If you walked into Bridgestone Arena two weeks ago, the atmosphere was much like a funeral procession. The Nashville Predators weren’t just losing; they looked disjointed, discouraged and, quite frankly, done.
Fast forward to this Monday, the mood has changed. Winning four of your last five matches usually has that effect.
But let’s take a breath before we start printing playoff tickets. While the recent 10-point swing is a welcome reprieve from the early-season disaster, the question remains: Is this the start of a legitimate resurgence, or is it just a statistical correction – a brief respite before the team sinks to the bottom of the NHL?
We need to look beyond the scoreboards and dissect what is actually happening on the ice.
The sleeping giant wakes up
The headline of this recent piece has to be the awakening of the offense, especially the play of Steven Stamkos.
When general manager Barry Trotz brought in Stamkos, the anticipation was immediately insulting. Instead, we got a disjointed start that left many wondering if Father Time had finally caught up with the sniper. That story has changed in the past week. Stamkos has scored six points in his last five gamesincluding a vintage overtime winner against the Florida Panthers and his milestone 1,200th career point.
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When your party canvassing finds its groove, it usually trickles down. The Predators have scored 15 goals in three recent wins against the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. It’s not just that they score; are How they score. The puck movement is sharp and the team finally seems to have signs of life.
Inject adrenaline into the setup
While the veterans grab the headlines, the children are the engine room of this turnaround.
There has been a palpable ‘youth movement’ over the last five games that has changed the complexion of the bottom six forwards. Rookies Reid Schaefer and Ozzy Wiesblatt haven’t just been passengers; they determined the intensity. Both scored their first career NHL goals during this period, which is great for the highlights, but for the coaching staff, it’s their physical energy that matters more.
This team looked slow and old in October. Integrating a newcomer’s tenacity with veteran knowledge has helped the Predators play with a level of grit that was sorely lacking. It’s a mix that works: When the kids fly, the veterans don’t feel the weight of the world with every shift.
The man in the blue paint
You can’t talk about a Nashville turnaround without talking about Juuse Saros.
For years, Saros has been the blanket covering up defensive shortcomings. This season that blanket looked worn. However, his last few starts — including a 30-save performance against the Panthers and 27 saves against the Flames — have resembled the Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie Nashville relies on.
But this is where skepticism creeps in. Despite these confidence-boosting wins, the season’s numbers are still worrying. Saros sits with a save percentage of .897well below his career average of .913. The team is still in 28th place in terms of goals conceded per match. A few good nights can’t erase two months of porous defenses. Stabilization is good, but for this to be a playoff run, Saros doesn’t just have to be good; he must be elite.
The ruthless arithmetic
Here is the cold water.
Despite the “vibes” improving, the Predators currently have a record of 10-13-4. In the NHL, digging a hole that deep early in the season is usually fatal.
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To truly save this season, the Predators can’t simply trade wins and losses. To reach the statistical threshold normally required for the postseason, they would need to score just under 110 points the rest of the season. That’s a number maintained by the Presidents’ Trophy winners, not the 30th-place teams.
They have to climb a steep hill. The only saving grace is the mediocrity of the Western Conference. The wild card race is noticeably soft right now, meaning Nashville, despite being in the basement, is still within shouting distance of a playoff team like Chicago (six point difference).
A showcase or a rescue?
There’s a cynical, yet pragmatic angle to looking at this winning streak: Is this a playoff push, or is it asset management?
Trotz is not a man who works on hope. He operates on value. If this streak proves to be a “false dawn,” this period of high performance could simply serve to increase the trade value of the roster’s veterans.
If the math becomes insurmountable before the deadline, players like Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos could be moved to free up cap space and acquire future assets. Paradoxically, a good play now could see them traded down the road, rather than kept as a savior for a playoff run.
So, are they back?
It’s too early to tell. The gap with the wildcard is theoretically within reach, but the margin for error is non-existent. This is likely the team’s last chance to prove the doubters wrong.
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