Adam Vingan

avingan@tennessean.com

There are no gimme games in the NHL, or at least that's what players will tell you.

Truthfully, the Predators' past two games offered an excellent opportunity to right themselves after a surprisingly awful start. Instead, Nashville inexcusably lost consecutive 3-2 shootouts to Arizona on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday, two teams that were actually deeper in the league basement.

Disappointment in the Predators, who have earned nine of 22 possible points this season (3-5-3) and are the worst team in the Central Division, should give way to concern.

"I think we took it for granted that we knew coming into the season we had a lot of talent," Predators forward Colin Wilson said. "Since I've been here, the reason why we always win games is the way that we worked. I think we've just gotten away from that, thinking we're going to win based on talent. It's just not the way it works in this league."

The promise that led analysts to proclaim the Predators as a legitimate Stanley Cup threat has only appeared briefly, with their offense stalling and their defense suspect. In the first period Saturday, the Predators had a significant advantage in scoring chances but only capitalized once, letting the league-worst Hurricanes hang around in a game that they shouldn't have. The same thing happened Thursday against the Coyotes.

Then the Predators lapsed again, struggling to maintain possession or break out effectively, both of which are supposed to be two of their biggest strengths. Those bouts of inconsistency have been too prevalent this season.

"We've just got to work smarter," Predators center Ryan Johansen said. "It's not like we're going out there and not working. We're just not working smart enough. Everybody goes out there 98 percent of the time and works, but we're just not doing the right things on the ice that create turnovers and make the work evident.

"For half that game (Saturday), it felt like they couldn't touch us. And then for the other half, for some reason, it felt like we were chasing them. That just goes to show we feel like we're a great team and we weren't playing to our level. The inconsistency throughout games is what we need to fix."

So what is to blame for that inconsistency?

"Well, we don't play as good from one period to the next," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.

Why?

"I don't know," he said.

That is a question that needs to be answered. There are few positives that can be found in the first month of the season, which is an alarming development.

"It's not good enough," Laviolette said. "That's the bottom line. Nobody's going to sit here and say that it's been good enough or that the start's been great. It hasn't. We've got to continue to work to get better. It's frustrating."

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.

NEXT GAME

PREDATORS vs. SENATORS

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

TV/radio: Fox TN/102.5-FM