Playoff Hunt Becoming Elusive

So many things to say about last night's 6-3 loss to Detroit, it's best perhaps to break it into Good News/Bad News:

Good News: The Predators fought back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the 3rd period.
Bad News: Nashville gave up a 1-0 lead due to soft goals allowed by Dan Ellis, which caused Barry Trotz to pull him five minutes into the 2nd. Chris Mason gave up his share of softies to, so rest assured, there's no #1 goalie controversy in Nashville because right now, the Predators don't have a #1 goalie.

Good News: The fans sold out another game, and Saturday's game against Chicago is sold out as well.
Bad News: The Preds have packed the house lately, but flopped horribly. This marks six losses in a row at the Sommet Center, hardly the formula for making that push to the postseason.

Good News: Colorado lost their 3rd game in a row, leaving them just 4 points ahead of Nashville for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
Bad News: With only 7 games left to play for both teams, there is still a window of opportunity for the Predators to catch the Avalanche, but they need to start winning. One in a row would be a good start...

Good News: While trying to come back in the 3rd, Martin Erat got smoked at center ice by one of the Red Wings as he dished a pass off to a streaking teammate. That willingness to take a hit in order to make a play is an essential part of desperation hockey.
Bad News: That kind of determination has been inconsistent. Shortly after giving up the 2-1 lead, J.P. Dumont had the puck on his stick to the right of the Nashville net. As one of the Red Wings (Derek Meech, I believe) came in to hit him, he took two steps away from the puck, trying to avoid contact.

Other notes:
If, according to Barry Trotz, Brandon Bochenski needs to play on an offensive line to be most productive, why is he skating on a line with Rich Peverley and Jerred Smithson? In his first (of three so far) games for Nashville, he got to play all of four minutes with Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont. You'd think with all the line juggling he could play alongside Martin Erat for a while and see if something clicks.

With 4:22 left to play in the 3rd, and Nashville down 5-3, there was a TV timeout, giving players an extra chance to rest. After the break, Trotz put the Bochenski/Smithson/Peverley line out there, summing up in one moment the personnel problems with this team. Down two goals late in a critical game, and that's all we've got?