If the Nashville Predators want to avoid setting a franchise record for most consecutive losses, they may have to do it without their clear leader.
They will also need to find a way to beat the Dallas Stars on their home ice. The Stars are aiming for their fifth consecutive home win while hoping to hand the Predators their ninth loss on Thursday night.
Nashville’s struggles have dropped them into a tie with Chicago, with the fewest points in the NHL (20). The Predators, who also have the lowest number of wins in the league with seven, have only scored 14 goals during their 0-5-3 slump. Their most recent victory was against Winnipeg on Nov. 23.
“It’s a tough league,” said forward Jonathan Marchessault, who added two goals in Tuesday’s 4-3 home loss to Calgary, bringing his season total to seven.
“Something I realized with time is it never gets easier. So, you’ve got to embrace the grind and embrace the adversity that you face as an individual, and as a team also.
“And, I think that’s how you can come out on top and come out (better).”
However, this will be a tough task for the Predators, as their captain and points leader (23), Roman Josi, suffered a lower-body injury in the first period on Tuesday. Josi did not return to the game, and his status is uncertain for Nashville, which has scored only seven goals during their current 0-5-1 road skid.
Nashville has also been without another key player, Ryan O’Reilly, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and has missed the last three games. Forward Gustav Nyquist was also out on Tuesday due to illness.
“Obviously, you never replace Roman Josi,” said Nashville coach Andrew Brunette. “But, I think it gives us … organizationally, a chance to see these guys with more minutes and what they have.”
The Predators are heading to Dallas, where the Stars have a strong 11-2-0 record at home and have outscored opponents 19-8 during a four-game home winning streak. Defenseman Thomas Harley scored two of Dallas’ four goals in the third period, and Jason Robertson finished with a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Calgary to start a six-game home stretch.
“Every game is important,” said Harley, who doubled his goal count. “Looking forward to get back to it.”
Dallas broke out of a scoring slump on Sunday after being limited to just two goals in each of their previous three games.
“It starts with doing the right things, and we capitalize on the opportunities,” said Stars forward Sam Steel, who scored his third goal of the season on Sunday.
Robertson, who scored 41 goals in 2021-22 and 46 goals in 2022-23, had a drop to 29 goals last season and has just six goals this season. However, he has 10 goals in 21 games against Nashville, with his most recent goal coming during Dallas’ 4-3 win in the season opener on Oct. 10.
The Stars’ Jake Oettinger made 33 saves in that game. He’s also 10-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage at home this season. Backup Casey DeSmith has a 2.05 GAA while splitting his two home starts in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Predators star Juuse Saros has a high 3.46 goals-against average during his current 0-4-3 start.
Marchessault is third on the team with 15 points this season, but only three of those points have come during 15 road games.
