Nashville Predators (20-20-3, 43 pts): Nashville has been at the center of so many off-ice controversies over the past few seasons that it’s a wonder they still make it to all their games on time. Regardless, the Predators have continued to play, albeit with limited resources and less-than-stellar results.
The Predators rank near the bottom of the league in offense this season, an understandable fact, given that their second leading points-getter is star defenseman Shea Weber. The loss of veteran leader Steve Sullivan can’t have helped any, but his return should provide some boost to the offense. While JP Dumont, Jason Arnott and Martin Erat have all played well thus far, one can’t help but wonder if the Preds’ fate would be different had they not lost star winger Alexander Radulov to the KHL in Russia.
Defensively, the Predators have been slightly better than in past years. The goalie tandem of Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis seems to be working, as both keepers have put up 10 wins and Rinne is 4th in the NHL with a 2.16 GAA. The Predators have done a decent job of keeping the shots down, but when your offense is as poor as Nashville’s has been, it’s tough to win games, no matter how well your defense plays.
Current League Rankings:
Goals - 28th Goals Against - 13th Powerplay Goals - 28th Powerplay Percentage - 28th Shorthanded Goals - 5th Penalty kill percentage - 6th
