The preseason hasn't been great for the Nashville Predators lately.
In the six games leading up to the regular season each year since 2023, the Predators have a combined record of 5-9-2 and have not won more than two games in a preseason in that stretch.
This year's preseason has a chance to take a positive turn with one game left at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 4. If they were to pick up a regulation win, it would be the Predators' first winning preseason record since they went 3-0-1 in 2022. However, that was a shorter preseason.
There shouldn't be too much seriousness taken into these games, as players are looking to either loosen up or try to make the roster. Coaches are trying out new combinations and testing out what works and what doesn't
The biggest issue is that these games "don't count," a point Michael Bunting made clear following Nashville's preseason shootout loss to the Lightning on Sept. 23.
"You never want to give up a two-goal lead like that and end up losing the game, but the lucky thing is that game doesn't count," Bunting said.
In a similar vein, these games can also offer glimpses into what the regular season might look like. In the Predators' case, their main roster players have played in all but one game, which was a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on September 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Predators played only four regularly rostered players from last season, which includes back-up goalie Justus Annunen.
There's less of an excuse when looking at the Predators' pair of losses to Tampa Bay on Sept. 23 and Sept. 27, as they played with their main roster players from last season.
The shootout loss to the Lightning was essentially against Tampa Bay's "B" Squad. The Lightning dressed only five main roster players from last season in that game, with Dylan Raddish being the only player who logged 30+ points last season.
Excluding Nicolas Hague (injury), Zachary L'Heureux (injury) and Luke Evangelista (contract negations), the only player that Nashville did not dress for that game that was in last season's regular lineup was Ryan O'Reilly.
The Predators committed 29 minutes in penalties that night, gave up a 2-0 lead and saw their three leading scorers for last season all miss on their shootout attempts.
Facing the Lightning again, in Tampa on Sept. 27, the Predators were blown out, 4-1. They were beaten at the face-off circle, committed nearly 20 minutes in penalties and had almost 30 shots.
Nashville faced two goalies, neither of which was in the Lightning's two-man regular rotation last season. The Predators played all but one of their leading scorers from last season: Steven Stamkos.
While there was a pair of wins over the Florida Panthers on Sept. 21, both games were heavily mismatched in the Predators' favor. Game 1, a 5-0 Nashville win, saw the Predators suit up only one player with NHL experience: Trevor Carrick (seven career games).
The Predators had a lighter roster than the game, but still had players like Erik Haula, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei.
Game 2 showcased more of Florida's talent, but a talent gap still existed between the Predators and the Panthers, as they had not played any of their top 20 leading scorers from the previous season. Nashville had played Stamkos, O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and started Juuse Saros.
You can't blame the Predators for playing their top players in order to prepare for the regular season, but at the same time, they're winning heavily mismatched games and have two losses that could be seen as slightly alarming.
Maybe the Lightning are really that deep and in that case, the entire league should be on notice. However, the preseason lapses signal that struggles from last season could continue into this year.
Despite it being preseason and no results counting, a sound win over the Hurricanes on Saturday would be beneficial in quieting some of the noise.