The Nashville Predators lose 5-1 to the Edmonton Oilers in their seventh home game for the fifth time. The co-favorites are in trouble.
The Nashville Predators with Swiss captain Roman Josi were considered the secret favorites for the championship when the new season in the National Hockey League (NHL) began just under a month ago. Nashville had signed three superstars over the summer in Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and Brady Skjei. Since the start of the season, however, the Predators have failed to deliver: five defeats at the start, then three wins, now two defeats again.
In the home game against the Edmonton Oilers, the opponents were also missing superstar Connor McDavid, who will be out injured for the next two or three weeks. But the German Leon Draisaitl helped take Nashville apart with two goals and an assist.
"We have to play well from now on"
Roman Josi (minus-2 record) doesn't like what he's currently seeing from his team: "We're still not playing our game. We want to be dominant. We're not succeeding. We can't always say: 'We haven't found each other yet, the chemistry in the lines isn't right yet'. I mean: The season is now 10 games old. We have to play well from now on. And we have to start winning games right away."
The Nashville Predators are second to last in both the Central Division and the Eastern Conference with seven points. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (with Philip Kurashev), who also lost 3-2 in San Jose on Friday night, are still behind Nashville. The gap to the last playoff spots is already seven points (in the division) and four points (in the conference).
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