Following their first consecutive losses in regulation since Dec. 19-21, the Nashville Predators are searching for answers.
At 34-14-9, the Preds still sit in first place in the Central Division. They still have a game in hand on the Winnipeg Jets and are five points ahead of both Dallas and St. Louis. However, after a streak of five straight overtime games – posting a 3-0-2 record – Nashville has found itself trailing in the third period in six of its last seven games.
“You can’t just always be chasing in games,” Preds captain Roman Josi said after Nashville’s 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. “Especially towards the end, you sometimes get in the habit of risking a little bit more because you want to score a goal, and you know you’re behind.
“The main thing is you have to stay with it; it doesn’t matter if you’re behind or have the lead, you have to keep playing the same way. That’s what makes us successful, and it’s tough. Teams play well defensively, and it’s tough when you get behind and every time you’re just chasing the game the whole time. “
Before dropping their last two, the Preds had taken points in 15 of their previous 16 games – including eight straight at one point. So, needless to say, the sky is not falling.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s just time for us to look in the mirror,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We haven’t been playing up to our potential of late. We got away on the road with a couple wins and a couple points. It’s all great, but we get back here and some of the same stuff kind of creeps into our game.
“Tonight, I thought was a better night than the last one (Calgary) and against St. Louis, but we didn’t get the result.”
Before Craig Smith’s power play goal in the third period, the Preds had gone 0-for-21 on the man advantage in their last seven games. In addition, the Preds have been allowing 3.29 goals per game in their last seven games. Nashville had the second-stingiest defense in the NHL until Feb. 5, surrendering just 2.46 goals per game. Which begs the question, why the inconsistencies lately?
“Everybody cares in this room, and everybody is trying, but we have to get back to 100 percent playing our way,” Josi said. “When we are at our best, we get pucks deep. With our forechecking, it’s so hard for other teams to break out – we have zone time, we have a lot of pressure. But we’re doing that a little inconsistently right now. We have to make sure we do that for 60 minutes, and that’s how we win games.”
“We know that we can’t take our foot off the gas because the League is so tight,” Preds goaltender Juuse Saros added. “We just have to improve on some little things, not panic and just trust the process.”
