Nashville Predators Clinch 16th Playoff Berth: 3 Reasons They're Playoff Bound

Tremendous Coaching Job from Andrew Brunette

This season could've gone south real fast after the 9-2 beatdown to the Dallas Stars right before the point streak began. Truth is, if the Predators missed the playoffs in 2024, no one would have really batted an eye. The primary objective was seeing growth and improvement from the younger players and building something for the future.

Then the 18-game point streak happened, and fans and analysts alike suddenly changed their tune and realize this team actually has a unique balance of raw talent and veteran leadership.

Brunette managed this team so effectively as the head coach, and not just because of the cancelled U2 concert in Las Vegas. He held his players accountable. Earlier in the season he wasn't afraid to make unpopular healthy scratches to send a message or to give a younger player time to reset before their confidence was shattered.

However, once the chemistry started being built past the midway point of the season, Brunette was careful not to mess with the line combinations too much. He identified his top line of Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Gus Nyquist very early on and wisely never went away from it.

Nashville's top line has the second-most minutes together in the NHL this season, only trailing the New Yorks Rangers' top line of Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenire. Nearly 750 minutes of time on ice together for Nashville's top line, and that will be so valuable heading into the playoffs.

Brunette also usually keeps his poise throughout a game, even when an awful call goes his way. Sure, isn't shy about voicing his displeasure, but his calm collectiveness in pressure situations resonates with the players.

Finally, I've really appreciated Brunette's honesty when evaluating players and the game performances. If the team played awful or showed really bad effort, he wasn't going to sugarcoat anything. Players respond to a head coach who holds them accountable.

All I know is the New Jersey Devils, who went through a head coaching change this season and are the NHL's most disappointing team of 2023-24, are kicking themselves for not making Brunette their head coach when they had the chance.

Reliable Depth that Can Compete in the Playoffs

You cannot be top heavy if you're going to have any success once you get into the playoffs. It's a grueling journey to even qualify, much less to win the 16 games necessary to hoist the Stanley Cup.

The Predators have the playoff depth to wear down opponents in a seven-game series. They can trade blows, and they can make multi-goal comebacks thanks to their bottom six workhorses like Kiefer Sherwood, Cole Smith and Michael McCarron, who are now up to 240 minutes of time on ice together as a line.

In the previous slide I mentioned Brunette's wise decision to stick with line combos, and this fourth line is no different. All three players on this line have set career highs in points, and they often open the game for Nashville as the tone setters.

It goes deeper than that, however. Let's take a guy like Mark Jankowski. No one could've expected Jankowski to be playing meaningful second line minutes this late in the season with the playoffs still on the line.

The younger players also factor into that depth. Luke Evangelista is playing some of the best hockey in his still very young NHL career. He just hit the 100-game milestone, and was the main catalyst that drove the offense against the Jets even though he didn't score a goal.

Then you shift to the defensive corps, which is also the deepest I've seen it since the 2018 Presidents Trophy season. Jeremy Lauzon is arguably the most improved player on the Predators this season and will be a force in the postseason.

Also, as much criticism as he gets, don't overlook the value that Luke Schenn will bring as a third pairing enforcer. He has 42 games of playoff experience on championship level teams.

The Predators have the depth to wear down anyone in a seven-game series.

The Veterans Stepped Up and Led the Way

There were no disappearing acts this season from the veterans of the Nashville Predators. Let's start with Filip Forsberg in this regard. He has stayed full engaged and not satisfied even with all of his individual success. He has the look of a man on a mission hungry to bring the first Stanley Cup to Nashville.

Forsberg realizes his story nearly came to an end with the Predators in free agency, but he stayed with the team and then had to battle back from a midseason concussion. I wasn't sure how long it would take for him to shake off some rust, but that time was pretty much instantaneous. I've never seen Forsberg play this consistently on an elite level.

Then you go to O'Reilly. We already talked about the top line being one of the most reliable in the NHL, but how about O'Reilly coming to a new team now at age 33 and proceeding to have his second-highest point total in his illustrious NHL career?

If Barry Trotz doesn't go out and get O'Reilly in 2023 offseason free agency, then the Predators aren't in the playoffs this year. That's not to take away from any other player who may have stepped in at top line center, but it wouldn't have clicked as fast and the Predators would be muc more a work-in-progress.

Nyquist, another offseason free agency acquisition by Trotz, is an even bigger surprise. He came in with very little buzz and was even looked at more as a second or third liners possibly. He completely revived his NHL career this past season.

Roman Josi is having another Norris Trophy caliber season. He probably won't win it over Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar, but he should be a finalist at the very least along with those two. Josi's 80 points in all 79 games to this point is his second-highest season total, only behind the 96 points in 2021-22.

Finally in terms of veteran leadership, let's look at Ryan McDonagh. Always the unsung hero who does the vital things that can get overlooked in the box score.

With a minimum of 200 minutes of ice time together, McDonagh's pairing with Alexandre Carrier has allowed an average of 2.06 Expected Goals Against Per 60 Minutes, which is 11th in the NHL. He's also second on the team in blocks with 137, only trailing Josi.

McDonagh is that leader on the ice that basically gives the Predators two captains at one position. Josi is the true captain, but McDonagh plays like a captain as well.

Fans were very cautious and nervous when the Predators front office added so many veterans that could disrupt the development of the young talent. There's still some qualms about Cody Glass being healthy scratched which is understood, but you cannot deny the fact that the veterans have stepped up to put the Predators in this situation to return to the playoffs and actually make some noise.

These three factors just covered are why the Predators will be a very difficult out for any team in the first round. They're not going to be confused with a team that backed their wan into the playoffs by default.