Predators need to be 'more exceptional' to reach potential
The Nashville Predators should be better than average.
Sitting fourth in the Central Division with a 20-16-7 record through 43 games, the Predators have yet to live up to their preseason billing where many saw a team with Stanley Cup potential.
As of Sunday, the Predators sit outside of the West playoff picture, one point back of the second wild-card slot and a pair behind the division's third seed.
"Statistically everything is just OK," Predators general manager David Poile told Kevin Allen of USA Today. "We might have only one or two players who are having a career year. If we are going to be a playoff team and believe we can win rounds in the playoffs, we are going to need more exceptional individual play."
Nashville hoped to build on last season, when the club made the second round of the postseason for just the third time in its 17-year history. The Predators pushed the San Jose Sharks, who later advanced to the finals, to seven games before being eliminated. That performance earned head coach Peter Laviolette a two-year contract extension.
In an offseason effort to remake the look of his club, Poile dealt former captain Shea Weber to the Montreal Canadiens, a move which returned exuberant blue-liner P.K. Subban to Tennessee.
But for a team built on speed and scoring, the Predators have struggled this season, as the club sits in the middle of the pack, ranked 17th league-wide with 119 goals. No Predators skater is close to a point per game, with the top five scorers coming in as:
| Player | Games | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Johansen | 43 | 7 | 23 | 30 |
| Filip Forsberg | 43 | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| Mike Fisher | 39 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Viktor Arvidsson | 41 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Roman Josi | 42 | 5 | 17 | 22 |
The numbers are average across the board - certainly not exceptional. On the special teams, the Predators' power play rings as the NHL's 15th-best, firing at a 18.2 percent success rating, while the penalty kill hasn't fared much better, sitting 11th at 82.7 percent.
Things have been so-so through the early goings of January, as the team has posted a 4-2-1 mark. Nashville was strong through November, but posted losing records in both October and December:
| Month | Record | GF | GA | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | 2-5-1 | 19 | 28 | -9 |
| November | 9-3-2 | 46 | 27 | +19 |
| December | 5-6-3 | 36 | 42 | -6 |
| January | 4-2-1 | 17 | 14 | +3 |
Like most teams, the Predators have dealt with their share of injuries, though most of the ailments have come to the team's top players.
Subban has been sidelined since mid-December with a herniated disc. Forward James Neal is back in the lineup, but has missed nine of the last 23 games as he dealt with an upper-body injury. Most recently, the team lost defenseman Roman Josi, out with an upper-body ailment.
"There are a lot of reasons we are where we are," Poiled added. "But my belief is that if we get healthy we can move up and be one of the better teams in the league."