A late four-game winning streak by the Nashville Predators is going to do little to erase the turmoil of the 2024-25 season, but at least the guys are still fighting until the bitter end.
The fans clamoring for the team to tank the rest of the way got the wish on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks with a 2-1 loss despite putting a lot of shots on net and getting goalied by Lukáš Dostál with 28 saves.
During the Predators' current four-game winning streak that ended on Friday night at Anaheim, they held opponents to three goals or less while scoring 17 goals over that stretch. For the first time in a while, there's more than just the Sharks and the Blackhawks trailing the Predators in the overall standings. The Sabres have also fallen behind the Predators among the NHL's worst teams.
The veteran leadership has spoken recently about not dwelling on the past and just focusing on winning hockey games and building some positive mojo for 2025-26. The trade deadline is gone, and the Predators don't really have a lot to worry about in terms of offseason free agents.
I know everyone is caught up on draft position and hoping the Predators don't ruin that by winning too many games, but the players don't think that way. They're focused on winning and also elevating their own play, because quite frankly there shouldn't be one player on this team that is satisfied with their individual play this year. Not even Filip Forsberg.
So let's get after it. Here's my three players who most have to raise their stock in the last 18 games of 2024-25. I'll throw some honorable mention players in at the end.
1. Juuse Saros- On track for his lowest Save% of his NHL career
Two things can be true here; Juuse Saros hasn't gotten any goal support or help in front of him, but he also hasn't lived up to elite levels of play to overcome adversity. Something a top tier goalie needs to live up to.
Saros is on pace for his lowest career save percentage in a season. He's currently at .897, which is down there among some of the worst goalies in the NHL. He'll need a really strong finish to the season to rally back up into the 90's and get closer to last season's save percentage of .906.
Just two seasons ago Saros notched a season save percentage of .919. That was a string of seven-straight seasons of save percentages above 91 percent. I'm going to take that larger sample size over this one really bad season.
Saros at least has a starting point to finish the season strong with his last outing being a win over the Sharks while making 25 saves on 27 shots faced.
There's sentiment out there that Saros should relinquish a lot of starts and give them to Justus Annunen in the last 18 games, and I'm not necessarily opposed to that idea. I think you need to see more of what you have in Annunen, and maybe split the starts over the last 18 games.
That's probably not going to happen, but let's say Saros gets around 10 to 12 more starts for the season. Plenty of opportunities left for him to show off vintage Saros and make us feel a little better about that eight-year contract that kicks in next season.
2. Luke Evangelista- Has the young forward hit a wall?
Evangelista's offense has fallen off a cliff and we haven't seen that next step taken in his progression. Only six goals on the season while also seeing a drop off in his shots on goal and his shooting percentage.
The Predators should have Evangelista in their long-term plans because the foundation is there to be a top-six winger, and at worst a quality middle-six depth scorer. But Evangelista needs a surge in the last 18 games of the season.
Excluding his empty net goal recently against Seattle, Evangelista has scored one goal dating back to December 19. He's getting opportunities now on the top line, and he should stay up there to finish out the season.
With elevated minutes and playing with Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly, let's see if Evangelista can stack up some points and build his confidence going into the offseason. He'll be a restricted free agent at season's end.
It didn't materialize in his most recent game in the loss to Anaheim. In just over 15 minutes of ice time he managed just one shot on goal, but did look more confident with the puck to give his linemates opportunities.
Evangelista figures to be a big part of the future plans for the Predators if next season is going to be a reload and not a rebuild.
3. Fedor Svechkov- Full time center role for rest of season
Another young player that has been given the full opportunity to show what he's got on the NHL level, and way ahead of schedule. That's what happens when a team trades away a lot of players over the course of a season. New guys, and inexperienced prospects, get an early chance to shine.
It's been a mix bagged of results for Svechkov in his first 35 NHL games. On one hand he has shown a lot of confidence and you can't hold too much against him considering he is getting his NHL opportunity ahead of schedule. There's going to be a learning curve that has to be overcome, and it doesn't help that he's on a team that is plagued with horrendous offensive output.
Svechkov has six goals and five assists while averaging a meager 12 minutes of ice time. So while he is getting his NHL minutes sooner than expected, he's also still getting the cautious treatment to his playing time. Against Anaheim, Svechkov started the game at third line center with the newly-acquired Michael Bunting and Jakub Vrana. A tough assignment for the rookie to play with two linemates he has no chemistry with yet.
Here's what we can learn about Svechkov in Nashville's last 17 games of the 2024-25 season; can he keep building that confidence as a true center on the NHL level and is he ready for full-time NHL action in 2025-26? He needs to show off positively in the possession metrics, which he currently is with a 50.6 Corsi rating and seven expected goals.
This is an auditioning period the rest of the way for a lot of guys both young and old. Svehckov is a prime candidate to have on your radar to see how he handles it, because just like Evangelista, the Predators desperately need Svechkov to be ready to go in 2025-26 to make any kind of bounce back into contention anytime soon.
Honorable Mention
Steven Stamkos isn't one of my top three who need to raise their stock most because quite honestly he is what he is at this point in his illustrious career. I don't see him ever putting up another 40-plus goal season. But he can still be a valuable part of this team into 2025-26 by being a mentor, a wise veteran who does the right things, and of course still contributes heavily on the power play.
I like what Stamkos has shown recently, albeit too little too late with the season not heading towards the playoffs. Better late than never I suppose. He needs a strong finish to give fans some sort of confidence in him for next season.
Justin Barron intrigues me and I don't really know why other than he has sneaky good offensive skills and just needs to put it all together as a two-way defenseman. He is streaky at times and caught out of position, and isn't as physical as I'd like him to be.
Again, if the Predators are hoping to be competitive again in 2025-26 and just need a few pieces in free agency, then Barron is a guy that needs to be a part of that plan. He is signed through next season so we'll see if he sticks around and is part of the solution. I'm on the fence with him and will revisit this assessment at the end of the season. But at the very least, I'm intrigued and have a little optimism he can be a decent piece in 2025-26.