Let’s flash back to the Summer of 2001. George W. Bush was just a few months into his first term as President of the United States. The original XFL had just wrapped up their first and only season. Mya, Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Lil’ Kim were Lady Marmalade-ing their way to the top of the music charts, and we were still months away from the first Harry Potter film hitting theaters.
It was also the last time the Nashville Predators finished the season with a sub-.500 record at home, a distinction they’re dangerously close to achieving this year.
Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks is the latest in what’s been a rough stretch of games at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators have lost five of their past six games on their home ice by a combined score of 15 to 24, allowing five or more goals in four of those six games.
By the time the Predators rallied for three late goals on Tuesday, the arena was near-empty. The crowd response to each goal could be considered tepid at best. Predators fans are growing increasingly frustrated with the rash of rough games on their home ice, a feeling that’s seeping into the Predators’ locker room.
“We should hopefully be keeping this pissed off feeling that we don’t seem to get early enough in home games,” Gustav Nyquist said after Tuesday’s game. “We made a push late, but it’s too late. We should be doing that right off the bat.”
Slow starts have doomed the Predators at home the past few games. They allowed three Anaheim goals in the first period Tuesday night. Before that, they allowed four goals in the first period to the Calgary Flames in their previous home game.
“We’re letting the game come to us too much instead of trying to dictate,” said Ryan McDonagh. “There are no excuses about it; we’re slipping there in the beginning the past couple of starts at home.”
The loss drops the Predators to 12-11 at home this season. Should they lose their next game at Bridgestone Arena, Saturday’s tilt against the New York Islanders, the Predators’ points percentage at home will drop to .500, a stat unheard of in the Preds’ modern history. The Predators have finished above .500 at home in 21 consecutive seasons. Even the 2013 season, which saw the Predators finish with the NHL’s fourth-worst record, featured an 11-9-4 record at Bridgestone Arena.
Simply put, the Predators aren’t used to losing this much, this bad in Smashville.
That’s a problem for the team moving forward, and not just from a points perspective. The Predators’ fanbase and players have always been codependent. The frenzied home crowds have historically fueled a team that – regardless of talent – always showed up to play a fast, physical, entertaining brand of hockey. That pushed the Predators to perform magic at home, flummoxing the NHL’s best-of-the-best en route to landmark win over landmark win at Bridgestone Arena, and in turn, creating a more rabid fanbase with each and every game. It’s that bond which made Nashville one of the toughest road environments in the entire NHL.
But every recent cold start has taken the crowd out of the game before they’ve barely had a chance to finish their first beer. Each lackluster performance creates more apathy in a fanbase starved for a contending team to get behind. “Smashville” has lost some of its magic, and it’s a direct result of the product unfolding on their home ice.
The Predators still have a half-season to turn things around, but it won’t be an easy stretch. They have three remaining home games before the All-Star break, all against teams currently in a playoff spot: the Islanders, Panthers, and Kings. A few big wins over those contenders may just be the feel-good fuel the Predators’ need to restore the roar at Bridgestone Arena.
If not, they may find themselves finishing with their worst home record since Shrek topped the box office.
