One of the biggest surprises of the 2024-25 NHL season so far has been the Nashville Predators — and not for positive reasons. With 12 games played, they hold a 4-7-1 record and currently rank 30th in the NHL standings, just one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks in last place.
The Predators have struggled to create chances and score goals, and only two teams — the Anaheim Ducks and the New York Islanders — have scored fewer goals than the Predators’ 29.
On Monday, Nashville was shut out by the LA Kings in a 3-0 loss at Bridgestone Arena. After the game, several players were openly critical of their performance, with veteran Luke Schenn calling the team out.
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“I’m not singling anyone out; it’s just facts,” Schenn told The Tennessean. “In order to win in this league, you’ve got to be good on the walls, you’ve got to be good at the lines, and you’ve got to be good around our goal. We’ve got a ways to go.”
Ryan O’Reilly said he was one of the players who deserves blame for the Predators’ slow start to the season.
“For myself, I did not generate nearly enough,” he said. “Just throwing pucks at the net, which is so stupid. I don’t think I made any plays offensively or held on to the puck. We’re not going to win like that.”
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O’Reilly earned a fighting major after going after Kings defenseman Kyle Burroughs following a hit on the Predators’ Gustav Nyquist.
Overall, O’Reilly felt that it was the worst game he’d ever played, and fans couldn’t stop laughing at the candid way he described his own performance.
“I think that was one of the worst games of my career… I was pathetic,” he said.
