Predators Enjoying Early Season Success

The Nashville Predators have been enjoying some early season success - perhaps one of the bigger stories in the opening frame of the 2015-2016 EHE season. The Predators boast a 8-2-1 record in 11 games so far. They sit a top of the central division with 2 games in hand, and only trail the LA Kings in the entire league with the 2nd best win percentage. 

"It's still early", GM Wolf quickly reassured media. "I'm not going to sit here and act as if we'll obtain this momentum. It's a long season, and it's a tough grind. Our players know that. It's easy to get lost in the clouds during a winning streak, but only the great teams know that every night takes your best effort in order to succeed in this league." 

The Predators have been getting offense from all four lines, even their fourth line of Downie, White, Tootoo have combined for 12 points so far. Ryan White and Jordin Tootoo were late off-season acquisitions that were claimed off waivers by GM Wolf when training camps were wrapping up. "White and Tootoo have been great additions to this team. We had some of our players plucked off waivers during training camp, but we quickly acted and added these two solid contributors. They've really added an element of grit and fiesteness to our line-up, and their both excited to be here. White and Tootoo both played their entire season last year in the minors, but we are giving them every opportunity to prove themselves and be effective with our pro team, and they've exceeded expectations." 

All cylinders seem to be clicking for the Predators - even their secondary scoring such as Monahan, Jokinen, Boyes have been outscoring the Preds top line of Crosby, Schenn, and Skinner. James Reimer in net has yet to have a poor outing in goal, and back-up Kuemper has held his own in relief as well. Can the Predators sustain this momentum and keep pushing?

"You could say we are exceeding expectations right now, but I really do believe in this team, and believe we can push the envelope. We've gotten better. Our young core has improved, we added players via free agency and waivers that have filled voids that we had last year. It's unfair for me to stand here and say '"Yeah, we're going to make the playoffs.'" Because then we are setting expectations on the now, when my ultimate goal is to get this team to a future where we can confidently say '"We are a cup contender'". In the meantime, we're just going to keep playing our game and keep improving every day. There'll be bumps throughout the season, and losing streaks, but ultimately my aim is to keep our heads high throughout all that and propel ourselves forward. We are enjoying the success right now, but we need to keep pushing. The moment you get comfortable in this league, you fall down quicker in the standings than you can climb up."