Looks like John Hynes and the Nashville Predators are figuring it out

The Nashville Predators have been struggling all season, but it looks like John Hynes and the Preds are figuring things out.

The Nashville Predators still haven’t had the long-term success that we have all wanted to see, but it looks like they’re starting to slowly figure things out on the ice.

Yeah, they just came off back-to-back losses to Edmonton and Vancouver after I bragged on them, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose to the Blues on Saturday since I’m going to brag on them now but, what can you do?

John Hynes took over as the interim head coach for the Predators in January, and we’re a little over a month into his tenure. I think now he is figuring things out with the Predators roster, and they might be able to get something going before the end of the season.

After back-to-back losses, the Predators returned home to Nashville and easily took care of the New York Islanders in a blowout 5-0 win.

Juuse Saros, once again, had another phenomenal game and finished the night with 31 saves, and he didn’t allow anything past him all night long. On the offensive side, Craig Smith had a great game as well. Smith finished with three shots and three goals.

So a hat trick for Smith, Saros shut down the net, and Rocco Grimaldi and Mattias Ekholm followed suit with both also getting a goal.

35 seconds into the first period and Craig Smith had already set the tone for the game and scored a goal. Throughout the game, the Predators kept that tone set right where Smith initially set it, and it was truly a beautiful thing to see.

Calle Jarnkrok also recorded his 100th assist in the NHL, so all around it was a very good night for the Predators. A bunch of guys contributed to the win, and this is one you could actually call a team win.

All of this could be because head coach John Hynes has gotten creative with some of the lines and has given the Preds new opportunities throughout each period.

That could be because a lot of the “star players” have been struggling as of late, so Hynes is giving different players new opportunities, but it’s kind of working, at least it worked on Thursday night.

Now the Predators have to buckle up and beat the Blues in St. Louis if they want to start building momentum. They very well could use some spark of life in the final stretch of the season.