The Nashville Predators were handed a dose of reality against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 13.
Following a mostly successful three-game road trip, the Predators returned to Bridgestone Arena, looking to ambush the Golden Knights, who had lost one day earlier in Minnesota.
Instead, the Predators were swarmed by a talent-rich Golden Knights team, who proved why they're at the top of the Western Conference.
"(Vegas) is a really good team," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said after the 5-2 loss. "And when we don't play a certain way, and we don't stick to a little bit of the game plan and the details in our game, it's going to be hard for us to win."
The Predators (2-2-2, 6 points) went up 1-0 on a goal by Ryan O'Reilly, then tied the game 2-2 in the second
period on a shorthanded goal by Adam Edstrom.
But the Golden Knights (6-2-0, 12 points) built a three-goal lead in the second and third periods, flexing their offensive muscle on contributions from five different goal scorers: Tomas Hertl, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Trevor Connelly, and Brett Howden.
"We're playing small margins here. When we do the things we did, and on the power play especially, it's a recipe for what we got tonight," Brunette said.
Nashville's power play, which had been a strength in the first five games, went 0-for-3, plus two of Vegas's goals came immediately after turnovers following an unsuccessful power play by Nashville.
The Predators also struggled to sustain offensive zone time at even strength. Brunette saw it as an issue with puck security and cited the turnover margin as evidence: Nashville had 24 giveaways, Vegas had 15.
"We're really having trouble sustaining puck battles and using close support and some of the things that we preach," Brunette said. "We throw too many pucks away ... and for plays that really aren't even high-end plays. We just throw them puck and it's a little perplexing. It's something we talk about every day."
The Predators' six points through six games follows a trend of starting slow under Brunette. Since he was named coach for the 2023-24 season, the Predators have a similar record each year through their first six games:
- 2023-24: 3-3-0 (6 points)
- 2024-25: 1-5-0 (2 points)
- 2025-26: 2-2-2 (6 points)
- 2026-27: 2-2-2 (6 points)
Next up, the Predators host the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 15 (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: Lack of offense ‘perplexing’ in Nashville Predators loss to Golden Knights
