Author’s note: This article was updated following Nashville’s insane comeback win over Vegas on March 26th.
It was February 16th, 2024. The Nashville Predators had just been embarrassed, and I mean EMBARRASSED, by the Dallas Stars 9-2 the night before. From a local and national media standpoint it looked like a Predators team that had bravely hung in the fight for a playoff wild card had finally run out of steam. With the NHL trade deadline a mere three weeks away many thought this result solidified their fate as a full-on seller. Starting with their next game however, a Saturday afternoon win over the St. Louis Blues, the Predators would start to change the trajectory and narrative of their season. Nashville would not lose again in February and completed an 8 game winning streak before an OT loss vs Montreal. The streak of games with at least a point has continued to current (March 27th) and now stands at 18 straight games, the longest in franchise history. Even former Predator star P.K. Subban has jumped on the bandwagon.
Throughout the streak there have been performances both individually and as a team worth highlighting, so let us do just that. Here are some fun statistics from the Nashville Predators’ 18 game (and counting) point streak.
- The Predators are scoring the most goals per game (4.11) and allowing the fewest (1.83) in the NHL.
- Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Gustav Nyquist are 7th, 15th, and 16th in the NHL in scoring, respectively, over this stretch.
- Three skaters have been over a point per game: Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Gustav Nyquist. The next highest? Ryan O’Reilly at 0.89 and… Ryan McDonagh at 0.78 points per game.
- Filip Forsberg leads the way in 5v5 scoring chances with 50. Coming in second is, you guessed it… Michael McCarron with 35.
- Among goalies with at least 300 minutes TOI, Juuse Saros is 3rd in the NHL with a 0.941 SV% and 9.30 goals saved above average at 5v5.
- At 5v5 the trio of Tommy Novak, Luke Evangelista and Mark Jankowski have registered a 64% expected goal share and a 80% actual goal share.
- While his offensive production is rightfully getting a ton of recognition, Roman Josi has also allowed the least scoring chances, high danger chances and expected goals per 60 minutes of 5v5.
- And finally, Jeremy Lauzon has 69 hits at 5v5. Nice. (Ok… I didn’t update this one, it was too perfect)
Winning hockey is fun for the organization and the fanbase. It creates room for players to shine in ways they might not normally show up on the scoresheet. Then add in that the winning hockey is associated with a moment like the canceled U2 trip (I’m proud that I made it this far without bringing it up) then the story takes on a life of its own across the NHL landscape. So strap in and enjoy this part of the ride for as long as it goes. The playoffs are just around the corner and the stories start anew.
Statistics courtesy of the NHL and Natural Stat Trick
