Decked out in designer suits, Nashville Predators unhealthy scratches Luke Schenn and Ryan McDonagh walked in tandem down a hallway at Bridgestone Arena late Tuesday night.

They had watched their team lose to the Anaheim Ducks, the Predators' fourth defeat in a row and sixth in seven games.

Their stroll to the players' parking garage was briefly interrupted by Predators general manager Barry Trotz.

"I was like, 'What is happening here? When are you back?' " Trotz told The Tennessean.

The first-year GM cautioned fans before the season that there would be ebbs and flows. That there would be a learning curve. That the team might take a while to come together.

"There could be some pain," Trotz said Thursday, two days after the team placed forward Tommy Novak on injured reserve for four to six weeks. "I was trying to be transparent with our fans. We could be not so good or we could be sneaky good. I just don't know."

What Trotz couldn't have anticipated was just how much pain there would be — both physically and from a standings standpoint.

The bad and the ugly

Fifteen games into the season, Trotz is beginning to figure it out.

The answer wasn't as simple as 5-10-0 and last place in the Central Division as much as it was inconsistency.

The penalty kill has been brutal.

"I think we're last in the league," Trotz said. "Or close to it."

(They were third-to-last after 15 games)

Juuse Saros hasn't been — well, Juuse Saros. Trotz pointed to the goalie's .892 save percentage as an example.

"If Saros was at the level he usually is, we could be sitting here on the positive side," Trotz said. "How many times do you say Nashville got out-goaltended this year?"

The beats go on

If it's not one problem, it's another.

"I call it whack-a-mole," Trotz said. "We'll fix the penalty kill and the power play and maybe your first and second line disappears.

"But for the most part, the identity of how we want to play is being fabricated."

Schenn was hurt in the season opener and hasn't played since, but Trotz said Thursday he expected him to be practicing with the team within the next week.

McDonagh has missed five games, but it was unclear when he'd shed his suit for a hockey jersey. His lower-body injury hasn't stopped him from skating, but he's unable to go full bore.

Their absences undoubtedly have exposed the Predators in many ways, have taken away strong locker-room presences.

'Learning to be comfortable when you're uncomfortable'

Trotz said of the first 15 games, there was one he really didn't like — a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The others, he said, for the most part have had their positives.

They've played faster, like Trotz and coach Andrew Brunette wanted.

They've generated some offense.

FAULT LINES: Nashville Predators off to poor start. Is it Juuse Saros' fault? Are they really that bad?

OUCH: The improbable, unnoticed rise of Nashville Predators center Tommy Novak

SO FAR, SO ... : Nashville Predators: The good, bad, ugly through first 12 games of season

They have "met expectations" Trotz had in mind for this point in the season, at least offensively.

But team hasn't "been big in big moments," he said.

"There's a process of learning how to win," Trotz said. "I use the term 'learning to be comfortable when it's uncomfortable.' "

Last place is the last place the Predators feel comfortable.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: GM Barry Trotz on Nashville Predators: 'There could be some pain'