It’s strange, but true — the Nashville Predators’ middling 2-2-2 start is an improvement on last season.
Through six games, they had stumbled to a shocking 1-5-0 start. This year, they began with a three-game points streak and now have as many points (six) as games played.
The worry, however, is that many of last season’s problems are returning, especially on offense. The Predators are scoring just 2.5 goals per game, down from last year’s rate (2.59). They are on a three-game losing streak, most recently a 4-1 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 18.
“We’ve got to keep building,” captain Roman Josi said after the loss. “We’ve got to have better starts than we did today and we’ve got to find a way to score some goals.”
An early trend — and something that wasn’t as big of a problem last season — is the Predators’ power play.
Down 2-0 to the Jets after the first period, the Predators began the second period on the power play. They did not score. Two minutes later, they went back on the power play, a 5-on-4 that became a 5-on-3 when Tanner Pearson interfered with Nick Blankenburg. Once again, they did not score.
Three power play chances and three shutouts in about six minutes. A huge opportunity to get back in the game wasted.
“The power play has got to be better,” Josi said. “We’ve got to find ways to score goals there.”
The Predators scored only one power play goal in 14 opportunities during their four-game road trip. They’ve scored just two power play goals in 23 opportunities through the first six games, an 8.7% success rate. That ranks 30th in the league, despite having the fourth-most power play time at 6:53 minutes per game.
“We’ve had some power play chances, but you’ve got to score goals in this league to win games,” Josi said.
At full strength, the Predators have been better. According to Money Puck, they rank seventh in shot attempt percentage (52.8%) and 13th in expected goals percentage (50.1%). Last season, they were 11th in shot attempts (50.6%) and 17th in expected goals (49.6%).
Those 5-on-5 rates, if they hold, should carry the Predators to a better record. But the power play is what’s holding them back. Even a league-average power play — like last year’s 18.9% success rate, which ranked 18th in the league — could net a few key goals and lead to more wins.
“You see the images of when we play a certain way and it’s a good picture,” coach Andrew Brunette said of the team’s start. “For us, going forward, we need to be more consistent with that right from the puck drop.”
Nashville returns home on Oct. 21 to face the Anaheim Ducks (7 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.