Andrew Brunette knows what the Nashville Predators won't have this season.
Or rather, who they won't have.
"It's been no secret . . . we don't have that Connor McDavid that can enter (the zone) every time," the Predators' coach said after the 3-1 loss Oct. 1 to the Minnesota Wild.
Nashville (0-1-0, 0 points) dropped its season opener at Bridgestone Arena in part because of an ineffective power play. The Predators couldn't finish on four power play chances, including two early in the second period when they were losing 2-0, mostly because they couldn't enter the zone cleanly with the puck — something Edmonton Oilers three-time MVP McDavid is known for.
"We didn't enter (the zone) all that good tonight," Brunette said. "Both (power play) units . . . we didn't really
get the zone time."
Still, courtesy of a Roman Josi one-timer goal in the second, the Predators were close to tying the game early in the third. Then Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov tipped home a Quinn Hughes shot to make it 3-1, and Nashville faded quickly.
"I didn't think our third (period) was good," Josi said after the loss. "They had way too much zone time, we couldn't get out of our zone a couple times. We could have pushed more in the third."
Minnesota outshot Nashville 12-7 in the third period and 30-20 in the game.
The loss follows a summer of change for Nashville. A new general manager in Chris MacFarland, several new front office executives, and nine new players on the opening night lineup. During training camp, the team repeated the need for a hot start in October — MacFarland even told The Tennessean on Sept. 10 that how the team plays in October may dictate the direction of the franchise for the next few seasons.
If opening night was any indication, it's going to be a long few seasons.
Special teams miscues, missed shots, defensive turnovers and poorly timed penalties cooled off any hopes for a hot start against the Wild.
"It's going to be a little bit of a work in progress," Brunette said. "We've done some good things to be there (in the third). Tonight just unraveled a little bit with the penalties and we had trouble getting back into the right mindset that we had to start the game."
Next up, the Predators host the Dallas Stars on Oct. 3 (7 p.m. CT, The Spot Nashville 28).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Andrew Brunette on Predators' loss: 'We don't have that Connor McDavid'
