What Went Wrong: Predators Swept Out of Playoffs in Dominant Fashion

Since 1980, the postseason chase to the Stanley Cup has consisted of 16 teams, meaning that in order for a team to win the coveted trophy, 15 teams have to be eliminated. Out of those 15 teams, someone has to have the indignity of being the very first team to fall, a terrible cross to bear. In this go-around, that terrible burden ended up going to the Nashville Predators, who were swept out of the opening round by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Predators locked in a playoff spot in the final week of April, their eighth straight appearance. They were five years removed from their run to the Stanley Cup Final, but entered this year's tournament having won one series since that magical run. Ironically, that series win was against the Avalanche in 2018. The team has hit a dead end ever since then, and this season was their first following the retirement of longtime goaltender Pekka Rinne, but in spite of this, the Predators marched on and managed to nab one of the Western Conference's two Wild Card spots.

So what went wrong for the Preds? What didn't go wrong?! Murphy's Law states that whatever can go wrong, often does. That's what happened with the Preds. To put this in the proper perspective, let's turn the clock back a bit, shall we?

April 29, 2022

The Predators actually had the chance to avoid the Avalanche altogether. The Dallas Stars won their game and moved past them in the standings, but all Nashville needed was one solitary point. One point, and the Predators would be off to Calgary, while the Avs would be Dallas' problem. They started off well--leading 4-0 after the first period against the lowly Arizona Coyotes. That's where the positives ended. Arizona put up five unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Nashville had time to tie it up and get the point, but couldn't do it. As a result, Nashville had to go to Denver and start off with the big bad Avalanche.

No Saros for Playoffs

What could be worse than playing against the top-seeded Avalanche in Round 1? How about doing so without your main goaltender? The Preds received the news that Juuse Saros would be out for several weeks due to an ankle sprain, which he suffered in the OT loss to the Calgary Flames. He was ambitiously listed as being out for Games One and Two, with hopes that he'd be back for Game Three at home, regardless of how the series ended up after two games. Sure enough, Games One and Two came and went, but Saros was still out for the home games.

David Rittich started Game One, and then he gave up five goals in the first period. It became Connor Ingram's net from that point on, and after finishing the rest of the game, he had a magical Game Two performance--48 saves, but was beaten to the punch in overtime. Ingram could not match that performance ever again; giving up 10 goals in the two home games. Now, would Saros have made a difference? Not likely. The Avs were winning this series anyway, but Saros probably would have made things difficult for Colorado.

Key Players MIA (Among Other Factors)

Nashville's key players just didn't have it offensively in the series. The team scored only 9 goals in the entire series. Six of the nine goals belonged to Matt Duchene and Yakov Trenin, and in the case of the latter, all three goals were game-tying ones. Duchene's four points led the team, and even worse, he was the only player with a positive Plus/Minus (+1). Regarding the rest of the top line, Mikael Granlund only had three helpers, but the main player who was missing in action offensively? None other than Filip Forsberg, whose goal in the third period of Game Four served as his only point in the series. Roman Josi, a Norris Trophy candidate, had only two points.

The Predators didn't have a lead until the third period of Game Four, and ironically, it was Forsberg's goal that gave them that lead--which lasted 4:57. They also couldn't stay out of the penalty box, which had been a problem for them all season (Nashville led the entire league in penalty minutes), and it cost them big time. They gave up seven power play goals; four of them in Game Three alone.

The Predators now go from "What went wrong?" to "What happens now?", especially when it comes to Filip Forsberg. Forsberg is in his final year of his current deal, meaning they could lose him if they don't get a new deal done. Roman Josi had a resurgent year, but can he duplicate it next season? Same can be asked about Matt Duchene. I myself still see the Predators as a dangerous team who is capable of good things, but regarding this year, it was just a mix of Murphy's Law and just being in the wrong place in the wrong time.

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