One of the things the Predators seemed to lack all too often last season was “bite,” which might be loosely defined as the ability to get under an opponent’s skin — physically and mentally.

What better way to counter that problem than by creating a line full of canines?

That’s what Predators coach Andrew Brunette hopes he has found in the trio of Michael Bunting, Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault, a combo likely to make its Nashville debut in Thursday’s regular season opener against Columbus.

“They’re kind of junkyard dogs,” Brunette said. “I don’t think they shut up very often for most of the game. But they really drove our identity as a group through [training] camp, even from the first day. They’ve had some pretty good chemistry.”

The line includes one player (Marchessault) who spent all of last season in Nashville, one (Bunting) who arrived for the last 18 contests following a trade and one (Haula) who arrived via trade from New Jersey during the offseason.

The 34-year-old Marchessault is an offensive-minded player with 250 career goals, including a career-high 42 scored with Vegas during the 2023-24 season.

Bunting, 30, is a sandpapery two-way forward, a player who has twice posted 23 goals in a season. The 34-year-old Haula has averaged 15 goals over the past four seasons but is just as well known for his defensive qualities.

All three possess a vocal, abrasive style of play that can wear on opponents.

“All three of us talk a lot. We’re loud,” Bunting said. “I actually have never seen a line as loud as we are. I think we can use that to our advantage. I think we can [walk the line] — playing in the other team’s face, being hard to play against, just kind of surrounding and getting on top pucks.

“When that happens, good things happen. We just have to know our line and not cross over it as much. Obviously, we’re going to cross over sometimes, but try to dial it and in and just create energy for the team.”

Perhaps the biggest question for the Bunting-Haula-Marchessault trio is whether Haula will be able to help create enough scoring opportunities — especially for Marchessault, who has piled up more than 400 shot attempts in five of his 12 seasons.

Haula produced a 47.8 percent Corsi figure last season, meaning opponents totaled more shooting attempts than New Jersey did when he was on the ice.

But what Haula — who totaled just 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 69 games last season — may lack in the offensive zone is, to a degree, balanced by his defensive responsibility.

Playing without the puck has not always been a strength for Marchessault, who was a teammate of Haula for two seasons in Vegas.

“They have a little bit of chemistry, know how to handle each other,” Brunette said.

“But I think with Erik, he’s such a reliable defensive player. He’s great on draws. He’s got really good offense, too. So he’s able to cover up some of [the line’s] offensive tendencies, and he’s smart enough and skilled enough to play with [Marchessault and Bunting], too.”

Haula, who spent the 2020-21 season with the Predators, liked what he saw from his line during training camp, describing the group’s philosophy as “pretty much in your face.”

The three 30-somethings clearly still have a passion for the game.

“It’s three veteran guys, and we like to think [of ourselves] as high-energy people who like to work hard and just care about winning,” Haula said. “There’s definitely still steps we can take … but they’re definitely two fun guys to be around every day.”

The junkyard dogs, however, may not be much fun for opponents to be around.

“The whole game, I feel like we’re talking, whether it’s to the other team, whether it’s to [each other], whether it’s the guy next to us,” Bunting said.

“That just comes with our personality. I’ve been like that as long as I know, and I feel like that goes to my advantage. We annoy people. But in this game, it’s good to annoy people and you can use that as our strength.”