Steven Stamkos has seen enough winning hockey to know when a team is onto something, and right now he likes what he sees in Nashville.
The Predators have spent the last two weeks knocking off some heavy hitters - the Lightning, the Hurricanes, and the Avalanche twice - but for Stamkos, the bigger story is how they’re doing it. This doesn’t sound like a team surviving on hot streaks and good luck. It sounds like a group settling into a real identity.
“"All four lines are rolling. The D is playing great.
Our goaltenders are playing great. Special teams have been great.
I mean, it's just a recipe for success."”
That’s the kind of line that carries weight coming from Stamkos. He’s won two Stanley Cups, a World Cup, a World Junior gold medal, and would have had Olympic gold in 2014 if not for the injury that kept him out before the tournament. He knows what a team looks like when everything is clicking, and he’s not handing out praise lightly.
What stands out with Nashville is that the results haven’t just been built on beating good teams. They’ve also been dictating play.
The forecheck is aggressive, the defensive work is tight, and opponents aren’t getting much breathing room. When the Predators do those things well, the offense follows.
When they don’t, the goaltending has been there to cover the gaps.
That’s a big reason this stretch has changed the mood around the club. Barry Trotz’s decision to load up on veterans, including Stamkos, had been questioned before, but the pieces are starting to fit. Chris MacFarland has found the right pattern, and Andrew Brunette is getting more out of a roster that finally looks comfortable in his system.
“It just feels like we're building some momentum in terms of how we want to play our game. The style of play of our group, we're getting comfortable. We had a lot of turnover this year with new guys - it takes some time to get adjusted to the systems, for the coaching staff to see what we have, and then kind of put a game plan together.”
The new faces matter here, too. Ross Colton and Jack Drury, both brought over from Colorado, and Adam Edstrom, acquired from the New York Rangers, have helped shape a lineup that now looks more connected. A two-week run in late October and early November doesn’t make anyone a Stanley Cup contender on its own, but Nashville has started to build the kind of structure that can support bigger things.
In Other News...
Predators Are Starting To Look Like The Team Nobody Wants To Face
The Predators keep stacking up results that make the rest of the Western Conference take notice, and the latest one came in overtime against the Avalanche. Nashville has been building a win streak with victories over strong opponents, and this one fit the same pattern: steady, competitive, and hard to push around. Backup goaltender Justus Annunen was sharp in net, turning aside 30 of 32 shots, while rookie Vitali Pinchuk added another encouraging sign for a team trying to define itself under coach Andrew Brunette.
What stands out most is how the Predators are starting to look less like a team riding a hot stretch and more like one with a real identity. They are playing with the kind of structure and confidence that can make them a problem for anyone in a playoff race, and the growing sense around the group is that this is not just a nice run in November. Nashville is beginning to look like a team nobody wants to draw when the games get bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Predators May Be Closer To A Key Young Addition Than Fans Realize
The Predators pipeline may be about to get a little more interesting, with prospect Egor Surin drawing attention as a player the organization could be closer to adding than some fans realize. Agent Dan Milstein indicated Surin is expected to sign and join Nashville after this season, a development that would give the club another young name to keep an eye on as it continues to shape its future.
There is also broader offseason chatter around Tampa Bay star Nikita Kucherov, with speculation and analysis floating possible trade or free-agency destinations across the league. For Nashville, though, the more immediate storyline is whether Surin becomes part of the picture soon, while the Kucherov discussion remains just that for now, with no confirmed move on the board. [Read more 🡒]