The Nashville Predators got their off-season work well underway by signing their top goal scorer, Patric Hornqvist, to a 5-year contract extension averaging $4.25 million per season.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild will get a jump-start on their division rivalry which begins next season under the upcoming NHL realignment, as they meet for the first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The playoffs are finally here! Several series start tonight, including Chicago vs. Minnesota, Anaheim vs. Detroit, and St. Louis vs. Los Angeles. Check in with us all week for series previews and predictions, which will be perfect in every way. We're

History has not been kind to the Blues in this matchup, as the Kings swept them in last year's playoffs and their three meetings this season, outscoring St. Louis 14-7 along the way. Can Ken Hitchcock flip the script against L.A.'s champs?

Hey, at least we don't have to fret about the possibility of David Poile drafting Seth Jones!

When he suffered a season-ending injury against Chicago on April 1st, Gabriel Bourque was the Predators' leading goal-scorer. What does the future hold for Nashville's speedy winger?

At least now all the speculation (o.k., some of the speculation) will be over and we'll have a firm idea of who will actually be available.

While this season didn't end up like Nashville Predators fans had hoped, there were some outstanding individual performances which are worth remembering.

Not only did we lose the game, but we got basically no help in draft position, and the Wings and Wild both made the playoffs. Bummer. Now the offseason officially begins, and we'll see what changes are in store. It should be an active summer...

Thanks to the outcomes of tonight's games, the Nashville Predators will finish 14th in the Western Conference, and 27th overall in the NHL standings, but will get a very high draft pick as a result.