Predators claw back into playoff race but falter at the finish line. Can they overcome recent heartbreak and secure a coveted spot?
The Nashville Predators are the closest they've been this season to moving into the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference: one spot out.
On Saturday, with a 2-0 lead against the Dallas Stars and needing two points to tie the Seattle Kraken and surpass them in wins for the final spot, the opportunity was "for the taking."
However, Nashville gave up three unanswered goals, including the game-winning conversion in overtime to Jason Robertson, in a 3-2 loss to the Stars. Once again, Nashville finds itself on the outside looking in.
"The game was there. It was for the taking," Steven Stamkos said. "Both teams had stretches where they were the better team, and we obviously had a great start...but you can't just sit back."
The joy of being in playoff position was going to last at most two hours anyway as the Kraken defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1, to move back into the second Wild Card spot.
However, losing a point to the Stars puts the Predators off-pace with the Kraken, now needing to win two games instead of one to potentially surpass Seattle in the standings.
The Predators have accomplished a lot in dragging themselves out of the basement in the NHL, but have been chasing the Wild Card for nearly two months now, coming up to it, but failing to cross the threshold.
"We're disappointed in not getting two (points), but coming out of the break and getting three of four is positive," Stamkos said. "We need as many points as we can. We're trying to stay the course and we've gotten on a little streak of collecting points. We'll take it."
Nashville will host two teams this week that are in desperate positions as well. Both Detroit (Monday at 1 p.m. CST) and Boston (Thursday at 7 p.m. CST) are in Wild Card positions, with Washington just two points behind the Bruins for the final spot.
While the Predators have a wide 6-3 win over the Red Wings this season, they've dropped an overtime result to the Bruins, losing 15 seconds into the extra frame.
An early start to Monday's game benefits the Predators, as a victory will give them a feel of where they stand before the evening games start.
Seattle also hosts the best team in the Eastern Conference, Carolina, and Los Angeles (62 points, tied with Nashville) hosts Colorado, the best team in the NHL. Of the three, the Predators have the "easier" opponent.
After Saturday's disappointing loss, head coach Andrew Brunette said the key is to get back to the basics and even get into a learning mindset.
"We have to grow our game, build our game. It was a great experince for our group to go through...We've got some really good teams coming in this week. It's another big week for us."