A quick reminder that the season finale of the Craig Smith Show is tonight, so SlapShot Radio will be on Saturday morning at 8am… As the Preds prep for tomorrow night’s showdown with the Flames, let’s look at some …

Mid-week Random Notes

- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 83 points in 72 games played and now hold the last Wild Card berth in the West. They are tied in points for 3rd in the Central with St. Louis, but the Blues hold the tie breaker (ROW). Nashville trails the first wild card slot holder Calgary by three points and leads Los Angeles by eight points in the wild card race. Per sportsclubstats.com, the Predators playoff chances are at 97.2%.

- Impact Game(s) Tonight - EDM @ ANA – This could impact seeding in the wild card.

- If the Playoffs Started Today - As the 8 seed, the Predators would play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round as they hold the Conference lead.

- Teams that have clinched playoff spots - Four down, 12 to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus and Pittsburgh have punched their tickets.

- Playoff “Tragic Numbers” - In the West… Dallas = 5, Winnipeg = 8, Los Angeles = 12. In the East… Carolina = 16, Tampa Bay = 16, New York Islanders = 19. (Stick tap to Damian Echecarrieta for this data)

- Interesting question posed yesterday on 102.5 the Game… does Viktor Arvidsson have the breakout season he has if the Preds were able to sign Jimmy Vesey last year? My take? A qualified yes, but I don’t think he would’ve gotten as much opportunity on the top two lines… and I also think he would’ve been exposed in the expansion draft.

- A little more on that… compare Arvy’s stats to Vesey’s… Vesey has 15g, 10a, 25 points in 72 games with a 14% shooting percentage and a -10. Arvidsson has 27g, 25a, 54 points in 70 games with a 12.4% shooting percentage and a =/- of 0. Both players are 23 years old, In the long run… this may have really worked out best for Nashville, especially given Vesey’s diva-like actions last year.

- Minnesota ended their losing streak last night, but I think it is a little too late to catch Chicago for the Central Division title. The Wild trail by six points with 10 play and a game in hand… do-able, but tough…

- Pittsburgh punching their playoff ticket last night represents their 11th straight playoff season.

- “As things stand now people should assume we are not going.” That was NHL Commish Gary Bettman’s quote when asked about the 2018 Olympics. This could set up quite a dicey problem for the league and the NHLPA. Stay tuned.

- A lot of talk about the Jack Adams award this season over the past few days… I know he has pissed off too many media members to get it… but Columbus’ John Tortorella is the clear winner in this observer’s opinion.

- Three games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – TOR @ CBJ. 7pm – NYI @ NYR. 9pm – EDM @ ANA.

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Tweets by @PredPAPaul


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