Breaking Down the Possible Scenarios for Nashville Predators Playoff Push

Predators Stay Hot, Jump Into Top-3 of Central Division

It's crazy to even imagine the Predators have a mathematical chance to finish in the top-three of the division this late in the season considering where they were less than two months ago.

Yes, it's highly unlikely, but the Predators have a small chance to catch the Winnipeg Jets for third place. The Jets need to win nine of their final 11 games to guarantee themselves a third place finish in the division.

We're all just waiting for the Predators to hit a cool down period. Just five points separate the Predators and Jets, with both teams having the same amount of games left. They will face each other on April 9 in Nashville, and that game could very well end up having massive implications for third place.

The Jets have been very average as of late. They're on a three-game losing streak losing by a combined margin of 13 to 4. They have a very difficult matchup against the Oilers up next. A win for the Predators over Vegas and a loss by the Jets to the Oilers will really put the pressure on and make third place not so out of the realm of possibility.

Finishing in third place doesn't really change the outlook of first-round opponents other than you avoid playing Vancouver in the first round. It leaves either Colorado or Dallas as your likely first round opponent, so is that really a prize to finish in third place?

Third place does give you a chance at home ice advantage against a wildcard opponent if you advance to the second round. And rallying for third place would just be an incredible accomplishment on its own in Year 1 of the Andrew Brunette era.