What the Heck Is Happening In Nashville?
In a storyline that no one saw coming, a Predators team that sold off big pieces at the trade deadline and has a long list of veteran injuries is somehow still battling for a postseason opportunity.
The changes in Nashville from puck drop at the beginning of the 2022-2023 regular season until last night's big win over the Carolina Hurricanes are astounding. The Nashville Predators went from a team adding a few key pieces in September in a push for one more deep playoff run to an on-ice lineup last night in which nine of the starting players spent significant time playing for the Milwaukee Admirals, two were on entirely different teams, and one was playing NCAA hockey just a month ago.
After selling off key players at the trade deadline, announcing an upcoming change in the General Manager position, and an injury list that reads like War and Peace, somehow the Nashville Predators are still fighting for a chance at the postseason. The Predators traded Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund, and Mattias Ekholm at the deadline. Key players Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen along with Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, Cole Smith, and young Juuso Pärssinen have been sidelined with a variety of injuries. And yet this very different looking Predators team leaves today for a two game road trip that could change what everyone thought possible just a month ago.
It really is remarkable.
How has this pieced together, next-man-up Preds team managed to come up with impressive wins in a final season stretch against some of the top teams in the league?
Goaltending
There is no question that quality goaltending deserves much of the credit for where the Predators are right now. Juuse Saros's stats reveal a player making the best of a tough situation. Saros leads all goaltenders in games played, shots faced, and expected goals against but ranks first in goals saved above expected, wins above replacement, and is eighth in save percentage.
"The foundation of our team is strong goaltending," head coach John Hynes shared in last night's postgame press conference.
Backup Kevin Lankinen, recently signed to a one year extension, factors into that goaltending success. His performance against the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night helped earn Nashville two more points in a wildcard race.
"You have to have two goalies to be able to win in this league," Hynes said after the Vegas win. "I just give Kevin a tremendous amount of credit."
"He wants to be a full time NHL starter. So that lends itself to a player that's coachable, that has taken on the backup role to learn and develop. He's got a great mentor in Juice [Juuse Saros]. He's a great teammate. He brings life and energy to the team, his work ethic is unquestioned, and he's got a great relationship with Ben Vanderklok [goaltending coach]."
"He's hungry," Hynes continued, "I couldn't be more happy for him, and it's been a really good fit."
Special Teams
While the Predators rank 27th on the season on the power play, the team improved recently. Nashville found their man advantage mojo in mid February, but losing Roman Josi and Matt Duchene set the power play back for a time. Now the young players and veteran Tyson Barrie are finding ways to generate quality chances on the power play. Nashville scored two power play goals against Vegas in the win Tuesday night.
The penalty kill has been a bright spot most all season for Nashville, and that continues to be true as the regular season winds down. The Preds are the tenth best team in the league on the kill, and last night the PK killed off two power play chances and scored a shorthanded goal as well.
"We've just been in sync there on our reads," Ryan McDonagh explained when asked about the penalty kill success. "We're trying to be aggressive and certainly need sacrifice - guying blocking shots and laying their body on the line there. We definitely want to keep playing with confidence."
Culture
Despite the loss of locker room leaders like Mattias Ekholm in a trade and Roman Josi to injury, the players - veterans and young guys alike - are buying in regardless of what comes at this team. The combination of remaining veteran experience and hungry young players is paying off with a locker room culture embracing the challenges before them.
The excitement level among the fanbase is growing just as fast as the confidence of this surprising Nashville Predators team. That's not to say that the Predators are a sure thing to steal a wildcard spot from the Winnipeg Jets or the Calgary Flames - the two teams the Preds face next. Nothing about the final week of the regular season will be easy for the Predators as they close out with a back to back against the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche next week.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this surprising run is that in the end the outcome almost doesn't matter. Yes, this team wants to make it into the postseason and continue the magic that is happening in Nashville. But the benefit to this pieced together, next-man-up roster is that the experience of playing meaningful hockey games down the stretch will be just as valuable as the franchise looks ahead to next season.
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