5 Predators Lighting Up the Scoreboard with Career Highs Already
The Nashville Predators have had to get increased production from throughout their lineup this season to succeed.
5 Predators Lighting Up the Scoreboard with Career Highs AlreadyThe Nashville Predators have really turned up the heat and surged into a playoff spot over the past couple of weeks. They have won seven games in a row, are nine games above .500, and hold a playoff spot, while having many rumors circulate about key players on the roster. Despite all the noise, many players have contributed this season to get the team to this point.
The Predators have played 61 games this season, meaning 21 games remain. Typically, if we see multiple players from the same team set career highs in points, it would be much closer to the end of the season. Instead, this Nashville team already has five players who have surpassed their career high in points: Colton Sissons, Luke Evangelista, Kiefer Sherwood, Cole Smith, and Michael McCarron.
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Though it has been 61 games, only three of these players can be credited with more than 50 games played. This is arguably more impressive for the two that have played fewer than 50 games to this point and have already set career highs then. These two are Sherwood and McCarron.
Both of these players are currently lining up on the fourth line together and the Predators have to be happy with the depth this season. Sherwood has only played 50 games in a season once; this being his sixth season. His previous career high in points was 13, set last season. He has already recorded 16 in 47 games. As for McCarron, his previous career high in points came in 2021-22 with the Predators, recording 14 points in 51 games. The big center is already at 17 points in 49 games.
Sissons has the most points among the five players to reach a career high in points already on the Predators with 31. He has done so playing in every game thus far, but he has also been a regular in the Predators' lineup for seven-plus seasons too. His previous career high of 30 points was set in 2018-19 and matched last season in 82 games.
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Evangelista is the most exciting of the bunch because he is a rookie. But this also means he only has one prior season of limited action where he played 24 games and recorded 15 points. Well, he has already blown by that with 27 points in 59 games. A lot more is to come for him this season and in the future.
The fifth player we have yet to look deeper at is Smith. He too finds himself on the fourth line at the moment. His first real shot at the NHL came last season at 27 years old and he recorded 17 points in 69 games. He has not only surpassed that point total with 21 points in 60 games, he has doubled his goals already too with eight.
You decide what has been most impressive this season, but with players producing at career highs and the depth going the way it's going, it's no wonder the Predators are in a playoff spot.
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