The Nashville Predators added prolific goal scorers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, offensive defenseman Brady Skjei, and returned top-goal scorer Filip Forsberg.
All were in place to start the season at an added cost of $108 million.
Inexplicably, it’s plummeted the Predators to the league’s worst offense and last place in the Western Conference with a 5-10-3 record.
Nashville’s latest, a 2-0 loss at the Calgary Flames on Friday night, captured perfectly what’s gone wrong this season. With Juuse Saros holding down the back end, the Predators found no way through the Flames’ defense, with goaltender Dustin Wolf making 29 saves and earning his first career shutout.
Even the Predators’ power play, a relative bright spot this season, managed just two shots on goal in four minutes.
The game was scoreless for over 45 minutes until a goal was scored. It wasn’t Stamkos, adding to his eye-popping 559 career goals. It wasn’t Marchessault, who said recently he needed to start producing offensively. It wasn’t Forsberg, who seems to be the team’s only offensive threat.
No, it was Calgary defenseman Daniil Miromanov, with just his sixth career goal.
The Predators mustered a few more shots on Wolf, but couldn’t tie the game. They looked slow through the zone, careless with puck, and uneasy when trying to set up their offense.
The Predators take on the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (9 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
Predators’ offensive woes continue as they remain in last place
The Predators scored 3.24 goals per game, good for 10th in the NHL last season. They are nearly a full goal worse this season, puttering along at 2.28 goals per game.
They’ve scored two goals or fewer in 11 of their 18 games. They’ve scored only 19 goals at 5-on-5, the fewest in the league. While they manage 30 shots on goal per game, which ranks 12th best in the league, they are shooting just 7.5%, which ranks last.
The moment the Predators gain control of the puck in their own zone, outlet passes are inaccurate or rushed. Most forwards have little time to do anything other than chip the puck into the neutral zone, usually leading to turnovers.
When forwards do gain possession in the neutral zone, few have the speed to maneuver around defenders, so they have to dump the puck in. It leads to more turnovers.
When two or more forwards find time to share possession in the offensive zone, shots are from the perimeter. When players find chances in the slot area, shots are either missed or blocked.
As games progress like this, over-eager defensemen jump into the attack, sometimes leading to odd-man rushes the other way or offensive zone penalties.
If it wasn’t for the Predators’ league best penalty kill, clocking at 92% efficiency, they would be worse. Lucky for them, you can’t be worse than last place.
ESTES:The Nashville Predators were supposed to be good. They haven’t been. So what now?
According to Money Puck, the Predators have a 9.1% chance of making the playoffs after this disastrous start. The good news for Predators fans? They also have a 5.4% of earning the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
