Nashville Predators Running Out of Chances to Salvage Season

For most of the last couple of months we’ve been saying there’s time to right the ship for the Nashville Predators. You can’t say that anymore.

Going into tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, there’s no time left to waste opportunities to make up ground in the race for a playoff spot. The Nashville Predators desperately need to win games over Western Conference opponents.

A huge opportunity to get on the doorstep of a playoff spot was wasted the last time out for the Predators on Saturday night when they were shut out by the Vegas Golden Knights. It was collectively one of their worst performances of the season.

It’s pretty wild to think the Predators still have a realistic chances to make the playoffs after the inconsistency that’s plagued them all season. The Predators have never bee able to string together long stretches of good hockey since October.

Two teams that are desperate?

Tonight you have two division rivals squaring off as they’re on the outside looking in. The Jets are in a similar position that the Predators are in. They have a talented roster, especially offensively, but have had trouble finding consistency.

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The Jets are 3-7 over their last ten games, while the Predators are 5-5. There’s no shortage of offensive firepower on both teams tonight, so we’re probably in store for a game filled with a lot of end-to-end action.

This gives me some pause for the hopes of the Predators getting a win because it might come down to which goaltender can offset the plethora of scoring chances. I have a considerable amount of more confidence in Connor Hellebuyck having a strong game over either Pekka Rinne or Juuse Saros.

Rinne had a strong outing in his last game against Vegas, but got zero help from his teammates. That’s been a common theme for much of the season as his numbers have hovered around sub-90 save percentage and three goals against average.

The Predators won twice last week in high-scoring affairs where they scored five and six goals in those wins. They’ll likely need another result like that tonight to beat Winnipeg, because I think the Jets will get their fair share of goals as well.

Lineup projections

I’m excited to see Yakov Trenin back in the lineup over Austin Watson. Trenin has made the absolute most of his time with the Nashville Predators this season, and he deserves to be in the lineup for the remainder of the season.

The Predators need physical forces out there that will also contribute on the offense end when needed. Trenin has delivered in that role with six points in 14 games, and showing progress in each game he has played in.

There’s just little reason to have any kind of hope in the Predators’s defensive front. Roman Josi has had to often do things on his own, and regularly that leads to the rest of the linemates not getting involved in the rush.

This team desperately needs Ryan Ellis back. It appears he’s getting closer to returning to the lineup, and hopefully he’ll come back in time to assist in the playoff push:

The Predators will also continue to be without Calle Jarnkrok as he’s dealing with an illness. But he should be back in the next game or two, and certainly at some point on this road trip in Canada.

Oddly enough the Predators have been much more trustworthy and effective on the road this season. The Predators are 13-9-3 on the road, including wins in four of their last five. In retrospect, the Predators have slumped to an 11-11-4 record at home.

Out of all of teams clustered up and looking for a wildcard spot right now, I feel most confident in the Jets being one of those teams. They have steady enough goaltending and enough scoring weapons to ride the storm out and sneak into the playoffs.

There are several key games to the playoff race tonight. Minnesota and Chicago clash, while a Pacific division matchup between Arizona and Edmonton will also have major implications. A loss will certainly fade the Predators back even further.

The Predators have an opportunity tonight, just like they did against Vegas, to make a statement and get as close as they’ve been in a long time to a playoff spot. Are they ready to finally prove many of the naysayers wrong and get a statement win?

I’m probably crazy for predicting this, but I’m going with the offensive weapons of the Predators like Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene out-dueling the weapons of the Jets in a high-scoring affair.

We’re going to know without a doubt after this four-game Canada road trip if the Predators are realistically contenders for a playoff spot, or if this is all just fool’s gold.