It has not been the start the Nashville Predators were hoping for after the major moves the team made in the offseason. The group came into the season with very high expectations to at least take the next step after losing in six games of the opening round of the playoffs in 2024.
The Predators have started the season with a five-game losing streak and are dead last in the league, so let’s dive into five tell-all stats from the first five games of the season.
Horrible Start by the Predators
There have only been 17 teams in the NHL expansion era (1967-68), excluding Nashville this season, that have started the season 0-5-0. Six have made the playoffs and none since 1995-96.
While this is just a stat and it could go either way for the Predators, over 33% is not bad at all considering the types of teams that would have started with five consecutive regulation losses. These aren’t typically playoffs caliber teams.
Nashville Alone at the Bottom
The Predators are alone at the bottom of the standings. They are the only team with zero points in the standings, losing every game in regulation. Nashville has lost by more than one goal in all but their season opener against the Dallas Stars.
After finishing last season with 47 wins and 99 points, it is a big setback in topping those numbers or even doing well enough to turn things around and make the playoffs. Despite that, there are 77 games remaining this season and the Predators got points in 18 consecutive games last season (16-0-2) along with three separate winning streaks of at least six games.
Nashville isn’t the only team without a win though as the San Jose Sharks are 0-3-2 through five games. The Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche also have just one win each in five games to begin the campaign.
Predators Creating Chances to Score
Considering the Predators are one of just two winless teams left in the NHL and are alone at the bottom, it is hard to imagine they lead the league in shots per game with 35.4. The PDO (save percentage + shooting percentage) is very poor right now, and will eventually even itself out. While every shot from Nashville isn’t a high-danger chance, shots will lead to more goals than the team has scored and wins will be the result.
The Predators haven’t scored more than three goals in a game this season and have been shut out once. Three of the team’s 10 goals have also come on the power play, so seven even strength goals in five games is just not good enough.
Stamkos’ Slow Start
Steven Stamkos signing in Nashville created the most noise this past off-season and it has not worked out thus far. Five games into a four-year contract is very unreasonable to judge someone on though.
Related: Stamkos Scores, but Predators Fall Flat in 5-2 Loss to Red Wings
Stamkos is a very good player and has been a point-per-game player for most of his career, including the last three seasons and seven of the last eight. He has just one goal (came on the power play) through five games and is a -6 plus/minus. Stamkos hasn’t assisted on any goals either. He has been on the ice for three goals against at 5-on-5 and four against with the goalie pulled trying to tie the game.
Stamkos is going to make a difference, but it has been a struggle early on for not only him, but the rest of the team to find the back of the net, reduce goals against, and figure it out.
Nashville Has Puck Possession
The Predators have been excellent in the faceoff circle, winning 55.7% of draws. This is good enough to rank them second in the league. What this means is that Nashville starts with possession of the puck, whether it be defensive zone, neutral zone, or offensive zone.
Starting plays with the puck should prevent more scoring chances and allow for more scoring chances for, but Nashville hasn’t been able to keep the puck out of their net that well and can’t convert their opportunities yet. Once the luck starts to turn for the Predators, starting with possession the majority of the time is going to be dangerous for opponents to deal with.
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