April 14: Edmonton Oilers @ Nashville Predators, 7 PM CT
Let’s start with the third meeting of the regular season between the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators. A game that will likely have huge implications for both teams in terms of seeding.
The Oilers are by no means out of the woods yet in terms of making the playoffs. They’re three points clear of being back in the wildcard, and just four points from being outside the playoffs picture altogether.
Furthermore, the Oilers remaining schedule is no cake walk as they’ll have difficult matchups against Los Angeles, Colorado and Minnesota leading up to this road game against Nashville.
It’s likely that by the time these two teams meet in ten days, both will be in the wildcard and looking to make a statement. Loser gets dealth a massive blow to their playoff hopes.
The Oilers have won both meetings by a combined score of 8-4. However, the most recent meeting took a shootout as neither teams could tally a goal in the third period or overtime. Juuse Saros had to make 44 saves to propel the Predators to a point, while the Predators just managed a pedestrian 30 shots on goal.
The Predators badly need to get a win in this season series on April 14. This is one that can sway the playoff odds back in your favor. It will obviously be a very daunting task as the Oilers are coming into form.