For a second straight year, there will be no playoff hockey in Nashville.
After the Predators’ loss to the San Jose Sharks, 3-2, on Monday at home and the Los Angeles Kings’ 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken, Nashville has been officially eliminated from playoff contention.
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Los Angeles clinches the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 89 points. Nashville is three points back and, even with a win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, will still be trailing the Kings by a point at the end of the season.
“I’m sure we’ll digest the season and probably look back at it. We were asked a lot to get ourselves in this position, and something we’ll have to look forward to working on,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said following the loss to the Sharks.
The Kings prevailed with a two-goal win over the Kraken from Quinton Byfield in the second period. They will likely face the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nashville’s elimination and Los Angeles’ qualification ends a nearly four-month-long chase for the final Wild Card spot that saw the Predators crawl out of the basement of the league and, at one point, into a playoff spot.
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Nashville was 6-12-4 going into November and, at one point, the worst team in the NHL. Powered by a stretch from Thanksgiving to mid-January, where Nashville went 17-8-0, the Predators suddenly had life.
Nashville’s change in fourth was specifically charged by Steven Stamkos, who had just four points through the first month of the season. He is now sitting at 40 goals, which is tied for the 10th most in the NHL.
Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly also notched 70-plus points each as two of the most consistent players this season. Roman Josi also recorded his 1,000th career game and has tallied 54 points in 67 games.
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However, Nashville struggled to find consistent success down the stretch. It’s gone 4-5-1 in its last 10 games, which included a three-game losing streak where Nashville was in the final Wild Card spot.
With one game left, the Predators sit at 38-33-10 with 86 points.
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