The State of the Nashville Predators at Midway Point: The Goalies aren't the problem

Much like the entire history of the Nashville Predators, the goalie play hasn't been the main cause for their precarious position in the standings. Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen have both played well enough to have much better win/loss records.

From JFresh analytics, the Predators are getting strong goalie play despite nearly being at the rock bottom of the Western Conference in the standings. Goals Saved Above Expected for the team ranks 12th in the NHL at +2.3 above expected.

So in other words, with better goal support for Saros and Annunen, this team would at the very least be closer to wildcard contention and not as big of an abomination.

Saros is in the final year of his current deal before he switches over to his eight-year contract he signed in July of 2024. Annunen was traded for from the Colorado Avalanche in return for Scott Wedgewood.

I'm going to skip a detailed answer for Wedgewood with him no longer being on the Predators, but in his four starts and .878 save percentage I'll give him an F. Annunen has been a very clear upgrade and smart trade by General Manager Barry Trotz.

Juuse Saros- 32 Starts, 9 Wins, 17 Losses, 6 OT Losses, 4 Shutouts, .904 SV%, 2.77 GAA

Saros has faced the second-most shots in the NHL, only trailing Connor Hellebuyck. Saros' save percentage and goals against average are below his career averages, but again it's misleading because in the early going of the season the Predators were full of defensive breakdowns.

The team defense has been showing steady improvement, and Saros has mostly been reliable with the exception of a few bad games.

Saros has suffered a bumps stretch in the last couple of weeks. He struggled against Winnipeg in two matchups having a save percentage below 90, but mixed in is a shutout over the Vancouver Canucks where he made 27 saves.

So as we've become accustomed to over the years, Saros has been streaky. He either looks like one of the most elite goalies in the NHL, or looks like Swiss cheese and can't stop a beachball.

The overall critique from me is that Saros isn't this team's main problem, but he also hasn't been quite good enough to overcome the team deficiencies on offense.

Grade: B

Justus Annunen- 5 Starts, 3 Wins, 2 Losses, .930 SV%, 2.28 GAA

I'm thinking Justus Annunen has made a strong case to be trusted more to take the workload off of Saros. Annunen has been nothing short of superb in his first five starts as the backup goalie to Saros.

Annunen is surrendering just over two goals per game. That gives your team an incredible advantage to win a lot of games under normal circumstances, but as we know the Predators have been uniquely bad at scoring goals. They've shown mild progress as of late, and the hope is that will translate to the goalies getting some well-deserved wins for their resumes.

Five of Annunen's six appearance have produced save percentages above 90. He came in relief of Saros against the Blues and saved 12 of 13 shots. His other five games were starts, and only one blemish in his save percentage was against the Minnesota Wild where he gave up five goals on 38 shots faced.

Annunen has been a pleasant surprise so far, and he deserves more starts outside of the expected back-to-back scenarios.

Grade: A

Check out our midway grades for the depth players of the Nashville Predators.