Preds Prey: Nashville Predators Second Half Resolutions

The Nashville Predators ended the first half of the season in a good position despite key players spending some time on the IR. The Predators, like most NHL teams, should have some resolutions for the second half of the season.

Resolution #1: Health and Cohesion

The Predators need to get healthy and stay healthy to get some kind of run going down the stretch. They saw key players miss a chunk of time due to injury, but some have returned. After the Christmas break, Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban returned to the lineup, but Filip Forsberg is still out and could be for a few more weeks. The team is currently without Colton Sissons and Kyle Turris, who are key players in the lineup. 

The Predators can only hope that they can get all of their players back and into the lineup so they can start building some chemistry and contributing on a nightly basis. 

Resolution #2: Find a Road Game

The Predators started the season winning eight straight road games, but then managed to go winless in their next 10 on away from Bridgestone Arena. They finally ended the road winless streak in Washington on New Years Eve. If the team wants to be in a good position heading into the postseason then they'll need to figure out a way to to get over the problems on the road. 

If they want to straight out the road woes then the Predators will need to limit the amount of times that they give up the first goal on the road. They gave up the first goal in nine of the ten games during the winless streak. The Preds need to get off to better starts, which includes getting the first goal and setting the pace early with a big play. The biggest key to a better road record is going to be getting Pekka Rinne on track since he is a different goalie on the road versus at home. 

Resolution #3: Light It Up on the Power Play

The Preds need to find a way to get the power play going since they are too talented to have one of the worst power plays in the League. They have been without key players at points this season, but the power play should still be better than what it is. 

One of the key problems with the power play has been the overpassing instead of getting a shot on net when it is there. They are also looking for the perfect play, but if a lane is open then the shot needs to get on goal. The Predators should get some bodies in the front of the net for deflections and rebounds. They just really need to try to keep it simple and not overthink while up a man. The biggest key to getting the power play back on track is to get more puck and player movement instead of standing still on the ice. 

Preds Prey: First Half Headlines

The Nashville Predators are just past the midway part of the season, and are sitting in a nice place in the standings despite the rough first half.

There are many headlines to choose from for the first half for this team, but here are the five that stood out the most, in no particular order.

Injuries to Key Players

The Predators were hit hard by the injury plague in the first half of the season, and it hit a lot of important players in the lineup. In the month of November, they were particularly hit hard with three key players heading to the injured reserve, some are back, but others are still waiting to rejoin the team. On Nov. 10, the team took its first hit with, forward Viktor Arvidsson being placed on injured reserve. Then three days later, defenseman P.K. Subban was injured and the team learned that he would be joining Arvidsson on the IR. The team thought they were in good shape, but on Nov. 30, Filip Forsberg was injured and placed on the IR. 

Arvidsson and Subban made their return to the lineup on Dec. 27 at home against the Dallas Stars. Forsberg is still on the IR, but is expected to return to the lineup sometime in January. They were just the three major injuries so far this season, but there have been plenty of other ones. Kyle Turris, Colton Sissons and Yannick Weber are currently out of the lineup with no exact date for a return to the lineup. 

Rough Times on the Road

The Preds started the season by going 8-0-0 away from Bridgestone Arena, but then mid-November came and they couldn't but a win on the road. They went 0-8-2 over their next 10 road games, but are somehow sit just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the lead in the Central Division. They ended a six game losing streak overall with a win against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 31. The win also ended a 10-game road losing streak. It seems like the road struggles kind of coincided with the loss of Subban and Arvidsson to injury.

During the 10-game road winless streak, the Predators only score the first goal of the game once and that was on Dec. 18 when they were facing the Chicago Blackhawks. During the eight game win streak on the road to start the season, they scored the first goal in every game except two. Another part of the road problem, has been Pekka Rinne, who is much better playing on home ice. During the eight game win streak, the Preds only gave up three or more goals a total of four times, but they did it six times during the winless streak. The opposition managed to score five goals in a game a total of four times, and that can't happen if they want to get some points and climb the standings.

Power Play Struggles

The Preds' power play has been anything but lights out this year. They have chances on the man advantage, but they can't seem to cash in on them. The team had 139 power play opportunities in the first half and only managed to score on 21 of them. They also gave up five shorthanded goals against, and finished the first half ranked 27th.

The Predators can get into the offensive zone and setup on the power play, but the problem begins after that happens. They tend to look for the perfect play and are really pass happy. If the shot is there with no one in the lane and some traffic in front then just get the puck on net because you never know that can happen. They need to stop looking for the pretty or perfect play and make the right one. The Predators have zero power play goals in 24 games played, one power play goal in 11 games played and have only scored two power play goals five times this season. 

Pekka Rinne

Rinne put up some solid numbers in the first half, but they could have been even better. In 29 games, he was 15-10-1 with two shutouts to go with a 2.25 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He got off to a great start, but his numbers have slipped since then and a major reason for that was his play on the road. In October, he was 3-1-0 in give games with a 2.11 goals against average and one shutout. During November he was 7-3-1 with a 1.74 GAA and had another shutout. In 12 games during the month of December, Rinne was only 5-6-0 with a 2.87 GAA and zero shutouts.

Rinne has solid numbers at home this season, but has somewhat struggled on the road. The goalie's road numbers aren't terrible by any means, just not up to his numbers on home ice. In 16 games at home, he has a record of 11-5-0 with a 2.01 GAA and two shutouts. In 13 games on the road, he is only 4-5-1 with a 2.60 GAA. The team as a whole has struggled on the road and that played into his rough road record in the first half. Despite his poor road record, the team would not be in the race to win the Central Division again.

Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi

Johansen and Josi had to pick up the point pace with Forsberg, Arvidsson and Subban out of the lineup at the same time. Johansen finished the first half with 35 points including seven goals and 28 assists. The totals could have been higher if the Predators had any kind of power play in the first half of the season. Johansen can agitate the opposition and is good at face-offs winning over 53% of them taken.

Josi needed to step up his game with the loss of Subban due to injury. He had seven goals, 22 assists and 29 points in the first half of the season. The defenseman will join the play in the offensive zone and make the first pass to help his team get the puck out of their own zone. He added two game winning goals and averaged 25:24 of ice time per game. 

3 Things: Carolina Hurricanes @ Philadelphia Flyers (1/3/19)

The Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Carolina Hurricanes for the second time in four days.

The Flyers came out flat on New Year's Eve and paid the price. Carter Hart was pulled from the game and Michal Neuvirth was good in relief, but the rest of the team seemed to forget that they  actually had a game to play. They were outplayed and eventually lost the game 3-1.

1.) Complete Game for 60 Minutes- Hurricanes

The Hurricanes will want to copy their game plan from Monday night when they faced the Flyers, who should come out with more energy. They'll want to get plenty of pucks on net since Neuvirth is starting for the Flyers, and he can let in some soft goals. The 'Canes need to clog up the neutral zone and not let the Flyers get in behind them on the forecheck and start a cycle game. A good way to take the home crowd out of the game would be to get off to a fast start and get the first goal or two. If the Hurricanes can get the lead, they need to keep playing for a full 60 minutes since the Flyers can come back from down multiple goals in the final period to force overtime. 

2.) Revenge Game- Flyers

The Flyers got  badly outplayed in Carolina on Monday night from almost the beginning of the game. They should come out with more energy in this game so they don't get booed off their home ice at intermission. The Flyers need to set the pace early in this game and get plenty of pucks on net. The team could use the stretch pass to try to behind the neutral zone checking of the Hurricanes' defenders. Another way to get into the offensive one would be to dump the puck in, get after it and win some battles along the boards. If they want to get the two points then they'll need to get some good goaltending, capitalize on their chances and play with some effort tonight.

3.) Start- Hurricanes & Flyers

The start of the game is going to be important for both teams since it is a chance to set the tone for the rest of the game. The Flyers will want to be smart but also physical while getting in on the forecheck. The Hurricanes just need to play the same exact way that they played Monday night and they should get the two points. Both teams will be looking to get the first goal or two of the game since both have had some problems keeping the puck out of their own net so far this year.