Jonathan Marchessault doesn't mince words about Nashville Predators' current state

Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault didn't mince any words when assessing his team's 0-4-0 start after a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Marchessault, who scored his first goal with the Predators in the defeat, said that the team seems "a little fragile" right now and needs to match their opponents' intensity.

"Right now, I think we're a little fragile as a group, The beginning of the season is not going like we want. Marchessault said as per (thescore.com.)

In the offseason, everybody says how good you guys are going to be and everything, and we maybe have to think that we're a good team, but we're not good enough. We gotta work harder than the opponent."

Marchessault pointed out that the Nashville Predators must establish consistent performance on both offense and defense sides of the game. They've displayed moments of strong play but haven't maintained it throughout the entire 60 minutes.

He stressed the importance of the team elevating their competitiveness and matching their opponents' intensity throughout.

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Nashville Predators HC Andrew Brunette rues team's lack of consistency

Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette discussed the team's lack of consistency. He said that the Predators are struggling in big moments.

They are playing well in spurts of four or five good shifts but cannot sustain it, but Brunette believes that every player can give more.

"We're kind of going in spurts right now where we put a good four or five shifts together, but we can't sustain those things. And if you look at our group, to a man, I think there's more there. There's a little bit more to give." Brunette said.

He added:

"Every man has to play better. And to me, that's just the bottom line."

He made it clear that the entire roster needs to improve. The 0-4-0 start is Nashville's worst since 2002-03 when the Predators lost their first eight games. They finished last season strong at 47-30-5 (99 points) for fourth place in the NHL's Central Division before falling to Vancouver in the first round.

Nashville will try to bounce back next game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.