NHL Central Preview: Nashville Predators

At the end of last season, the Nashville Predators were the only team in the Central on the outside looking in at the playoffs. While their top scorer only accumulated 65 points on the season, the Preds were just edged out of a playoff spot. Unfortunately this season they will be taking a step back.   Previous Season: The Preds were very up-and-down last season. At some points, you could tell how young they were, and at other times they looked unbeatable. They lost top goal scorer Jason Arnott for a stretch last year and like their competition to the north fought hard to stay in the playoff hunt. Jason Arnott led the Predators with 33 goals last season and the next closest was defensemen Shea Weber with 23. JP Dumont lead the team with 65 points (16 goals and 49 assists). A surprise in net last year was Pekka Rinne, who posted a 2.38 GAA and collected seven shutouts. If not for the stellar play of Steve Mason in Columbus, Rinne probably would have been in the running for Rookie...