The Predators can determine their own fate tonight in the final game of the regular season.
If the Nashville Predators come away from their final game of the 2023-24 regular season with one point against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they will secure their place in the standings in the first wildcard spot for the 2024 playoffs. This does not yet determine who the Predators will play in the first round though. That is still slightly up for grabs.
The Predators sit at 99 points in the standings with 47 wins and one final game to play. If they get one point, the team finishes the season with an even 100 points. The only teams that have a chance to possibly change places with Nashville before the conclusion of the regular season are the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.
Vegas has two games left to play and have 96 points. They have the potential to win both and still finish behind the Predators if Nashville gets one point. This is because the Golden Knights would have 46 wins, one fewer than the Predators.
The first tie-breaker in the standings is wins. That being said, the only way Nashville moves out of the first wildcard spot before playoffs and the Golden Knights take over that spot is if Vegas wins both games and Nashville loses in regulation to the Penguins.
In a rarer outcome, the Kings could take over the top wildcard spot. They currently hold third in the Pacific Division at 97 points with two games remaining. The only way this happens is if the Predators lose in regulation in their final game and stay at 99 points, the Golden Knights win both of their remaining games and reach 100 points, and the Kings get three out of four points in their last two games to also reach 100, but finish with fewer wins than Vegas, losing the tie-breaker.
The Predators' first-round opponent is still yet to be determined between three teams - Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers. If Nashville secures the first wildcard spot, they would face the Canucks if Vancouver doesn't win both of their remaining games and the Stars lose their final game in regulation. If that happens, the Stars play the Predators. The other unlikely outcome is the Oilers match up against the Predators in the first round if Edmonton wins out (three games remaining) and the Canucks are held to just one point or less in their final two games.
The Predators are going to have a tough test in Round 1 no matter what, but in the unlikely event that both wildcard teams meet in the Western Conference Final, Nashville would have home ice advantage.