Hockey Tonkin’ – Preds Need a Slump Buster

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This was a tough week for the Predators. There’s really no way to sugar coat it, the team just isn’t playing well enough to win right now. While there were some bright spots this week, overall the Preds have to be better. Hopefully, this is just a slump that every team goes through at some point in the season. I would rather this happen now, instead of in the playoffs.

The Predators were able to pick up two out of a six possible points this week, which dropped them out of first place in the Central. Winnipeg regained the lead with 79 points in 59 games, while Nashville dropped to second with 77 points in 57 games. There’s a newcomer to the top three this week, with the Dallas Stars matching the Blues with 72 points, but they have played one less game than the Blues.

The Predators’ struggles from the Canada trip continued with the St. Louis Blues in town. The Preds dug themselves a big hole falling behind 3-0 after two periods. Nothing was working for the Preds and it seemed like a blowout was in the works. Finally, with just over ten minutes left, Called Jarnkrok was able to get the Preds on the board. Bridgestone came alive, but there was still a lot of work to do. That’s when Austin Watson took over. He was outstanding, scoring a shorthanded goal and then the game tying goal just seconds later. Momentum was on the Preds side as the two teams headed to OT, where Filip Forsberg was able to draw a penalty and gain a penalty shot. He fired it past Carter Hutton to complete the comeback and give the Predators the 4-3 victory. Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ended for the Predators this week.

To save time, I’ll just recap both the Flames and Red Wings games together since they were almost carbon copies of each other. Both games were plagued by the Predators making mental mistakes, not being able to convert on the PP, and playing uninspired hockey. The team has been trending this way for about two weeks now and it finally caught up with them. The players understand that the effort they are giving isn’t good enough, but for some reason, the mistakes and errors keep piling up. Luckily, this team is talented and has a great leadership group. They’ll get it figured out, we just have to hope it’s sooner rather than later.

PREDS THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

First Star – Austin Watson – The Natural Born Penalty Killer was dominant in the last 10 minutes of Tuesday night’s game. He tallied two goals within seconds of each other, including one short handed, to send the game to OT where Forsberg would win it.

Second Star – Ryan Ellis – After missing the first half of the season, many wondered how Ellis would look returning to action. He’s been up the every challenge thrown his way, and picked up two more assists this week to give him nine points in the 19 games he’s played.

Third Star – Juuse Saros – Even though he picked up the loss against the Red Wings, Juuse played out of his mind. He made several huge stops to keep the Preds in the game, but just couldn’t get any support from his team.

No time to feel sorry for themselves, as the Preds have four games this week. Things get started on Monday night with the Senators coming to town. The Preds will want some redemption after how they played in Ottawa two weeks ago. Another chance for redemption Tuesday night as they visit Detroit for first time at Little Caesar’s Arena. A night off to travel home to meet up with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. The Preds will close the week out with a Sunday morning game against the Blues. Puck drop will be at 11 AM and nationally televised. This will be a big week for the Predators to right the ship. I’m confident they can get it done and get things back on track.

Herbie Brooks is the Lead Hockey Analyst for SoBros Network. He knows three things: beating Commies, winning Gold Medals, and having great hair. Follow him on Twitter: @SoBroHerbie_B

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