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The Ups and Downs of a Professional Season

January 24, 2022, 11:56 AM ET [0 Comments]
Clay Brewer
Nashville Predators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Since we last spoke, the Preds have experienced some definite ups and downs. A thrilling OT win over the division rival Avalanche on January 11 led to this group receiving some well-deserved respect as they continued their climb through the Central and maintained a top spot in the Western Conference.

That win, however, brought with it a somewhat inevitable drop in production that resulted in the Preds losing four straight with each of the four exposing a different issue that continues to, at times, present significant concerns that we discussed in our pre-season review: (1) where’s the production to come from?; (2) is Saros capable of maintaining his high level of play on a consistent basis against top-notch talent?; (3) can the defensive pairings sustain pressure and successfully get the puck out of the zone to prevent substantial odd man rushes and excessive high-quality shots? For the most part of this season, the answer has been more on the positive side of these questions than the negative.

So what did we witness in that four-game skid?

As I keep pressing, true answers come through individual windows of games and then it is best to see if such trends begin to repeat themselves through different times during the season. The four games following the win against the Avs found the Preds lose to the struggling Sabres 4-1 where production was nonexistent, an OT shootout loss 4-3 against the Bruins where a point was, frankly, a lucky result after late scoring tying it, another 4-1 loss at home to Vancouver similar to the Sabres game, and then a major collapse at St Louis where a great start to the game quickly turned around into a 5-3 loss.

The answers that we discovered during this stretch are multi-fold. The defense is undoubtedly the weak point and Saros is a much-needed presence to keep the team in games. Of course, Rittich is a solid number 2, but he has not proven to be a bona fide number 1 to truly steal games (both from the eye test and from an analytical standpoint) as has Saros of late. But the system is still evolving with new faces entering the lineup every night. From a pure hockey perspective, the change in COVID policies should permit the players to present a more consistent lineup each night.

Nonetheless, when you go on a massive point streak, no matter the league, regression to the mean is always an expected result. After the swing the Preds had, the four-game losing streak that found them drop 7 of 8 points was, of course, disappointing, but nothing too entirely shocking. What’s truly great to see is the grit never left. Sure, collapses were witnessed in St. Louis, and really poor performances against Buffalo and Vancouver were the reason for the result, but the team kept fighting. Veterans and rookies a like appear to be on the same page, fighting for the same goal. Whether you make $ 8 million or the league minimum, I for one see no true difference in effort. This could not always be stated for teams in the past, from an eye test perspective.

This fact has only been proven more impressively with the turnaround back-to-back wins at Bridgestone against Winnipeg and Detroit. These were decisive wins with neither opposing team really being in the game from the start. A few slow minutes made it seem closer than it was, but the Preds all around dominated the ice.

Three of the five goals against Winnipeg could be classified as weak and Hellebuyck did not have his strongest performance but putting pucks on the net can result in great results. The final score was 5-2, no one asks how the goals were scored other than those worried about individual stats. On the contrary, the Detroit game presented excellent all-around team play with goals and performances that must be mentioned. The final tally had the Preds win 4-1 with Duchene and Forsberg teaming up for beautiful plays with the one given goal being something of pure art. It’s goals like that that give you hope for what this team can bring; the skill is there and continuing to develop, so is the heart. Really fun game to watch. I needed that after the Titans ripped out my heart earlier in the day. But I digress . . . who other than Tanner Jeannot deserves a strong honorable mention. I hate to mention the same thing over and over, but this guy is an absolute tank. Never backing down from anything and doing whatever it takes to help his team win. He’s obviously a big guy, but his determination to fight and put his body on the line at all times is truly impressive when sometimes “business decisions” are the talking point when it comes to some professional players. I would not call Jeannot’s play, by any means, doing anything other than willing his team to win. Just look at his fight with Stanley, a guy that is not small.

Trenin, Sissons, and Jeannot truly make me get on the edge of my seat for every shift. Smith and Tennyson have been fun additions to monitor as well. This has been a wild ride and fun season. We have crossed the halfway point, so if the second half is anything like the first, it’s going to be an exciting spring! The Preds head to Seattle and Edmonton where they hope to take back four points that these two teams took from them earlier this season. Then back home to play Vancouver before the All Start Break with makeup games to fill the Olympic window to follow.

February will be a fun month of hockey with the ending of it welcoming Rinne’s retirement on February 24 and the Stadium Series on February 26. Can’t wait!
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