Nashville's disappointing start a testament to little-found chemistry
By Anthony Pellegrino @Pellegrinoap50 IceInsider.com Predators All Access Reporter
BOSTON--The month of October is now complete. The Nashville Predators are turning the page on a frustrating start to the season, winning just three out of the first ten games (3-6-1). The offseason talent of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei may be exceptional individual players. Yet, the team cannot find ways to play as a group consistently every night.
A comment on X (Twitter), summed up the Predators slow start to the season in one sentence...@501Broadway: "It's like going to the grocery store and buying all the ingredients for a recipe...yet having no idea how actually to make it."
Through the series of disappointing results, Head Coach Andrew Brunette has tried to preach to the public that "It's going to take time to find chemistry." Yet at what point, and how many line changes night after night, is it time to look for another solution? Perhaps another cause for the problem?
Often swept under the rug, the Predators through ten games lead all 32 teams in penalty kill percentage (93.3%). They ranked 18th last season, at 78.7%, a heavy improvement. Mccarron-Smith-Skjei-Josi seems to be the only special team that has found success, as the mid-pack power play unit ranks 17th (19.4%).
So what's holding the team back?
The team certainly has a lack of scoring. They rank 30th in the leauge scoring just 24 goals in 10 games, (2.4 GPG). Behind the Predators? Just the Anaheim Ducks, and New York Islanders. Yet neither the Ducks nor Islanders spent just about $18 million on free-agent additions. They rank dead last in shooting percentage (6.9%), even behind the Chicago Blackhawks (9.4%).
Why cannot the Predators succeed? It seemingly all comes back to the lack of chemistry. Brunette knows it, and Josi frustratingly says that he knows it.
"I think it's ten games in, we have to play a lot better (than) we have been doing...We have to start playing our game, dominating games, and playing that style of hockey." Josi said following the 5-1 loss to the Oilers..."We keep saying we have to find chemistry, and we have got to do it now."
Andrew Brunette's system could also be affecting the way the team plays. Stamkos played under Jon Cooper from 2013 up until the offseason. He's hoping it will eventually come. That the power play will sometime soon find the chemistry, that the top six will come across the scoring success that they're looking for; the fourth line won't hold the team down.
Yet at the end of the day, the team can't afford time to adjust. Training camp was the two-week-long period to find chemistry into the regular season. The beginning of the season never will be perfect, but it becomes a problem when we're now sitting at November first, 3-6-1, with now unestablished offensive lines.
Brunette's thoughts following last night:
"I think it's a little concerning, to say the least. Trying to be patient, to find things that work. There's been times when were sort of getting close, but times (like tonight), when were not close at all. So I'd say it's a little concerning...From the first shift, we were not ready to play. We came out, and didn't match their pace from the start of the game."
How long can Brunette really use the line that the team needs to find chemistry? As mentioned, the goal of training camp that started roughly under two months ago, was to find the chemistry. Who works together, where new players roles will be, and how the returning players roles change.
What Brunette is doing to the lineup may also play a role in the lack of scoring, and chemistry between lines. Due to the fact that a majority of players aren’t playing with the same line every night. In hopes to find chemistry, he’ll move guys up and down the lineup. Could Brunette not be giving the group enough time to adjust with his lineup(s)?
The Predators bring Colorado, and Los Angeles are into town tonight, and Monday night looking to steer back into the win column.
Single-game tickets for the Predators 2024-25 home games at Bridgestone Arena, are now available at Ticketmaster.com.
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