By Jordan Long
The Nashville Predators are 19-15-7 this season for a total of 45 points. They look to improve that record tonight when they host the Boston Bruins. Nashville fired Head Coach Peter Laviolette and were quick to replace him. Nashville will move forward with a new Head Coach in John Hynes.
Nashville hired Laviolette prior to the 2014-2015 NHL season. He was experienced at the NHL level with 12 years behind the bench. His previous stop before Nashville was in Philadelphia for 5 years. During those seasons Laviolette went 145-98-29, a winning percentage of .586. Philadelphia managed to make the playoffs 3 times and advanced once to the Stanley Cup Final, 2010 where they were knocked off by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Nashville was hoping Laviolette would help the team make a deep playoff run. In his 6 years in Nashville, Laviolette’s combined record was 248-143-60, an impressive winning percentage of .616. Nashville qualified for the NHL postseason every year. They advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 but were knocked off by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games.
This year Nashville expected to be in playoff contention and make a run back to the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, they aren’t in a playoff position yet and are 5 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second Wild Card spot.
Nashville’s offense hasn’t been a problem this year. On full strength situations, they control the puck in the offensive zone. Those equal scoring chances for them. They score 3.44 goals per game, 6th in the NHL.
On the power play, Nashville sets it up but can’t score. Teams take away the puck and shoot it to the other end of the ice to kill time. There are times where Nashville fires the puck on net but it is saved by the goaltender. Nashville scores on 16.8% of their opportunities with the man advantage, 23rd in the NHL.
What cost Laviolette his job was the defense. They are one of the worst teams killing off penalties. They can’t seem to move the puck out of their defensive zone, allowing teams to have scoring chances. Nashville kills off 74% of their penalties 29th in the NHL. They also give up 3.27 goals per game, 8th most in the NHL. Laviolette never seemed to make adjustments to help his team on defense.
Nashville decided it was time to let Laviolette go. According to ESPN, General Manager David Poile said, “Under the leadership of Peter and Kevin, our organization reached unprecedented heights — from our franchise-altering run to the Stanley Cup Final to a Presidents’ Trophy and our first two Central Division titles. Their passion for the game, ability to motivate a team and drive to be the best makes this a difficult decision. On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Peter and Kevin for all their contributions to the Nashville Predators over the past five-and-a-half seasons.”
Nashville’s new Head Coach is John Hynes. Hynes brings 5 years of NHL Head Coaching knowledge to Nashville. Hynes coached the New Jersey Devils from 2016 to 26 games into this season. His overall record is a disappointing 150-159-45, a winning percentage of .487. They are anticipating a better finish to the year with Hynes with the expectation of making the postseason.
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