Why making the playoffs is nearly impossible for the Nashville Predators now
It was a fun ride with these young kids, but the season is all but over.
Let's just go ahead and admit that the Nashville Predators are not going to make the playoffs this year.
For some, this may be no surprise. The Preds have been outside of the playoff bubble for most of the season, with much of the season spent among the bottom 10 NHL teams. It's been a long season, filled with disappointing performances, major veterans being traded away, and, especially lately, injuries.
But since January 1st, Nashville has actually been one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Their 21 wins since that date ranks 7th in the West and it helped carry them to within a few points of Winnipeg for the final playoff spot.
And they were doing it with mostly a group of young, prospect-level players. Guys like Tommy Novak, Luke Evangelista, Egor Afanasyev, Cal Foote, Jordan Gross, and Rasmus Asplund have played significant minutes in the last month, taking the place of guys like Nino Niederreiter (trade), Ryan Johansen (injury), Filip Forsberg (injury), Roman Josi (injury), and Mattias Ekholm (trade).
Big wins over the Panthers, Kings, Sabres, and Kraken had people wondering if this Preds team could actually shock the world and make the playoffs.
But after two straight losses and obtaining only five points in their last six games, a playoff run is almost impossible.
Especially considering a recent injury to Matt Duchene, one of the only veteran skilled players left available, the Preds are staring at an impossible mountain to climb.
They would need eight or nine wins in their last 10 games, beating teams like Boston, Vegas, Carolina, Colorado, Minnestoa, Calgary, and Winnipeg in the process. And they would need to do it with huge pieces of their team missing: Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Alex Carrier, and Juuso Parssinen.
Watching the young players on this team get their first taste of NHL experience has been exciting. We saw an incredible performance by Luke Evangelista against Buffalo last week. We've seen the emergence of Tommy Novak as a legitimate center of the future. And we've seen the continued progress of future core members Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino.
But let's put the playoff talk to rest. It's not happening.
The Nashville Predators would do better to just finish the year as healthy as possible and try to obtain as high a draft pick as possible.
— Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports —
