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Nashville Predators: A Season From Which to Learn, and Forget

By Andrew Robinson

ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 03: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators, Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators and Nick Bonino #13 of the Nashville Predators celebrate a shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on March 3, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 03: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators, Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators and Nick Bonino #13 of the Nashville Predators celebrate a shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on March 3, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images /

Nashville Predators season came to end at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Monday night. There are a lot of things the Predators can learn from this season. Unfortunately, there is plenty to forget.

The Nashville Predators fought valiantly in a must-win Game 6 on Monday night. It was to no avail. The Dallas Stars were able to bury the overtime game-winner and send the Predators home empty-handed. It is difficult to understand how a team with so much promise entering the season could frustrate so often and ultimately fall way short of its goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

Did they crack under the pressure of expectations? Did they rely too much on talent alone? Are they just not as good as we thought they were? Those are the questions needing answers this summer. But, before we look ahead to the off-season, let us reminisce about this year. Here are the things the Predators learned this season and what they need to forget.

The Good: Elite Goaltending Through and Through

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It is tough to think of the positives in a season that was largely below expectations, but there was some good from this year. First of all, Juuse Saros continued to show he is more than capable of taking over the reigns when Pekka Rinne eventually retires.

Saros played in 31 games this year, eclipsing his previous high for a season of 26. He was able to put up very respectable numbers of 2.62 GAA and a .914 SV%. That compares pretty favorably to Rinne’s 2.42 GAA and .918 SV%.

However, minding the net is calculated by so much more than just the headline stats of Goals Against Average (GAA) and Save Percentage (SV%). If you take a more analytical approach, you will see a bigger gap between Rinne and Saros’ play.

However, Saros still trends toward a quality starting goaltender, more than just a backup. Out of all NHL goalies with at least 15 games played, Saros ranked 14th in dxSV% on unblocked shots (Rinne finished 10th) according to Money Puck. What that means is he had one of the highest percentage difference between what he was expected to save based on average goaltending, given the shot quality, and what he actually saved.

He also ranked 21st (Rinne 13th) among goalies with at least 1000 minutes played in Goals Saved Above Average per 30 shots faced (GSAA/30). It is important to use GSAA/30 and not just GSAA because GSAA is going to grow the more minutes you play.

Dividing that by 30 shots faced (somewhat close to league average shots faced per full game played) gives us a more clear picture of the goalie’s ability. On average, Saros is better than the starter for at least 9 teams in the league. Those numbers are found at Corsica Hockey.

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