The Nashville Predators lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Thursday, falling to 5-7-4 on the season. After a dreadful campaign with high expectations a year ago, Nashville is stumbling out of the gate once again. Predators center Ryan O'Reilly went off on himself after the dismal loss, per Robby Stanley of NHL.com.
“I know for myself, number one center, and I just turn the puck over everywhere and can’t make a six-foot pass to save my life. We’re not going to have much success if I’m playing pathetic like that. I don’t know the answer. I’ve had one good year in my career,” O'Reilly said, per Stanley.
O'Reilly scored the only goal for the Predators in the game, bringing his season total to six in 16 games. According to MoneyPuck, O'Reilly had an 85% XG share, meaning that when he was on the ice at even strength, Nashville dominated the game. But still, O'Reilly was not thrilled with his own performance.
This mindset from O'Reilly is not unique to his time with the Predators. He was quoted as saying he had a “terrible season” at the end of a year with the Sabres, where he had 61 points. That one good season he referenced was his 2019 campaign with the St Louis Blues, where he won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward and Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.
Despite signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei before last season, things have not worked out for the Predators. O'Reilly is trusted as the top center, but that has not worked out either. General manager Barry Trotz is now tasked with figuring out this problem that he created.
The Predators got poor goaltending from Juuse Saros last year, but that has not been the issue in 2025-26. They are not fast enough to keep up with young teams like the Flyers. And that bore out on Thursday night.
