Anytime you're last in the conference it is a bad day. Nashville Predators fans have had to endure a series of bad days while their team struggles to find their identity, with their latest loss coming at a 3-2 final score to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Now it can be easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater in a situation like this, but 82 games is a very long season and despite the less than stellar aspects of a lot of their play, the Predators have managed to produce some results that should be considered positive over their opening 11 game salvo.
Zachary L'Heureux Is Here
He is quickly going to become a difficult to say household name. He hasn't come out of the gate scoring immediatley, but he's got two assits to his name so far. He also has kept himself out of the box, but managed to keep up the physical aspect of his play that the Predators brass loved.
L'Heureux has already thrown 20 hits in just eight games played this season. He's going to make an even bigger impact as the season progresses.
The Top Players Are Still The Tops
What has Filip Forsberg done as an encore for his career best season in 23-24? Started with 10 points in his first 13 games. His six goals are already 1/8th of his total from last season. Ryan O'Reilly has managed 10 points in his first 13 games as well. Roman Josi leads the defense with seven points, and Brady Skjei is right behind him with six points. Gus Nyquist is also keeping up his strong play from last season with seven points in the 11 games.
Your engines have been your engines and that is a good sign for continued success over the course of the NHL season.
Marc Del Gazio Proved He Can Hang
The defensive depth on the roster going into the year was a question. Dante Fabbro hasn't wowed, and waiting on Spencer Stastny has some observers less than patient. Thankfully Marc Del Gazio is making the most of his window so far. He's played well, chipped in an assist, and done nothing that is blatantly wrong that has led to a goal.
As people cycle in and out of the lineup and injuries happen it is nice to know that a guy like Del Gazio will be ready to go. He might be making a few more trips up from Milwaukee this season.
The Special Teams Units Are Very Good
The Nashville Predators penalty kill percentage currently rests at 93.2%, good for tops in the NHL. That's pretty fantastic. It is still early in the year but with their goalie, defensive core, and experienced penalty kill unit they have a shot at running the table and having the best penalty kill in the show.
As far as the power play goes, they currently rank 13th overall in the league. The amount of firepower that the Predators have means that this unit should be lethal and so far they've proven that they are a force to be reckoned with. Despite having an awful start to the year as a team, they're converting at a 20.9% clip, with plenty of room for improvement.
So there are positives in the midst of the turmoil, but ultimately wins and piling up the points in the standings mean the most. The Predators have eight regulation losses, joining three others teams for most in the NHL.