The journey is long from over for the Nashville Predators, but for the first time this season, they are in a Wild Card spot.
Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights pushed Nashville ahead into the Wild Card 2 spot with 73 points. However, it needed some help to stay there.
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Los Angeles needed to lose to Buffalo in any fashion, while Seattle needed to lose to Columbus in regulation in order for the Predators to maintain possession of the final playoff spot.
The Sabres scored three unanswered goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and handing the Kings a 4-1 loss. That kept Los Angeles one point out of WC2 with 72 points.
Seattle fell into a 3-0 hole against Columbus and was unable to recover, losing 5-2 and trailing the Predators by two points with 71. If the Kraken were to win, they would’ve tied the Predators in points, but have the tiebreaker in regulation wins.
To add a cherry on top, San Jose (70 points) lost to Philadelphia, 4-1, and Winnipeg (68 points) lost to Pittsburgh in a shootout, 5-4.
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The Predators were the worst team in the NHL for the first two months of the season before turning things around at Thanksgiving.
By New Year’s Eve, following a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights, the Predators were just a point outside of Wild Card position, the first time they’d come within a game of a playoff spot.
However, for two and a half months, the Predators could not get past the threshold, coming within a point of WC2 multiple times. Saturday’s win was the first time that Nashville has actually been in the playoff spot.
It’s an exciting moment for Nashville, but there are still 13 games left in the regular season. There is still more than enough time for the Predators to clinch and lose the Wild Card.
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Its biggest challenge will come in a six-game road trip from March 29 to April 9; it’ll see Los Angeles twice, San Jose, along with Utah (WC1), Tampa (Atlantic 2), and Anaheim (Pacific 1).
The Sharks also come into town on Tuesday, trailing the Predators by three points for the final Wild Card spot.
Nashville has a quick turnaround from Saturday, playing the Blackhawks in Chicago at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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