We don’t need anymore reminders of how fun the past three weeks have been for the Nashville Predators. They have done what was once the unthinkable and put themselves squarely into the playoff race after a horrific start to the season.
That being said, the team has put themselves into a precarious situation in regards to their personnel.
Many key players have been absent with injuries throughout the hot streak; most notably Filip Forsberg, Ryan Ellis, Matt Duchene, and now, Alexandre Carrier.
The last thing the Predators want to do right now is disrupt the chemistry they have had over the past few weeks, but at the same time, they cannot justify keeping four of their most critical players out of the lineup when they eventually return to full health.
This is a good predicament to have, but John Hynes will have to make some critical decisions when his players recover, and the Predlines crew has put together a collective lineup for when, and if, that happens.