Ryan O’Reilly knows it’s been a disappointing season for the Nashville Predators.
A month ago, in the aftermath of an 8-3 bludgeoning by the Florida Panthers on Nov. 24, the Predators were in last place in the NHL. Plagued by an anemic offense, they had only six wins in their first 22 games.
Nothing was going right.
Talking about a race to the playoffs? Unthinkable.
But now? The Predators have won seven of their past 10 games, including back-to-back wins over the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena. Suddenly, it’s not crazy to think about a playoff push.
“It was pretty dark there for a while,” O’Reilly said after the Predators’ 2-1 win over the Rangers on Dec. 21. “It was tough. But give credit, everyone’s been working hard.”
The Predators (15-16-4, 34 points) are comfortably out of the NHL cellar, pushing past the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for fifth place in the Central Division.
“We’re crawling back into this thing,” O’Reilly said. “It’s a lot more fun. Everyone’s contributing and it’s exciting. It’s fun coming to the rink.”
It’s not time to say the Predators are back. They are still five points out of the final wild-card spot, and they have a difficult seven-game road trip ahead.
“We’re not where we want to be, but we’re trying like heck to get there,” coach Andrew Brunette said. “We’re going through a process and building something now.”
Part of what the Predators are building is an improved offense. In their past 13 games, they have averaged 3.7 goals per game, an increase from 2.3 in their first 22 games. O’Reilly, who is on a seven-game points streak, is a big part of that: He leads the team with 10 goals and 19 assists this season.
“(We have) a lot of work left,” O’Reilly said. “The focus is to get this next one before the break. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge. But we’re building something. It took a lot longer than we thought, but it’s starting to come. We’re still in this fight and we’re going to keep going.”
Next up, the Predators visit the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 23 (7 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.