Nashville Predators’ October 2026 Recap

They returned home to face three Western Conference opponents: the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, and St. Louis Blues. They lost 5-2 to the Golden Knights, and suffered a brutal shutout defeat against the Sharks. They ended the stretch on a high note, winning 5-2 against the Blues.

Then, they had the worst road trip of the season so far. The Boston Bruins dealt them an ugly 6-0 loss, and against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they lost in a shootout for good measure.

Fortunately, they were able to end the month on a four-game homestand against the Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and Tampa Bay Lightning. They beat Colorado 6-2, won a shootout against the Lightning (thank you, Steven Stamkos), and earned another overtime point against the New York Islanders.

Top Scorers

1. Filip Forsberg (5-12-17)
2. Steven Stamkos (8-8-16)
3. Roman Josi (1-14-15)
4. Ryan O’Reilly (7-8-15)
5. Alex Kerfoot (2-4-6)
6. Adam Edstrom (5-1-6)
7. Adam Wilsby (0-6-6)
8. Jonathan Marchessault (3-2-5)
9. Nils Hoglander (3-2-5)
10. Brady Skjei (0-4-4)

Biggest Gameplay Storylines

Overtime Losses

While the Predators competed well against almost every team they faced (they only lost by multiple goals to Boston, Vegas, and Minnesota), they couldn’t get the job done. They had a staggering 1-5 record in games that went to overtime or a shootout, with their only win coming against the Lightning. They’re 2-1-5 in one-goal games so far.

“We’ve had some hard nights here of late, either letting some leads slip away or not winning overtime or shootout,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said after the loss to the Islanders. “I thought the third period was our best period. I think we know what we’re not acting on – the start of the game wasn’t where we wanted to be… I liked the grit and resilience to come back. I thought our third period was our best period, and [we] left some pretty good-looking chances there that could have put the game away on the ice. So, we’ll regroup, and we’ve got to start better.”

Well-Rounded Special Teams

There’s a good reason the Predators have been so competitive: their special teams play has been incredible across the board. They currently have the fourth-best power play (31.9%) and penalty kill (88.9%) in the league, and it has won them games before. They were on the penalty kill for two minutes in overtime against the Islanders and kept them scoreless. Against the Lightning, Stamkos scored the game-tying goal on the power play.

However, it’s masked their play at five-on-five. The Predators rank 22nd in expected goals percentage (xG%) at 47.46%. They haven’t recorded a point in any game in which they didn’t score a power-play goal.

“We’re really having trouble sustaining puck battles and using close support and some of the things that we preach, and we try to do,” Brunette said after the Vegas Golden Knights game, a game where they didn’t get a power-play goal. “We throw too many pucks away… and for plays that really aren’t even high-end plays. We just throw them pucks. It’s a little perplexing, and something we talk about every day, something we need to be better at.”

Juuse Saros Sticking It to the Doubters

There have been many, including me, who have doubted Juuse Saros’s goaltending abilities coming into the season. With back-to-back sub .900 seasons, I wasn’t sure what the Predators would get out of him this season.

The early returns have been promising. He had a .902 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.94 goals-against average (GAA) in October. He had so many highlight-reel saves and clutch performances, such as a night he stopped 29 of 30 shots against Dallas. His backup, Justus Annunen, didn’t come back until Oct. 22, so he was almost completely alone to man the fort, and he played very well in October.

Major October Acquisitions

The Predators made a ton of acquisitions in the early part of the offseason. In Chris MacFarland’s tenure, they’ve already acquired 11 players, and two of them came from the last month.

Jayden Struble

Jayden Struble was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2027 second-round pick. This move came right after the Predators played the Canadiens, so the contest between the two was the ultimate scouting report.

Struble is a 25-year-old defenseman who could have some more room to grow. He is a primarily defensive defenseman who plays with a physical edge. The Canadiens drafted him 49th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, but so far he’s played mostly depth minutes, getting lost in the shuffle. The pending restricted free agent (RFA) status he had might’ve factored into the trade as well.

With Nashville, he’s made his mark already. He laid out eight hits and had three blocked shots against St. Louis, scored the go-ahead goal in Nashville’s 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh, and tied the game 3-3 with a goal against the Lightning. He even had a memorable fight against Avalanche forward Parker Kelly in the Predators’ 6-2 win.

According to Elliotte Friedman, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes wanted to give Struble a place where he would earn solid minutes if the sides departed. “It’s been weird. That was my first time getting traded, so it’s different. It’s a different experience, but happy to be part of the team and excited to get going,” said Struble.

Daemon Hunt

Daemon Hunt was another person the Predators brought over to help revitalize their defense. They acquired him off waivers from the Wild on Oct. 24. Hunt, similar to Struble, is a younger defenseman, at just 24 years old. He’s also part of the pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) in Group 6 territory.

“It was honestly a pretty crazy three days,” said Hunt after the trade. “The organization’s been really good to me. All the guys have been great, and I’m happy for this opportunity. I’m very grateful, and I’m just trying to make the best of things.”

Keeping Track of Offseason Acquisitions

Mavrik Bourque — 0 goals-2 assists-2 points through nine games, minus-4 plus/minus. Bourque dealt with an upper-body injury that sidelined him for four games, and ever since then, he hasn’t gotten going. Nashville has put him around the middle six, but fans are still waiting for a breakout from him. He’s still getting plenty of time on the power play with the second unit.

Ross Colton — 2-2-4 through 14 games, minus-3 plus/minus. Colton has been a nice jolt of energy on the team. The Predators primarily put him in the bottom six because of his hitting and scoring abilities, and that’s what he’s given the team. He’s second on the team in hits (37).

Jack Drury — 2-1-3 through 14 games, minus-5 plus/minus. Drury’s role has been mostly as the main penalty-killing forward in Nashville’s plan. He’s been on the ice for an average of 2:34 a game short-handed, which is the most of any forward on the roster. Outside of that, he usually resides on the fourth line, alongside Colton. Time will tell if the duo can generate more offensive momentum, but they had a great game against Colorado.

Adam Edstrom — 5-1-6 through 14 games, minus-1 plus/minus. Perhaps the largest forward in Nashville’s core has also been the biggest surprise for the Predators. Edstrom has become one of the top penalty killers, and not only is he good at killing penalties, but he’s really good at scoring shorthanded. He leads the league in shorthanded goals with two, and he has the most hits on the Predators (63). The funny part is that he isn’t even on the first unit on the penalty kill.

Nils Hoglander — 3-2-5 through 14 games, plus-3 plus/minus. Hoglander is one of the few Predators with a positive plus/minus so far this season. The 25-year-old forward has been paired up with Filip Forsberg and/or Stamkos a ton, and early on, the pairing was successful. He had all three of his goals in the first three games, but ever since then, he’s been held without a goal. Time will tell if he can right the ship.

Alex Kerfoot — 2-4-6 through 14 games, minus-5 plus/minus. Kerfoot’s been a solid depth forward for the Predators. He’s been all over the lineup, from the second to the fourth line, but he’s mostly been asked to play in the middle six alongside guys like Drury or Colton. It’s nice to see him around his point-per-game averages from 2023-24, the season before the Arizona Coyotes moved to Utah. He hadn’t been the same since then. Kerfoot was active on both special teams units, too.

Ilya Lyubushkin — 0-0-0 through one game, minus-2 plus/minus. Lyubushkin has been a healthy scratch for most of his time in Nashville, only playing in their disastrous 6-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. He was placed on waivers earlier in the season.

William Trudeau — 0-0-0 through three games, even plus/minus. Trudeau has been on injured reserve (IR) with an upper-body injury since he played against his former organization, the Canadiens. It’ll be interesting to see whether he carves out a role in Nashville when he gets back or if he’ll be sent down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Milwaukee Admirals.

Prospect Check-In

I released a preseason top-10 prospects list, and after one month (or even two months), it’s interesting to see the results so far.

No. 1: Wyatt Cullen, W, 3-2-5 in eight games for the University of Minnesota (NCAA), with a minus-1 plus/minus. He’s just behind Buffalo Sabres prospect Brodie Ziemer (six) and Colorado Avalanche prospect Christian Humphreys (six) for the team lead.

No. 2: Yegor Surin, C, 5-7-12 in 20 games for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (Kontinental Hockey League) with a plus-4 plus/minus

No. 3: Ryker Lee, W, 2-5-7 in six games with Michigan State University (NCAA) with a plus-1 plus/minus.

No. 4: Brady Martin, C, promoted to the AHL, 3-1-4 through eight games with the Admirals, plus-4 plus/minus.

No. 5: Felix Nilsson, C, promoted to the AHL, 1-3-4 through 10 games with the Admirals, plus-3 plus/minus

No. 6: Cameron Reid, D, 0-3-3 through nine games with University of Michigan, plus-5 plus/minus

No. 7: Tanner Molendyk, D, 0-5-5 through 10 games with the Admirals, plus-6 plus/minus

No. 8: Aiden Fink, W, 2-4-6 through seven games with the Admirals, plus-2 plus/minus

No. 9: Tommy Bleyl, D, 0-3-3 through six games with Michigan State University with a plus-4 plus/minus

No. 10: Jack Ivankovic, G, 7-1-0 record, 2.33 GAA, .921 SV% with University of Michigan

Predators November Schedule

The Predators wrapped up a nice 4-1 home win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes to start the month of November. They’ll travel on the road to face Colorado, then head back home to take on the Blues on Nov. 7.

Then, they have five straight road games on a Pacific trip, including matchups with the Los Angeles Kings (Nov. 10), Anaheim Ducks (Nov. 11), Vegas Golden Knights (Nov. 13), San Jose Sharks (Nov. 15) and Wild (Nov. 17). They finally head back home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 21.

To end November, they alternate between road and home games. They face Dallas away on the day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) and then head back home to play the Mammoth for the first time this season. They’ll face the Detroit Red Wings (Nov. 27) on the road before heading back home to play the Ottawa Senators (Nov. 30) to end the month.