Near the All-Star break of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, many pundits thought the Nashville Predators would fall short of reaching the playoffs. But starting Feb. 17 and lasting all the way to March 26, the Predators won 16 of 18 games, and both of the losses came in overtime, meaning they recorded a point in 18 straight games, catapulting them into a playoff spot.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the Predators’ winning ways and if they have enough to get past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Nashville Predators officially punched their ticket to the playoffs the other day. They went on that 18-game heater where they didn’t lose a game in regulation, and it took them from a bubble team to a playoff lock.
I think a lot of people point to Jussi Saros and that goals-against-per-game number as their biggest strength, or they look at Roman Josi’s second-half of the season and see him as someone who can shut down the other team’s top unit and push play the other way. What do you see as their biggest strengths and weaknesses?
Frank Seravalli: There’s something about this team where they’re believers. I don’t know what that accounts for when you’re overmatched in a seven-game series, but I think back to Ryan O’Reilly’s tenure with Nashville when he said, “Why can’t we contend?” I think I laughed at it at the time, and now I look back and a lot of people had this team finishing near the bottom.
You talk about how things come together in a season, and it’s been so impressive how this team has an energy to them. I don’t know if it means they’ll win a round, but the only weakness they have is the disparity in talent with other teams.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
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