Brief Mistakes and Game Management Costing Predators Valuable Points
The Nashville Predators have lost four in a row, and small stretches in recent games have cost the team big in the standings.
After a four game losing streak, the Nashville Predators find themselves sitting at the bottom of the standings in the Central Division. In their last two games against the Arizona Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks, the Predators spent most of the sixty minutes leading on the scoreboard and in statistical measurements, but one or two small plays and mistakes ended up costing Nashville those wins.
"I think we did a lot of good things," Brunette said about the Ducks game after Wednesday's practice. "It's just some little margins and some of the mental lapses."
After last night's loss at home to Anaheim, Brunette talked about the team understanding game management and understanding the "little big moments" that matter in hockey. "Self inflicted" was a term Brunette used when talking about the mistakes that led to goals and the ultimate loss last night. Bouncing back from those mistakes and goals against is something Nashville needs to be able to do quickly in the game.
"Sometimes bounces just don't go your way and sometimes when it rains, it pours," Michael McCarron said when asked about the team doing many things well but not getting the results. "A little mistake ends up in our net."
Despite being at the bottom of the Central Division standings, the Predators don't need to make major adjustments to get back to winning. Cleaning up a handful of mistakes and recovering from momentum changes will help the team earn the results that match their overall effort.