Apr 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) blocks the puck against the Dallas Stars during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
There were many factors that contributed to the Nashville Predators’ disappointing 2024-25 season: underwhelming performances by their big-splash free agent signings prior to last season, lack of chemistry and an aging roster, just to name a few.
One area that was especially noteworthy was the team's penchant for getting off to sluggish starts, both record-wise and in games.
General manager Barry Trotz acknowledged this when he addressed the media during the first day of training camp last month.
"We've got to get off to a good start," Trotz said. "You can never, you never make the playoffs in the first month, but you can miss them in the first month."
How true. But one of the biggest reasons for the Predators’ 38-44-8 record was their inability to take leads, particularly heading into the third period.
The Preds lost 37 games when trailing after 40 minutes, 35 of those coming in regulation. The only time they were worse in that department was in 1998-99, their expansion season.
Stumbling Out Of The Gate
As they prepare for the 2025-26 season, the Predators can ill afford the kind of sluggish start that saw them drop their first five contests to open last season before finally notching their first victory over the Boston Bruins.
The sluggishness in the first two periods played a major role in the 0-5 start, and it didn’t take long for that trend to develop.
In their Oct. 10 season opener against the Dallas Stars, Nashville fell behind 4-1 after two periods before a furious comeback in the third fell short, resulting in a 4-3 defeat.
In four of those first five losses, the Predators were down by at least a goal heading into the second intermission. The only exception was against the Seattle Kraken, when the two teams were tied 3-3 in a back-and-forth affair.
Seattle exploded for four unanswered goals in the third for a 7-3 victory to drop Nashville’s record to 0-3.
In their next game against Edmonton, the Predators actually struck first on a Filip Forsberg tip-in midway through the first period, but the Oilers maintained a 3-2 lead going into the third before adding another tally for a 4-2 win.
There were notable comebacks, of course. After trailing 5-1 early in the second period to the San Jose Sharks Jan. 21, the Preds exploded for six unanswered goals to pull out the victory 7-5.
Seven different Predators lit the lamp, and Forsberg notched his 300th career goal to tie the game. It was the first four-goal comeback in franchise history.
In an Apr. 8 home game against the New York Islanders, the teams were tied 4-4 at the end of two, but the Isles scored two goals less than a minute apart late in the third period for a 6-4 lead.
The Preds fought back with two goals of their own in the final 2:07 of the period to send the game into overtime. Fedor Svechkov sealed the comeback with a wrister at 1:56 of overtime for a 7-6 victory.
Finishing strong is as important as starting fast, something Predators forward Steven Stamkos addressed to reporters following that game.
“We talked about finding a way to finish strong and trying to build on it,” Stamkos said. “That’s where we are. It’s a [tough] situation, but you want to feel good about yourself each and every night.”
The Numbers Don't Lie
Indeed, finishing strong proved to be elusive for the Predators most of the season. They posted a paltry 4-35-2 record when trailing after two periods, compared to 21-2-1 when in the lead. Opponents outscored them 102-75 in the middle frame, 95-69 in the third and 8-4 in overtime. Interestingly, all four of Nashville’s goals in OT came at Bridgestone Arena.
When the Predators managed to grab the lead going into the first intermission, their record was 14-7-5 overall. If opponents had the lead, the mark was 3-18-1. Other teams outscored the Preds 69-64 in the first period.
There isn’t just one thing the Predators can point to regarding what went wrong last season. A lot will need to go right in 2025-26 if they hope to clinch a playoff berth.
Maintaining high quality play through 60 or more minutes night in and night out is tough to do. But faster starts will go a long way in determining whether the Preds can turn things around.
“I think we dug ourselves a hole,” Predators alternate captain Ryan O’Reilly told reporters following the team’s final regular-season game. “We wanted to deviate. At times, we got kind of on our own page, and tried to do it our own way, and as you can see, it doesn't work. You can't build anything when we're all going different directions.”
