Leadership has come in different versions in the Nashville Predators locker room this season.
Whether it be captain Roman Josi or Michael McCarron the Predators have been contributing up and down the lineup as they currently ride a six-game winning streak.
“It’s tremendous value to go through hard things, to develop that resiliency to see how you get out of it,” head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Our secondary leadership has stood up. The Lauzon’s the Carrier’s didn’t think they were leaders coming into the season, they’re leaders this is their team.
“The list goes on and on, everybody has stepped up, and again credit to the players and the leadership group in that room. I think our room is pretty transparent and has a voice and it’s nice to see the voice heard and the voices stepping up.”
One of the mentioned voices pointed to how at this point in the season it makes a big difference to step up as a secondary leader on this team, especially while holding a Wild Card spot.
“Yeah, it’s three parts you get in the league and you try to find yourself then you have guys like McDonagh and Josi who have been around who are comfortable and know their play,” Alexandre Carrier said. “It’s a little bit with guys like us where getting to the point that we’re more comfortable with our game and know what to bring. We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Alexandre Carrier getting ready to face the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 27, 2024.
“It’s leading with your play but it’s also helping somebody else if you see someone stressed out dealing with some issues. It’s courage it’s on the wall, you have to have the courage to go talk to them and have compassion and understanding them and if you do and they feel better then everybody is getting better and everyone is elevating.”
As the Predators have adapted this mantra after being blown out 9-2 at home against the Dallas Stars it’s important to keep in mind that while it feels good to win it’s all the more vital to keep the response alive.
“I like where our game is right now. I really like the relentlessness that we’re playing with right now,” Brunette said on 102.5 The Game Thursday morning. “We’re getting results after stretches earlier in the year where we didn’t. Now we’re probably a little more battle tested as the year went on, we’re getting better at closing games out, etc.”
Nashville now boasts a 15-15 record in Bridgestone Arena this season. Brunette continued to say over the airwaves he was partly to blame for the pressure he was putting on his team this season.
Now that Brunette and his staff have spoken to the team it’s been the players who’ve made the change to step it up when games are starting to mean more.
“They kind of took over, a coach can say whatever he wants, it’s the players that are going to dictate what happens. They didn’t like where they were and they made a conservative effort to get back to our game,” Brunette said.
“Secondary leadership goes into every team and a lot of times the secondary leadership drives teams and that can be said of Lauzon, McCarron, Carrier, and those guys we overlook sometimes. Everyone has kind of grabbed a little bit of that leadership pie and put us in the position that we’re in now and this is a fun time to play hockey this time of year.”
With the recent results, the room feels lighter now than it did before the winning streak. Without that negative vibe, the Predators have reverted to the best way they know how to play.
“The mood is a little bit different but at the end of the day we all know what we need to do and we all know that it doesn’t matter what’s happening outside of the room,” Carrier said. “We have to focus on ourselves and play the right way. If we do that we can beat anybody.”
Tonight John Hynes and the Minnesota Wild will try to break the Predator’s winning streak just like they did in November.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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