How Concerned Should the Predators Be about Juuse Saros?
Nashville's game stealing goaltender has struggled in recent games including last night's 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. What may be behind Saros' struggles and how concerned should Barry Trotz be?
The Nashville Predators lost at home last night to the Calgary Flames, a game in which goaltender Juuse Saros allowed five goals in forty minutes before being replaced by backup Kevin Lankinen for the third period.
Head coach Andrew Brunette was clear after the loss that he didn't feel Saros was the biggest problem in the team's poor performance.
"We were in a position that we weren't playing very good hockey," Brunette said. "We didn't want to leave [Saros] in there. It wasn't on him. It was on our group. Our group, for whatever reason, did not understand the importance of tonight."
The loss was a total team effort, and not in the good way. The Predators struggled to get sustained pressure on Dan Vladar, committed costly turnovers, and didn't provide Saros with much support in front of the net.
"We turned a lot of pucks over, kind of fed them in the second," defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. ""We just never could get some sustained pressure on them."
Despite the disconcerting loss at home being a total team issue, much of the postgame discussion has revolved around Juuse Saros and his recent statistics.
The statistics are concerning. Last night was the fifth time Saros has been pulled in a game this season, and the third time he has allowed five goals in his last five games. After an impressive stretch of hockey from November 20-December 21 in which Saros won 11 of his 13 games, he has gone 1-3-1 in his last five. There was also a stretch of five losses in the early part of November before his run.
How concerned should the Predators be about Juuse Saros?
There is no denying that the Predators struggles last night and over the course of the season are about far more than goaltending. The Predators top line has been good, but lately the team is getting very little from depth players offensively. Tommy Novak hasn't gotten back to his pre-injury game, Juuso Pärssinen and Luke Evangelista are navigating the demands of a rigorous NHL season, Cody Glass has battled injuries nearly all season, and players like Yakov Trenin, Kiefer Sherwood, and Phil Tomasino have been lukewarm to cold with regards to offensive production.
Defensively the Predators are in the mud right now as well. Tyson Barrie requested permission to talk to other teams about a potential trade while underperforming for the Predators. Roman Josi has had to adjust to a new role in a new system. Jeremy Lauzon, Dante Fabbro, and Alexandre Carrier have bounced back and forth between strong performances and lackluster games. Veteran Luke Schenn missed almost seven weeks with injury and is still trying to get up to speed.
In previous seasons, Saros has been the one steady, solid presence for the Predators no matter the challenges in front of him. That was to be his role in this new "reset" under Barry Trotz. Saros would cover for the team's growing pains as they brought in a new head coach, installed a new system, and developed young talent.
Is last night's game an indication that he isn't going to be able to do that?
It isn't time to panic, but it may be time to worry. If the Predators don't get more of those "vintage Saros" game stealing performances, the franchise and fans may need to adjust expectations for this season and perhaps down the road in this reset.
