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I think the first month of the season has showed Preds fans a few key things:
DEFENSE-DEFENSE-DEFENSE
Ryan Ellis is valuable, and the team won't win consistently without him. His absence forces a shift in D pairs, and being forced to play any combination of Irwin/Weber/Bitteto is a recipe for disaster. I know they are being judicious with Girard's starts to prolong his time before a decision on NHL/Juniors has to be made, but good grief, they are just a better team right now with Girard in the lineup. Perhaps when Ellis is back, they can shift Emelin down and play one of the traffic cones with him. But the longer this goes with the D playing better with Girard in the lineup, they may have to consider keeping the kid up full time. Either way, the team cannot continue to have the kind of defensive breakdowns and inability to gain control and move the puck out of their own zone they showed Saturday. That is a recipe to get roasted every night.
Goaltending
Pekka is playing WAY better than expected. Saros is playing WAY worse. That said, I agree with Paul and some others that Saros may need to go down to the AHL and get a few weeks of consistent playing time. It's hard to come in once every 4-5 games and play well. Some of the disappointment with Saros is the number of soft goals he has allowed. Granted, the team D has to be better in front of him, but he's allowed a couple softies in every game. Can't happen at the NHL level.
OFFENSE
The offense is sputtering a bit. There is firepower there. But it is very inconsistent. At times, they have looked lethal across multiple lines. But Bonino's absence continues to put pressure on the rest of the lines. I believe Lavy's shakeup from the other night was temporary to try and get a couple guys deeper in the lineup going. Jarnkrok, Fiala, and Smith had a decent night in Chicago, but they have to help more often with secondary scoring. Forsberg has been a beast. He really is coming into his own. But he cannot do it alone.
Overall, I like the makeup of this team. They are built to play well in the playoffs. But they have to find a consistency in their game in order to get there. I also wonder if the combination of the short offseason, injuries, and new players in new roles is contributing to some up and down play. It has to have some impact. If so, when they shake it off, the team could easily find another level. |
