5 Reasons the Nashville Predators Are Real Stanley Cup Contenders This Season

The Nashville Predators are in first place in the Central Division.

Let that one sink in—the Nashville Predators.

Not the Chicago Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche, the St. Louis Blues, the—oh, you get the point.

Forget that they have a new first line, their first new head coach in 15 years or a 24-year-old defenseman playing 27 minutes a night.

Surely, the Nashville Predators—the never-even-won-a-division-before Nashville Predators—aren't winning this division—much less the Stanley Cup?

Well, it's true.

Here are five reasons why.

After 15 years, which spans the franchise's entire existence, the team relieved head coach Barry Trotz of his duties. In those years, Trotz made the postseason seven times, never making it past the second round.

In comes veteran coach Peter Laviolette, a Stanley Cup winner who directed the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06.

Laviolette has brought a workmanlike effort to his squad earlier into his tenure.

"There has been some consistency to what we're doing," Laviolette told Eric Stromgren of USA Today. "There's things we need to do better to have long-term success, and those are the things we work on in practice."

Things seem to be working so far. Heading into Friday's games, Nashville is first in the Central Division with a 12-5-2 record, one game ahead of the Blues.

The Predators were a noteworthy defensive team just a few seasons ago. Back then, they had the nightmare defensive combination of Ryan Suter and Shea Weber.

When Suter exited for Minnesota, the Nashville defense just wasn't the same, ranking 20th and 23rd in successive seasons after the defender's departure.

What also hurt the Predators the past two seasons (both non-playoff years) was the ailing hip of star goaltender Pekka Rinne.

"The best offseason acquisition we could make was getting a healthy Pekka Rinne," Nashville general manager David Poile said to Kevin Allen of USA Today last month.

Rinne missed 51 games last season because of a hip injury, which later got infected, causing the netminder to miss more time.

Rinne is shining this season, leading the league in wins (20) and ranking third in GAA (1.92) and fourth in save percentage (.930) heading into Friday's games.

After two years, the Predators also have found a replacement for Suter.

Roman Josi, a second-round pick in 2008 by Nashville, has sparkled beside Weber this season. The two averaged the fourth-most ice time as a defensive pair and only allowed four even-strength goals against through the team's first 18 games, according to Willy Daunic at the team's official website.

The emergence of this three-headed monster has propelled the team to third in goals against (2.05) heading into Friday's games. 

Most pundits would say the sign of a great hockey team is how they play at even strength.

If that's the case, the Nashville Predators are a great team.

In fact, no other team is better when two teams are playing five skaters on each side.

The Predators feature the best for/against ratio at even strength at 1.83. That means the team is scoring 1.83 goals for every goal it allows.

That's a marked improvement over last year's squad that finished 25th in the league with a 0.88 ratio.

This is a statistic a playoff contender wants to be at the top of. The last two Stanley Cup champions ranked in the top three in this category during their championship runs. The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks paced the field with a 1.52 ratio, while the 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings were second at 1.28.

It's been seven years since a player with the surname Forsberg made a mark in a Nashville uniform. Filip Forsberg, not to be confused with unrelated Hall of Famer and former Predator Peter Forsberg, is the early Calder Memorial Trophy front-runner as the NHL's top rookie.

The 20-year-old has tallied nine goals and 13 assists in 19 games this season—good enough for sixth overall in scoring.

However, his most impressive statistic is his plus-20, which leads all players in the NHL. A major catalyst for the team's even-strength success lies with Forsberg and linemates James Neal and Mike Ribeiro.

"We knew he was going to be good; I don’t think we expected him to be this good this early," Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis told Stephen Whyno of The Canadian Press. "He’s got some unbelievable hands, and his confidence is high right now, which goes a long way on the ice."

The young Forsberg also has a knack for coming through in the clutch, already contributing two game-winning goals on the season.

At the 2014 NHL Draft, general manager David Poile made waves by trading fan favorite forward Patric Hornqvist (and forward Nick Spaling) for enigmatic winger James Neal.

The general consensus of the deal was that Poile got a steal, though it looks like the swap has helped both clubs equally.

What the Predators got in the deal was a pure goal scorer and sniper. The franchise hasn't had a shot as lethal as Neal's in its entire history. 

Neal leads Nashville in goals with nine heading into Friday's action and ranks third on the team in points with 14.

Perhaps the most underrated move of this past offseason was the signing of 34-year-old center Mike Ribeiro.

What's interesting about the Ribeiro move was the fact that Ribeiro himself pitched the idea to Poile, according to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports. Marital issues affected Ribeiro's time with his former team, the Phoenix Coyotes, forcing him into free-agency purgatory after his release.

Poile took a chance, handing Ribeiro a one-year contract for a little more than $1 million.

That risk has paid off, as Ribeiro is second on the team with 17 points heading into Friday's games, providing the playmaking center that Neal needs to thrive.

With the team's abilities at even strength, a prime playoff spot seems like a real reality.

The scoring line of Forsberg-Ribeiro-Neal might need some help, though. The trio has tallied nearly 36 percent of all points scored by the team, including defensemen. That's where second- and third-line players like Olli Jokinen, Matt Cullen, Colin Wilson and Craig Smith must step up.

Also, Nashville's special teams play must improve. Despite ranking third overall in goals against, their penalty kill ranks 28th out of 30 teams with a 73.5 percent kill rate. The power play isn't much better: The team only converts 15.8 percent (19th overall) of its chances.

Over time, it's not hard to imagine the specialty units for the team improving based on the team's prowess at even strength. Also, the secondary scoring should pick up, making way for a surprise playoff contender in a tough Western Conference.  

Do you think the Nashville Predators are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders? Be heard in the comments section below! 

All statistics courtesy of NHL.com.