The Predators lost in overtime to the Red Wings on Friday, their third straight loss after giving up a lead.
The Red Wings eventually tied the game at 3-3 toward the middle of the third period, but they swiftly scored again to grab the lead. The Predators are all too accustomed to conceding goals in succession. The Predators fall to 19-16-1 in fifth place in the Central Division as a result of the loss. This is their first OT loss of the year, and after virtually winning all of his starts for a month, Julius Saros is back on the losing streak.
Juuse Saros records the year’s best save, but struggles mightily throughout.
With a superman-like dive across the net, Saros did make what is maybe the save of the year for the NHL, denying Patrick Kane an open net and a near-certain goal. The way that Saros stopped this beggars explanation.
This kind of heroic save shouldn’t come as a surprise coming from Saros. Furthermore, Saros has a history of making inconsistent saves; for every amazing save he makes, he usually gives up one that should be easy to stop. Saros finishes the match with a minus Goals Saved Above Expected. Even though they didn’t take many shots, particularly in the beginning, the Red Wings scored twice in the first frame.
The story is revealed by Saros’ GSA of -1.62 goals predicted. Saros hasn’t been able to lead the Predators to win lately with outstanding goaltending, unlike in the past. Saros had four goals of support from the Predators, but it was insufficient. Conversely, Saros was outperformed by Alex Lyon, a goalie who lacked experience, despite Lyon facing more and better-quality shots.
Saros has ended with a save percentage of less than 80 in three of his last five outings. Even a novice fan of the Predators can see that if Saros continues to struggle on a personal level, the team will continue to lose most of its games.
Predators are unable to maintain leads or eliminate opponents while they are down.
I simply don’t trust the Predators anymore when they have a lead in the game. If anything, I have more faith in them to become desperate and find a way to score when they are trailing. It has snowballed from the stunning defeat to Dallas just before the Christmas break. Well into the third period, the Predators led 3-2 and only needed to play solid defensive hockey for the last ten minutes.
Saros wasn’t actually responsible for Alex DeBrincat’s tying goal on the odd man rush. During the transition, the Predators were outplayed and let up by a narrow margin of just one goal. Simply cannot occur. DeBrincat is left alone on the other side for the one-timer as three Predators players pursue the puck carrier in this defensive breakdown. That has nothing to do with Saros.
After Jeremy Lauzon is tackled for the loose puck in the neutral zone, Alexandre Carrier is lured in to collect it, allowing DeBrincat to skate freely. This sets up the entire breakdown. While these things do happen, it is heartbreaking that the Predators gave the Red Wings back the lead in just two minutes. Another flurry of scrambling and puck chasing on defense. Watching Yakov Trenin, Dante Fabbro, and Colton Sissons play a lot of puck.
Once more, Saros was mostly ignored in favor of the wolves in this drama. Though you can’t leave men wide open on the other side of the play, he is making an effort to track the puck. With their two third-period goals, the Red Wings revealed some swiss cheese defensive structure.
Gus Nyquist has surprised predators much.
Nyquist exerted every effort to seize control of the match and return the Predators to the winning column. He had that intense face on the bench and was moving quickly across the rink. He was confined. Throughout, Nyquist and Forsberg were mutually reinforcing. Nyquist’s first goal, which tied the score at 2-2, was essentially a one-man show and came off of shorthanded play.
Nyquist was able to take the ball, push it up ice, and wait out Lyon in the crease to find the ideal shot to score the goal thanks to his brilliant anticipation of the play on the penalty kill. With his second goal of the match, Nyquist kept the score equal at four goals in overtime. Ryan O’Reilly’s hard forehand, Luke Schenn’s feeding of the puck into traffic, and Nyquist’s finding of the lost puck to score made this goal more of a team effort.
Nyquist’s offseason acquisition may not have garnered much attention, but he has played a solid role on the Predators’ top line alongside Forsberg and O’Reilly. With 26 points in 36 games, he now ranks fourth on the team.
The kids must take greater initiative.
I am aware that it is forbidden to ever criticize a young person, and that when things aren’t going well, it is much simpler to target the highly compensated veteran. But right now, we just aren’t seeing enough from this team’s young talent. Luke Evangelista has played in just 11 games this season, scoring just two points. Although Juuso Parssinen is mostly relied upon to generate offense, he has failed to register a point in eight of his previous nine games.
For the Predators, Cody Glass has been a huge disappointment. Despite his injuries, the top-six center prospect simply can’t seem to shake his slump, which causes the Predators to have an issue with their starting lineup. They attempted to move him to the wing. How much longer can they wait before trying to get in touch with someone else to offer a spark? This year has had highs and lows for Philip Tomasino. Tomasino has been buried on the fourth line lately, so Andrew Brunette might consider giving him more playing time. In his last three games, he has ended with less than 14 minutes of ice time.
With the exception of the odd major hit, Yakov Trenin has also remained virtually invisible in the public eye. He’s not exactly “young” anymore. He appeared sluggish and frequently chased the play. I don’t think he plays for the Predators next season. In this offseason, he is a UFA.
Right now, this team’s biggest problem isn’t their offensive production. It’s goalie and team defense. Both of those work together, and none is aiding the other in covering up its errors.