consistency in the lineup and what lines he puts out every night, it will also allow the players to build chemistry with each other and find what dynamics work for them. If the lines keep changing, we will see fewer goals from players like Trenin, Sissons, and Parssinen.
Almost every player other than the top line has been relatively invisible in the past few games, and that needs to change very quickly if this team wants to find success in the upcoming month.
2. Holding Leads
One of the biggest struggles of the season for the Predators has been holding their leads. They have had multiple games this season where they have had two and three goal leads going into the third period, and have given up the game tying goals and go ahead goals to the other team within that final frame.
If the Predators want to beat the juggernauts on their January schedule, it is vital that they figure out how to hold their leads if they manage to get them.
With these teams, getting a lead is rare, so being able to hold one will be the difference between a win and a loss.
As we already saw with Dallas, these teams have the offensive power to come from behind quickly if the team doesn’t keep their defensive structure. When they get a lead, it is important to not stop pushing for more and make the opposing team spend as much time defending as possible to wear them down.
3. Eliminating Defense and Neutral Zone Turnovers
Turnovers have been one of the biggest causes in the Preds losing their leads, as the team collectively tends to get relatively sloppy when holding a multi-goal lead.
The main cause of these turnovers have been the defensemen trying to clear their own zone too quickly, leading to inaccurate passing.
There have been several instances where Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Luke Schenn have fallen victim to these turnovers, and a few of them have been right behind the net, leading to sure scoring chances that the goaltenders have no chance on.
In order to fix this, the team needs to be more patient with their passes and not rush a play that isn’t there. When trying to enter their offensive zone, it is important to be decisive with their passing and make sure that they don’t put the puck in situations that can lead to odd man rushes.
4. Finding Creativity in Their Plays
When playing these well rounded teams with lots of depth and veteran presence, it is important for the team to be able to find unique and creative ways of scoring.
A lot of the teams on the Predators’ January schedule have players that are very smart and have been in the league for a long time, so they tend to be able to read offensive plays better than some of the younger teams. In order to get around this, the Predators might have to rely on some of the younger members of the team to create plays and scoring chances that might be unexpected for the opposition.
This is where the new system that head coach Andrew Brunette has been implementing can really help the team gain some offense against teams that tend to smother offensive chances. If the Predators don’t come out strong right away, these teams will be able to take advantage of that and the games could get away from them very quickly.
5. Goaltending
It’s officially time to talk about Juuse Saros. It might be beneficial for Brunette to not just blame these goals on “bad defense” and to have an honest conversation with Saros about what is going on.
Saros kept the Preds in the running last season with some really phenomenal games, but recently, he has been far from great, and has even had some really bad games. It is very important that Brunette gives Lankinen some playing time to see what he can do.
With the lack of depth among the forwards, general manager Barry Trotz might want to look at trading Saros in order to get another power forward that can open some scoring for the team.
We also saw a wonderful performance from young goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, who looked very comfortable and poised in his one game this season. If a goaltending trade was made, I would feel very comfortable having Lankinen as a starter and Askarov as a backup if it meant a large return on a Saros trade.
Overall, there are a lot of things that this team needs to clean up and refine in order to have a successful back half of the season, and there are definitely some changes that the front office needs to make in order for this team to regain their confidence and find ways to win hard games.