The Nashville Predators have lost seven of their last eight games. Last Thursday, the Predators fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers. After the game, Ryan O'Reilly was highly critical of his own play. He has now expressed regret for how he handled his post-game interview.
“I think it came off as, ‘Gosh, you sound like a crybaby,'” O'Reilly told ESPN regarding his comments on Monday.
O'Reilly has struggled some this year. He has six goals and six assists on the season, while also having a negative three plus/minus rating this year. He scored the lone goal for the Predators against the Flyers. He also added two assists in a 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
“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,” the center said after the game with the Flyers.
The Predators are now second-to-last in the Central Division. The team was expected to potentially rebound from a highly disappointing 2024-25 campaign. O'Reilly may have had emotion get the best of him after the game, and he knows that.
O'Reilly noted he “should have just bit my tongue” after the game. “Obviously, you don't want things to get out there and it doesn't look good on anyone on the team. I think I sound a bit like a baby where I should have politely shut up and be better and then that's it,” the forward noted today.
O'Reilly and the Predators are 5-8-4 on the year. They will have a chance to get back into the win column on Monday night. The Predators face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
