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Predators Have Four Players Above Point-Per-Game Pace, Need More Scoring Depth
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- Predators Have Four Players Above Point-Per-Game Pace, Need More Scoring Depth
With October behind us, it seems like a logical time to evaluate the Nashville Predators' scoring performances to this point in the 2026-27 season.
In the opening month of the season, the Predators had four players finish above a point-per-game pace and it's the candidates you'd likely expect. Filip Forsberg (17), Steven Stamkos (16), Ryan O'Reilly (15), and Roman Josi (15) have been very effective offensively to start the season, but there's a major drop off behind them.
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Outside of the Predators' top stars, the next leading scorers were David Edstrom, Alex Kerfoot and Adam Wilsby, all of which had six points. As a result, it's not a massive surprise that the Predators finished October sitting 26th in the league in 5-on-5 goals with just 21. Considering they also gave up the seventh most goals at even strength, 32, that's not a recipe for sustainable success in the NHL.
Even when evaluating the Predators' top scorers, outside of Forsberg, all of them have had more than 50% of their points come on the power play. While that's not a problem if depth players are chipping in on a regular basis, that hasn't been the case to this point.
If the Predators are going to legitimately contend for a playoff spot in the Central Division or even in the Wild Card, they're going to need to find more offensive consistency throughout the lineup at 5-on-5. That's going to be easier said than done of course, but it's something that Andrew Brunette will need to figure out as soon as possible.
