Kevin Allen: Predators eating up opponents with grit, guile and gumption Duchene and Johansen playing much better than last season.

So most people predicted Nashville to be better than Arizona and that's it? Disagree. Most smart hockey people predicted Colorado to win the division over Minnesota and Winnipeg. Then St.Louis, Dallas, and Nashville would battle for 4-5-6 with Chicago and Arizona being awful.

That's basically what's still happening. Avs and Minny are 1-2 in points percentage. Winnipeg has been a bit weaker than expected. But St. Louis, Nashville, and Dallas are all in the mix. Anaheim leading the Pacific is a surprise. NYI in the Metro basement is a surprise. But nothing in the Central is a big surprise.

The Defensive end has show improvement, but earlier in the season the Preds were giving up SOG and scoring chances like crazy. Before the recent five game win streak, the Preds were barely above 500 and recent beat downs by teams like Edmonton, Vegas, Toronto, and Colorado made the deficiencies in Hynes' system glaring.

I am encouraged by a lot of what I've seen recently. It's nice to finally have a top scoring line that produces, and not having to rely on scoring by committee or getting half of our offensive production from our defense. The secondary scoring has been spotty, but improving. Saros has been exactly what I'd hope he would be. While it's nice to be tough for other teams to play against, the Preds will maintain a relatively low ceiling if they can't figure out how to get timely scoring more consistently or learn how to counter those fast, skilled teams that aren't intimidated by physical play.

The Defensive end has show improvement, but earlier in the season the Preds were giving up SOG and scoring chances like crazy. Before the recent five game win streak, the Preds were barely above 500 and recent beat downs by teams like Edmonton, Vegas, Toronto, and Colorado made the deficiencies in Hynes' system glaring.

I am encouraged by a lot of what I've seen recently. It's nice to finally have a top scoring line that produces, and not having to rely on scoring by committee or getting half of our offensive production from our defense. The secondary scoring has been spotty, but improving. Saros has been exactly what I'd hope he would be. While it's nice to be tough for other teams to play against, the Preds will maintain a relatively low ceiling if they can't figure out how to get timely scoring more consistently or learn how to counter those fast, skilled teams that aren't intimidated by physical play.
- Squatchy

Really don't disagree with any of your points. I just wanted out that of the teams I've seen this year, the Predators have have been among the hardest to play against. But they have a long way to go, especially when it comes to consistency. It sound like you would disagree, but I think Hynes is a good coach.

The Defensive end has show improvement, but earlier in the season the Preds were giving up SOG and scoring chances like crazy. Before the recent five game win streak, the Preds were barely above 500 and recent beat downs by teams like Edmonton, Vegas, Toronto, and Colorado made the deficiencies in Hynes' system glaring.

I am encouraged by a lot of what I've seen recently. It's nice to finally have a top scoring line that produces, and not having to rely on scoring by committee or getting half of our offensive production from our defense. The secondary scoring has been spotty, but improving. Saros has been exactly what I'd hope he would be. While it's nice to be tough for other teams to play against, the Preds will maintain a relatively low ceiling if they can't figure out how to get timely scoring more consistently or learn how to counter those fast, skilled teams that aren't intimidated by physical play.
- Squatchy

Really don't disagree with any of your points. I just wanted out that of the teams I've seen this year, the Predators have have been among the hardest to play against. But they have a long way to go, especially when it comes to consistency. It sound like you would disagree, but I think Hynes is a good coach.