Time to get back in action after a day off from the race for the 4/5/6 spots in the West, the Nashville Predators have a critical game against a team that has done a really good job playing spoiler over their last three games, the Minnesota Wild. In those games they have beaten Florida and Los Angeles at home and Chicago on the road. The Wild are not to be taken lightly tonight.
The Predators are not only looking to win the season series against Minnesota, they are looking to solidify their playoff position. Any kind of win tonight puts Nashville two points up on Chicago and one point up on Detroit. A win will see the team break the 100 point mark for the fourth time in franchise history. Detroit will hold a game in hand over Nashville after tonight’s game.
Minnesota started off the year well until the injury bug bit… and bit hard. Coming into tonight’s game the Wild list Guillame Latendresse, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen, Jared Spurgeon, Steve Kampfer, and Matt Kassian as out. The Predators have no listed injuries at this time.
The Predators have true control of their destiny as far as the 4/5 seed goes for the playoffs. Win out and they finish no lower than 5th. Win out with one loss from Detroit and they take home ice advantage for the first round. Tonight is the opportunity to get on a little hot streak coming into the playoffs.
Game time is 7pm at Bridgestone Arena. I expect a full house tonight. Pete Weber and Terry Crisp have the call on Fox Sports Tennessee, Tom Callahan and Stu Grimson have radio duty tonight on the Predators Radio Network flagship 102.5 the Game.
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Random Notes…
- With 3 games remaining in the regular season, the Predators are 5th in the Western Conference standings with 98 points, trailing 5th place Detroit by one point and tied with Chicago in points. The Predators own the tiebreaker with 6th place Chicago. Nashville and Detroit both have a game in hand over Chicago.
- Alexander Radulov has been a point a game player since his return.
- Anyone saying that the Preds should slide to six for an easier matchup is flat out crazy. Elliotte Friedman tells you why in his 30 Thoughts column… his reason? Travel. If you take his advice and look at the Staples Center calendar you see that Game One and Game Two may be a back-to-back on 4/11 and 4/12, unless you start the series on 4/12 and go for a night game on 4/14 after a Clippers day game on the same date. Crazy scheduling there for sure…
- There are still five unclaimed playoff spot left in the league, two division titles (Southeast and Pacific,) the 8 seed in the East and the 7th and 8th seed in the West.
- Big win for Tampa Bay over Washington last night as Steven Stamkos potted his 57th and 58th goals of the season. The Capitals are still clinging to the 8 spot in the East.
- Florida has the inside track for the Southeast. They lead Washington by 3 points and have a game in hand over the Caps.
- Interesting quote from Sidney Crosby after Sunday’s melee between the Flyers and Penguins… “they seem to bring out the worst in me.”
- Los Angeles solidified their hold on the third spot in the West with their win last night, they now lead the Pacific with a two point gap over Phoenix and a three point lead over San Jose.
Tonight’s Impact Games
None - Detroit and Chicago are idle.
SportsClubStats Update - Nashville
Seeding Potential Percentages – 4th seed – 43%, 5th seed 47%, 6th seed 9%
Highest % Potential Playoff Opponent – Detroit 75.5%, Chicago 15.0%
The Predators have no mathematical chance of finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th or 8th in the Western Conference.
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