Nashville Predators’ playoff hopes hang by a thread as defensive nightmare continues

5 Comments

1. 

   @MrHaustin1 9 months ago

   AK/EL, anticipating your analysis for the NHL Draft that's a couple weeks away, one thing I'll say that we can learn after this weekend's games and Florida's 3-2 advantage over Edmonton (and let's be honest unless Edmonton comes up with a "back from the dead" type game you can call it here on the Oilers–the Panthers I believe will get this done at home here coming up) is the depth of the lines (they don't get talked about because they don't put up the big goal or assist numbers). I think a lot of people are underrating the job that guys like the critical line of Eetu Luostarinen, Brad Marchand, and Anton Lundell have done in this series to neutralize the Oilers. Zone Entry denial—winning board battles, and forcing turnovers. Quite often in this past game they've turned the puck over to drain the clock from Edmonton (particularly in Game 5)—was this the offensive crush game—no Florida scored 3 goals but they stymied Edmonton–sometimes you have to have a game like that where you shut down the opposing team. Nashville needs depth and needs to add on here (which might be tough to do). It ain't always about the top 2 lines or the top 2 pairings—it's about whom is contribuiting on your bottom 6—Stars get you to the playoffs and to Stanley Cups but DEPTH gets you through these playoffs! Happy Monday! 37 year old Marchand and line 3 for the Panthers helped them win this past game here against Edmonton!

2. 

   @codyrickman1397 9 months ago

   The Josi D-pair partner needs to be a player who is exceptional at positioning, since Josi takes so many risks and gets out position. Since Nicklas Lidstrom, the best positioning defenseman I've seen is Ryan McDonagh. He isn't coming back to Nashville. Trotz really needs to find a right shot defenseman to pair with Josi, not sure if there is anyone available that fits that bill. Not sure if there is anyone in-house that fits the bill yet.

3. 

   @Sean-yt1jn 9 months ago

   I think the lack of a real 1 or 2c is the biggest issue followed by the defense being healthy. Its hard for guys to get comfortable with a system/flow when theres a constant feeling of not having a central piece you should have. It feels like surely Trotz will get someone for this position soon but it never happens. Its like if you told a kitchen to start their shift without the fry cook and he'll show up at some point. Fryers gotta be worked and other people can try to cover it til he gets here but nobodys really doing it wholeheartedly because he'll be here "at some point" which is distracting from their normal station and frustrating to work in a hacky and hectic kitchen environment, except then its the end of the day and he never showed up

4. 

   @jackharrington697 9 months ago

   The Josi D-pair partner needs to be a player who is exceptional at positioning, since Josi takes so many risks and gets out position. Since Nicklas Lidstrom, the best positioning defenseman I've seen is Ryan McDonagh. He isn't coming back to Nashville. Trotz really needs to find a right shot defenseman to pair with Josi, not sure if there is anyone available that fits that bill.

5. 

   @wainber1 9 months ago

   The Preds this past regular season went through a lot of turbulence and this off-season don’t have a clear path as to how to address various needs. And it wasn’t very good on various metrics, with the Preds:
   – 31st on average goals scored per game at 2.59
   – having allowed on average 3.34 goals per game, the sixth-highest in the entire NHL
   – 17th on PP% at 21.9 but a rather impressive seventh on PK% at 81.5 with, on the latter metric, among teams that didn’t qualify for this postseason, the Canucks, NY Rangers, Blackhawks and then-future Utah Mammoth having also had PKs in the top half of the NHL

   This postseason, going into game six of the Stanley Cup final, the Panthers, with on average 4.05 goals scored per game, are in the lead, but still, among those teams that lost in the first round, the LA Kings, Blues, Avs and MN Wild having also had average goals scored per game in the top-eight. The Blues, Avs, MN Wild and Sens look like they’ll finish with among the eight lowest average goals allowed per game, with really the only question being if the Oilers will lower their average enough to knock the Sens out of the 8th-lowest goals allowed per game.

   Among teams that this postseason lost in the first round, the LA Kings, Habs, and Blues had PPs in the top-eight while the Blues, Habs and Bolts finished in the top-eight on PK%. there’s no doubt that winning in the postseason takes a lot of work, although whether the Preds will get remotely close to qualifying for next postseason is still a long way from being determined. There is after all no guarantee that tanking will work as rebuilds can stretch into more than just a couple of seasons. Just ask the Sabres and Red Wings how their rebuilds have been going, with no playoff appearance by either team in the 2020s just yet.

   On the other hand, the Ottawa Senators, after having lost their 2017 conference final in seven games, this past regular season finished in the first Eastern Conference wildcard spot and thus qualified for this postseason. Yes, the Sens didn’t go far in that postseason, but what counted more than anything is that they had been back, playing meaningful hockey in the regular season and having that mean a playoff appearance at last.

   The Habs this past regular season snapped a much shorter playoff appearance drought after having appeared in the 2021 Stanley Cup final. Who would’ve thought a Habs team that hadn’t started off that great this season would even qualify for this postseason? Yes the Habs lost that conference quarterfinal of theirs in five games but they were back. Time will tell if that playoff appearance is the start of something good to come or just a flash-in-the-pan.