Nashville Predators Key Stat Leaders: Forsberg Charges Offense, McDonagh's Defense
![Nov 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates Nov 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3833,h_2156,x_0,y_399/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/159/01hh7nbq2z8rqfgyrat8.jpg)
Short-handed points: Colton Sissons
While the powerplay is stating to show serious signs of improvement under a new system, the penalty kill has not been doing so well. Although they have been much better lately, the Predators are still near the bottom of the league with only a 75.3% killing rate, but that does not mean they have been terrible in every way.
They have been quite aggressive on the penalty kill this year, and while that has hurt them a good bit, it has also helped them from time to time. In particular, Colton Sissons has done some really good things and leads the team in short-handed points with three goals.
Overall, the 30-year-old veteran center has had arguably his best season, as he is on pace for a career high in points, and continues to be as reliable as ever. Part of that reliability has been on the defensive side of things which includes the penalty kill, and he is showing why he deserves those minutes when the Predators are a man down.
Another guy who is making his mark as an effective penalty killer is Cole Smith, who has two assists short-handed. For all the flack he has taken from this fanbase over the past year plus, he continues to control the controllables and be a pest towards his opponents, working extremely hard and impacting results on both ends of the ice.
The only thing that is surprising about the team's short-handed points is that O'Reilly is not included, as he is a great two-way player and gets lots of minutes on the penalty kill. Whether or not the stats will eventually reflect it, he has a major impact on the Predators' short-handed play and does tremendous work at all times.