Nashville Predators Could Be Due For Injuries
The Nashville Predators have not had a devastating injury for quite some time. Is their luck bound to run out?
The Nashville Predators enter the 2016-2017 regular season with highest expectations since the Paul Kariya led 2006-2007 team. They could finally win the central division. What is most likely to hinder their chances at the division title? Injuries…Injuries…Injuries
The Nashville Predators were rather fortunate last season with the injury-bug. Beyond minor injuries to Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson, who missed 12 and 17 games respectively, the core of the team enjoyed a healthy season. Of course, Gabby Bourque missed the majority of the season but his spot was filled rather easily.
Looking back at the 2014-2015 season, Pekka Rinne missing 20 or so games was the only glaring injury the team faced during the regular season. Mike Fisher missed time near the beginning of the season but still finished with 59 games played.
Luck has to run out eventually
Over the past few days, players like Jonathan Quick, Brian Little, Jack Eichel, and Evander Kane have all been sidelined with early season injuries.
In just over 24 hours, Buffalo has gone from: excited to start their season- to an entire fanbase holding their collective breath. Eichel appears to be out until the beginning of December, and Evander Kane looks no better.
Buffalo Sabres fans would not be overboard in packing it in for the season. Their only chance to sneak into the playoffs was a strong start. It is only 2 days into the season, and the injury bug is already biting entire teams.
In their wake, a gaping hole in the lineup is left to be filled by a collective patch-work of replacements and players “stepping-up”. Yet the seal to the wound is never air-tight.
More from Predlines
The current Nashville Predators roster is most likely the best hockey team ever to call Nashville home. However, injuries to any top 6 forward or top 4 defenseman can cause a plummet in the standings that the team may not be able to truly recover from. Instead of facing a wild-card team as the division winner, a key injury could force the Nashville Predators the have yet another tough first round opponent without home-ice advantage.
Ask any Columbus Blue Jackets fan what injuries can do to your team. Remember what the Nashville Predators looked like when Shea Weber went down in the 2015 Playoffs? While teams win games, a key injury can lose them.
What happens to the defense if Roman Josi goes down with a season ending injury? If Ryan Johansen takes a spill and misses time, what happens to the center depth? Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro are not as young as they once were. The Nashville Predators saw what happened when you have two centers north of 35 as your 1-2 punch.
I was at the game in Nashville against Winnipeg in Janurary… the last game for Seth Jones as a Nashville Predator, and the need for a top center was obvious. If Ryan Johansen goes down, the team is worse off than it was one year ago.
This injury bug is a cruel and unrelenting force in professional sports. We know not where or when it will strike. Nashville Predators fans have enjoyed the luxury of mostly healthy teams for the past 2 seasons. Will our luck run out?