The Nashville Predators fought hard to remain in the wild card hunt, and they did so in waves.
Nashville [38-32-10] ended the road trip with a 4-1 loss against the Utah Mammoth Thursday, April 9 before heading home to face the Minnesota Wild, winning 2-1. The Predators sit one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Centers Erik Haula, Steven Stamkos, and Matthew Wood scored for Nashville in the two contests and goalie Justus Annunen collected his 10th win of the season.
Predators @ Mammoth | Thursday, April 9
Utah took a late first period lead after a Nashville turnover lead to a breakaway, allowing winger Kailer Yamamoto to score on winger Dylan Guenther's rebound.
The Predators rebounded in the middle stanza with 12 shots to the Mammoth's six, but they failed to seek one deep. Utah center Nick Schmaltz potted one the power play to set the score 2-0 heading into the third heading.
In the final frame, winger Lawson Crouse and Guenther extended the Mammoth's lead to four, putting the Predators at a massive chokehold in the second half of the period. Haula would find the net on the man-advantage for the Preds, but it wasn't enough as his team fell 4-1, despite leading the game in shots 30-27.
"I don't think we played our best tonight," Preds center Ryan O'Reilly said. "We didn't play that playoff style that we've been having success with. [Utah's] got so much speed and they're always looking for offense. We had little momentum there and didn't capitalize on it much."Nashville Predators YT
Predators vs. Wild | Saturday, April 11
Stamkos got the party started in Nashville after wrapping one around the net, scoring his 40th of the season. His goal puts him seventh all-time in career 40-goal seasons, tying Phil Esposito and Brett Hull. It was also his 200th go-ahead goal, only one of three in the league (Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby) per NHL PR.
He tallied another point, this one being an assist on Wood's wrister 6:34 into the second period. Wood now has 30 points on the season, consisting of 17 goals and 13 assists in 69 games.
The Predators struggled to find offense in the third, only getting one shot on goal and allowing 11. Center Michael McCarron helped Minnesota get on the board in his first game back in Nashville since being traded. Annunen shut down the remaining Wild shot attempts to help carry the Preds back into the wild card conversation.
"With Big Juice, it's not always easy to be put in that position. He's just a pro," Stamkos said about Annunen. "He works his butt off in practice, prepares before the games. It's a confidence boost. You see him in the zone, saw the Anaheim game, saw it tonight. It's a good feeling for the rest of the group. He's given us a chance the last couple games"Nashville Predators YT
The Preds have two games left in the regular season, both of which are at Bridgestone Arena. First, they'll face the San Jose Sharks Monday. They'll conclude the comeback year with a rematch against the Anaheim Ducks.
These next games are must-wins for Nashville is they want to return to the postseason. With the Kings remaining schedule being against eliminated teams, the Preds will need to stay ahead. One loss and the season might as well be done in Smashville.