The Nashville Predators will kick off their 25th Anniversary season on Tuesday in Tampa Bay with a 4:30 p.m. CT matchup against the Lightning.
For the second consecutive year, the Preds will be playing in the first game of the entire NHL season, and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and ESPN+ as part of the network’s Opening Night tripleheader.
John Buccigross, the play-by-play broadcaster for Tuesday’s game, is curious to see how this 2023-24 Predators team will look under first-year Head Coach Andrew Brunette.
“After a long run of playoff success, it’s tough to come in and not just try to win right away,” Buccigross said. “So they’re kind of an intriguing team… It really does depend on these young guys and what their ceiling is.”
Nashville’s young forwards experienced considerable success down the stretch last season. One of the biggest questions facing the team in 2023-24 is whether they can sustain that high level of production over a full 82-game season under Brunette.
“For those young guys, what can he say or do to put them into a position that can make them feel good about themselves and then start producing?” Buccigross said. “Whether it’s [Juuso Pärssinen], [Philip Tomasino], [Luke Evangelista]… some guys might pop and be really good players.”
Ideally, all of these players will step up and play to their full potential in Brunette’s system. But given that several of the young players on Nashville’s roster don’t even have a full NHL season under their belts, their relatively unproven status creates endless possibilities for their success this season.
“They’re kind of flying under the radar,” Buccigross said. “But you want to have some sort of identity going in and probably some sort of combination of people you can rely on to start building those points early. So I think the question is, who among these young players are going to step up?”
In addition to the rookies, Buccigross believes the Preds need their veteran forwards to step up and produce – especially one key veteran in particular.
“Players play the game, so you have to have good ones who produce,” Buccigross said. “[Can Brunette] unlock something from Filip Forsberg to return and maybe be a guy who can be a dependable 35- or 40-goal guy for the next three or four years?”
A new system under Brunette is expected to provide a jolt to the Predators offense, but the team’s overall production will be dependent in large part on Forsberg’s ability to score at the rate that he did during the career season he enjoyed in 2021-22.
“It starts with Forsberg,” Buccigross said. “They need him to be an elite 40- to 50-goal scorer. Other guys are doing it; there’s no reason he can’t. Ryan O’Reilly is a great player to play with him. He’s going to get opportunities to pot those goals. So it does really start with Forsberg; he’s the guy they need to be healthy and score.”
Forsberg, the franchise leader in goals with 239, skated in just 50 games in 2022-23 before suffering an injury in February that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Just two seasons ago, he set career highs in goals (42) and points (84). With a fast-paced, possession-heavy system under Brunette and a new mix of forwards, including veteran center O’Reilly, the Preds will hope that Forsberg can return to his 2021-22 form and give their offense new life.
As the Predators look ahead to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, Buccigross offered some insight into the Lightning’s weaknesses that Nashville can look to expose on Opening Night.
“Their defense is not quite as good as it used to be when they won back-to-back Cups,” Buccigross said. “One reason why is that Ryan McDonagh was a member of that team, and now he’s on Nashville… Obviously the big weakness for Tampa Bay right now is that their Hall of Fame goaltender is hurt. Andrei Vasilevskiy is out after his back surgery for two months, so you surely can take advantage of their unproven goaltenders.”
So, how exactly can the Preds take advantage of Tampa Bay’s defense and goaltending? It starts with generating offense.
“Get good shots,” Buccigross said. “Get as many good shots as you can, because you’re going to have the better goaltender; most nights, Nashville is going to have the better goaltender with [Juuse Saros], and they’re certainly going to have a better goaltender on Opening Night against Tampa Bay.”
The Predators and Lightning will kick off the 2023-24 NHL season in Game 1 of an opening night tripleheader face-off on ESPN and ESPN+. The puck drops at 4:30 p.m. CT, with Ryan Callahan and Kevin Weekes joining Buccigross on the call. For more information on ESPN’s Opening Night broadcast, click here.
