Seattle Kraken vs. Nashville Predators Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 15th 2024

Preview and Prediction

All attention in Nashville has been focused on the Predators' major offseason additions, Steven Stamkos and fellow forward Jonathan Marchessault.

This includes not only the fans, but also their teammates.

According to Predators coach Andrew Brunette, the team may be relying too heavily on their new scorers, resulting in a lack of grit and toughness on the ice. In the words of Brunette, "We're trying to be cuter when we need to be harder, and as we all know in this league, it is usually harder that wins, not cuter."

To address this issue, the Predators will attempt to make changes in their upcoming game against the Seattle Kraken, the first of a four-game homestand.

Despite putting 42 shots on net, the Predators were unable to score against Cam Talbot, who was making his debut for the Detroit Red Wings. This was a frustrating outcome for forward Ryan O'Reilly, who believes the team needs to improve their play in front of the net.

O'Reilly stated, "We all know we have to be better in front of the net and make it more difficult on whatever goalie we're playing. But (there were) some good things. You know the effort's there, guys are trying to do the right things. It's just going to be hard to get to where we want to be."

In the game against Detroit, Juuse Saros made 19 saves for Nashville after missing their season opener due to an injury. Additionally, forward Filip Forsberg reached a milestone, playing in his 700th career game for the Predators.

The Seattle Kraken, on the other hand, have had a busy schedule with three games in four days. After a shootout win against the Minnesota Wild, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Dallas Stars. Defenseman Brandon Montour believes that despite the fatigue, there should be no excuses for their performance against a top team like Dallas.

Montour stated, "Although it's a back-to-back and you might be tired, it is Game 3 (of the season). There should be no excuse, especially going against a team like Dallas, who's a top-end team in the West."

The Kraken's backup goaltender, Casey DeSmith, stopped all 25 shots from Seattle in their loss to Dallas. Defenseman Adam Larsson believes that the team needs to improve in the third period and maintain their energy throughout the game.

Larsson stated, "We didn't really generate much into the third period. That's where we have to make a push, a strong push, to win the game. We have to be better ... we have something really good going, we have an energized group, even (Sunday). We just have to keep working."

Unfortunately, the Kraken were without defenseman Vince Dunn in their game against Dallas due to an upper-body injury. His status for future games is uncertain.

PREDICTION

Seattle Kraken

2

4

Nashville Predators