The Nashville Predators have long boasted one of the top defensive corps in the league, but since their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, only three members remain — captain Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm.
Now, the Predators support a rotating cast of blueliners for their bottom three options and are a bit of a far cry from the dominance they once held. However, they do deploy a strong collapsing system that aims to limit rebound chances in close, so the drop-off in talent isn’t as glaring.
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