It’s just three games, but the Nashville Predators should feel ecstatic about goaltender Juuse Saros’ start to the season.
In their 4-1 win over the Senators on Oct. 13, Saros made 30 saves. He opened the season with a win on Oct. 9, making 38 saves in a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He stopped 20 shots in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 11.
He has a .946 save percentage and a 1.66 goals allowed average, and he looks like the Saros of old, tracking the puck accurately and using his edges to cover the goal crease. Perhaps more importantly, he has looked more confident in goal, not letting any easy pucks into the net.
But confidence is not something coach Andrew Brunette was worried about with his goaltender.
“(His) confidence level hasn’t changed at all,” Brunette said after the win over Columbus. “We weren’t a lot of help for (Saros) last year.”
Last season was rough for Saros. The 29-year-old had career lows in save percentage (.895) and goals saved above average (minus-7.6), a career high in goals allowed average (2.98), and he led the NHL in losses (31). It seemed he could never get on track after missing opening night due to a minor injury, and that set him off course the rest of the season.
But Saros is healthy now, and the Predators have to be thrilled with this development because his new contract kicked in on July 1. He’s now making $7.74 million per season, up from his $5 million per year in 2024-25.
Naturally, as Saros goes, the Predators follow. They are 2-0-1, a pleasant surprise given the low expectations heading into the season. Last year, Nashville opened 0-5, finished 30-44-8 and were out of the playoff race by March.
Next up, Nashville (1-0-1, 3 points) heads to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs on Oct. 14 (6 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
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.