Breaking Down the Possible Scenarios for Nashville Predators Playoff Push

One thing that has been so incredible about this 17-game point streak for the Nashville Predators is the team has really never taken their foot off the gas. Throughout the streak, the team has remained hungry and adopted the term "relentless".

According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Predators need to win six of their remaining 11 games to guarantee a playoff berth. If they win 10 of their final 11, then they can control their own destiny to get the Western Conference's top wildcard spot.

On top of the wildcard scenarios, the Predators remain in the picture to sneak into the Central Division's top-three, which will allow them to avoid facing a division winner in the first round. Regardless, thanks to the current NHL playoff format which gets plenty of scrutiny, the Predators will end up playing one of the NHL's best teams either as a wildcard team or if they rally to move into the top-three. It really doesn't matter all that much.

And of course, we still have to leave it on the table that the Predaors could miss out altogether. That would be an all-time epic collapse for this franchise if they somehow went on a lengthy losing streak and allowed either the St. Louis Blues (80 PTS) or Minnesota Wild (77 PTS) to catch up.

Let's look at every possible scenario for the Predators' remaining playoff hunt with 11 games left in the regular season, with a critical matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights up next on Tuesday.

Predators Stay in the Top Wildcard Spot, Face one of the Division Winners

In what is the most likely scenario, the Predators get the top wildcard spot. The Golden Knights do not control their own destiny when trying to chase down the Predators for the top wildcard spot.

Again, it really seems inconsequential on which wildcard spot you get. Especially considering how fluid the standings are with which division winner will finish with the most points. Currently the Vancouver Canucks have the most point in the West with 98, but only one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.

So the Predators could end up facing Vancouver, Colorado, Dallas or even Winnipeg regardless of which wildcard spot they achieve. The only real advantage to getting the top wildcard spot is if the unlikely scenario that both wildcard teams advance to play each other in the playoffs, then that top wildcard team would have home ice advantage in the series.

Predators Fall Back to 2nd WC Spot, Either Vegas or L.A. Take WC1

This is definitely still a strong possibility with two teams in the mix to finish ahead of the red hot Predators. This is why this matchup between the Predators and Golden Knights on Tuesday is so important.

The Golden Knights are only two points behind the Kings to climb back into the top-three of the Central Division. The Predators are one point ahead of the Kings and three points ahead of the Golden Knights.

The Canucks are in the driver's seat to win the Pacific Division, but the Oilers aren't mathematically eliminated from rallying. It would take a major collapse by the Canucks and a winning streak for the Oilers to make that improbable switch at the top.

Assuming the Canucks hold onto the Pacific Division and their 10-point lead, then they also have to hold off Colorado and Dallas for the top point total in the West. So again, there isn't a major difference between wildcard one or wildcard two for the Predators. Just get in, baby.

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.