For six weeks, the Nashville Predators were the talk of the NHL. After their trip to see U2 was famously canceled for poor play, the Predators went on an 18-game point streak that catapulted them into a playoff spot.
Out of nowhere, the Predators emerged as a dark-horse contender for the Stanley Cup, but they have recently come back to Earth, losing four of their past six games (2-4-0). That leads to the age-old question: Did Nashville peak too soon?
Over the past six games, the Predators have not scored at the same rate (3.9 per cent) as they did during the point streak, when they capitalized on 6.7 per cent of their total shot attempts. But the quality of their offence has actually been better. On Saturday, for example, the Predators fired 97 shot attempts and generated 6.58 expected goals in a 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders — both of which were season highs.
The other end of the rink, however, is a different story. In terms of shot quality against, Nashville has been the worst team in the league since March 28. The Predators have struggled to protect the slot, where opponents have scored 15 of their 25 goals over the past six games, including 11 from the inner slot. No goaltender, even one as consistently reliable as Juuse Saros, can withstand such a barrage.
Despite the Predators’ recent defensive issues, their overall body of work on that side of the ice suggests this stretch is an outlier. The Predators are a top-10 defensive team under first-year coach Andrew Brunette, improving from 25th in expected goals against per game last season, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
There are reasons for potential playoff opponents to be concerned about the Predators, who need one point against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday to qualify for the post-season.
Nashville has one of the most potent forwards lines in the league. Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist have been on the ice for 44 Predators goals at 5-on-5, second most behind the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere (51). Roman Josi is the league’s highest-scoring defenceman since the start of 2024, recording 49 points in 41 games. Saros is more than capable of stealing a series.
It would be unwise to write off the Predators because of this slump.
All stats via Sportlogiq
