Welcome to On The Forecheck’s playoff picture for the Nashville Predators as they look to secure an unlikely postseason berth in coach Andrew Brunette’s debut season behind the bench. In these updates, we’ll review games of interest from the night before, the current playoff picture, and who to root for in tonight’s matchups.
Last Night’s Games of Interest
Nashville Predators 4, Winnipeg Jets 2
The Jets could’ve claimed a share of the Central lead if they had won – instead, the Predators dominated them in Winnipeg, continuing the 13-game point streak and pushing the Jets to 3rd in the division.
Desired Result: NSH Regulation Win | Correct Playoff Odds Improved? Yes – the Predators can now clinch a playoff spot with 12 wins (24 points).
Los Angeles Kings 1, St. Louis Blues 3
Desired Result: LAK Regulation Win | Incorrect Playoff Odds Improved? Slightly lowers overall, but helps Nashville establish a bigger lead over the Pacific teams with lesser point totals. Not a huge loss.
Washington Capitals 2, Edmonton Oilers 7
Desired Result: WSH Regulation Win | Incorrect Playoff Odds Improved? Slightly lowers overall, but Edmonton is still somewhat out of reach for Nashville. If Edmonton finishes 2nd or 3rd in the Pacific, then a first-round matchup with Nashville is avoided. So the win helps that.
Colorado Avalanche 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT)
Desired Result: VGK Regulation Win | Slightly Incorrect Playoff Odds Improved? Only by the tiniest amount technically, but if Nashville was looking to maybe join the Central top three, this hurt their chances.
Current Standings, Possible Points and Playoff Outlook
The “Possible Point Maximum” does not account for teams still to play head-to-head–it is simply the number of points left in remaining games for each team. Nashville can get 110 points if they win out, but by virtue of this, each opponent would lose points in their maximum. This is provided not as a definite cutoff this far out, but as a look at what each individual team can potentially earn for the rest of the season.
Nashville and Vegas are the only teams outside the top three of their divisions who control their own playoff destiny, so both teams set the place for the remaining teams. Nashville winning 12 of 15 games would guarantee a playoff berth, no matter what other teams do, but they’ll likely need help. So the Predators need to keep winning at this current pace to make this race a little less stressful.
Cheering Interests for Tonight and Magic Numbers
Six matchups in the West – Nashville doesn’t play again until Saturday, but most of the games tonight can help Nashville’s postseason chances a bit.
Arizona Coyotes at Detroit Red Wings – 6:00 PM Central
Cheer: Doesn’t matter too much, but an Anaheim loss takes them to within a single game of being unable to surpass Nashville, so Detroit Red Wings
San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins – 6:00 PM Central
Cheer: Usually the rule is always cheer for an Eastern conference team against a West team, but San Jose is already eliminated and nobody likes the Penguins, so San Jose Sharks
New Jersey Devils at Dallas Stars – 7:00 PM Central
Cheer: A Dallas loss will nearly always be the correct choice for the rest of the season, but it may not matter given the points gap. Still, the usual rules apply, so the New Jersey Devils
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild – 7:00 PM Central
Cheer: As far as the playoff chances for Nashville go, this is the most important matchup of the evening. Anaheim poses no threat, and the Wild losing in regulation lowers Nashville’s magic number by 2 points (1 win) as both MIN and STL sit just outside the wild card with 71 points, lowering the Wild’s point max to 101. Anaheim Ducks
Vegas Golden Knights at Calgary Flames – 8:00 PM Central
Cheer: A Flames loss pushes them further away from competing with Nashville, but Vegas sits 3 points behind Nashville with two games in hand. A loss by the Golden Knights lowers their possible max point total to 109 (compared to Nashville’s 110), putting the Preds in the driver’s seat for the 1st Wild Card spot. Calgary Flames
Washington Capitals at Seattle Kraken – 9:00 PM Central
Cheer: Always take the East team in an inter-conference matchup. The Kraken are 12 points behind Nashville, and the loss helps them get eliminated faster. Washington Capitals
What is a magic number?
Rather than deal with possible tiebreakers this far out from the playoffs, we can look at the Magic Number. In this case, this is the number of points gained by Nashville or lost by an opposing team that will guarantee a better record. For a playoff berth, if Nashville can get more points than the ninth-place team can possibly attain, the Predators are in the playoffs.
Magic numbers can also be denoted in number of wins, rather than points.