In four playoff games, Duchene scored three goals and an assist. Related: Predators’ Duchene Still Has a Lot to Offer However, Duchene stood out and was by far the Predators’ best player. David Rittich struggled, Connor Ingram’s best efforts weren’t enough, and the Predators were swept by the Avs. To make matters worse, they were without the services of starting goaltender Juuse Saros, who suffered an ankle injury late in the season. Nashville was unfortunate to land the Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He eventually won the scoring race, finishing with 43 goals and atop the Predators’ leaderboard. During March, when the team went 9-5 and was fighting for playoff positioning, Duchene came up big with 12 goals in 14 games. It was both encouraging and fun to watch, and Duchene’s success was one of the main catalysts to the team’s success. When one got hot, the other started to pick things up. Matt Duchene, Nashville Predators ( Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)ĭuchene and Filip Forsberg were neck-and-neck, out-dueling one another for the team lead in goals this season. That the Predators had not one but two 40-goal scorers in the 2021-22 season is remarkable, and that Duchene was one of them surprised many. As a matter of fact, it took the team 10 years before they saw one of their own reach the 30-goal mark when Jason Arnott scored 33 during the 2008-09 season. The Predators had never had a 40-goal scorer in their 23-season history before this season. Instead, he remained confident Duchene could turn things around. All signs indicated that his style of play would continue to trend downwards, and general manager David Poile would have to consider buying him out. He had five years remaining on an albatross of a contract, and no team, not even the Arizona Coyotes, was willing to take on his salary given his play in the last two seasons. The third-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft saw his offensive numbers drop off significantly after he joined the Nashville Predators while suffering from injury problems that kept him out of the lineup for long periods. Not only was he left unprotected in the Seattle Expansion Draft, but he also went unclaimed, adding insult to injury. Heading into the 2021-22 season, Matt Duchene had a behemoth-sized chip on his shoulder.
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