Crucial matchups loom. Predators chase Wild Card, needing wins and favorable outcomes to climb the standings this weekend.
Once again, the Nashville Predators are coming up to the Wild Card threshold, just two points behind the Seattle Kraken, whom they will face Thursday at home.
The Predators have been as close as a point out of a Wild Card spot, but in several attempts, have failed to make the jump.
With two games on hand on Thursday and Saturday and less than a month left in the regular season, this would be the perfect time for the Predators to finally make the leap.
The most the Predators can do is win, but a handful of things need to go right in order for them to be sitting in a prime position by the end of Saturday night.
What would need to happen on Thursday
Mar 10, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague (41) and Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers (10) battle for the puck during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn ImagesFour points are on the table for the Predators on home ice over the next two games, and their game against the Kraken is critical to keeping pace in the Wild Card race.
First off, here are the standings ahead of Thursday's games...
WC2: Seattle (31-27-9, 25 RW, 71 PTS)
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1. Los Angeles (28-24-15, 18 RW, 71 PTS)
2. San Jose (32-28-6, 20 RW, 70 PTS)
3. Nashville (30-28-9, 22 RW, 69 PTS)
Seattle sits in the final Wild Card spot ahead of Thursday's matchup, and a Predators regulation win will tie the Kraken in points, leaving both teams with identical records. Both teams would sit at 31-28-9 with 71 points.
However, there are a handful of tiebreakers if Nashville wins in regulation.
If the Predators were to win, the Kraken would still hold onto the Wild Card spot due to the regulation wins tiebreaker (RW). Nashville would have 23 and Seattle would have 25.
And this is all if Los Angeles loses in regulation to Philadelphia and San Jose loses in regulation to Buffalo.
If the Kings pick up at least a point and Nashville wins in regulation, LA would leapfrog both Seattle and Nashville with 72 points.
If the Sharks pick up at least a point, they'd tie Nashville and Seattle with 71 points, but Seattle would still have the tiebreaker with 25 regulation wins.
What point totals would look like after Thursday night in that situation...
Seattle: W - 73 PTS, L - 71 PTS, OTL - 72 PTS
- If Seattle and LA both win, the Kraken will have the tiebreaker for WC2 in RWs.
Los Angeles: W - 73 PTS, L - 71 PTS, OTL - 72 PTS
San Jose: W - 72 PTS, L - 70 PTS, OTL - 71 PTS
- San Jose would have the tiebreaker if Los Angeles lost in overtime and the Sharks won in regulation.
Nashville: W - 71 PTS, L- 69 PTS, OTL - 70 PTS
- The Predators would not have the tiebreaker with Seattle as mentioned above due to fewer RW.
- If Los Angeles loses in regulation and the Predators win in regulation, Nashville would be ahead with more RWs.
- If San Jose loses in regulation and the Predators win in regulation, Nashville would be ahead of the Sharks in the standings with more RWs in the tiebreaker.
The perfect night for Nashville would be if they win in regulation and Seattle, San Jose and Los Angeles all lose in regulation. This is what the standings would look like...
WC2: Seattle 71 PTS
- Regulation wins (RW) tiebreaker over NSH
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1. Nashville 71 PTS
- RW tiebreaker over LA
2. Los Angeles 71 PTS
3. San Jose 70 PTS
Moving into Wild Card 2 on Saturday
Jan 17, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) skates against Nashville Predators defenseman Brady Skjei (76) during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesThe trio of teams competing for the final Wild Card spot in the West will all be off on Friday. Saturday is where this competition heats up again
Let's start with the ideal situation for Nashville: if it won in regulation and the three other teams lost on Thursday. That's three teams with 71 points (SEA, NSH and LA) and one team with 70 points (SJS).
Nashville (hosts Vegas)
- If they win and the three other teams lose in any sort of fashion, the Predators will move into Wild Card 2 with 73 points
- If both Nashville and Seattle win or both tie in points, the Kraken could hold the spot based on the tiebreaker: regulation wins.
- If Nashville wins and either Los Angeles wins or both teams tie in points, the Predators would hold the tiebreaker based on RWs.
- If Nashville loses in overtime and San Jose wins, Nashville would likely be ahead of the Sharks in RWs.
Seattle (at Columbus)
Los Angeles (hosts Buffalo)
San Jose (hosts Philadelphia)
Finally, an ideal Saturday would look like this for the Predators...
WC2: Nashville 73 PTS
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1. Seattle 71 PTS
2. Los Angeles 71 PTS
3. San Jose 70 PTS
Nashville could still move into a Wild Card spot with a win, even if:
- San Jose defeats Philadelphia (72 points)
- Los Angeles loses in overtime (72 points)
- Seattle loses in overtime (72 points)
In that case, all three teams would sit at 72 points, leading to a tiebreaker between the trio, but not Nashville.
What may realistically happen
Dec 31, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Colton Sissons (10) checks Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesIt's asking a lot of the Predators to win two and have their opponents essentially lose back-to-back. It could happen, but the odds are low.
Nashville, being at home and having a recent win over the Kraken, is the favorite to win on Thursday, but is less likely to defeat the Golden Knights on Saturday. Predictably, ending the weekend with 71 points.
The Kraken could lose back-to-back with a pair of road games this weekend. It takes on Columbus, who is on a 10-game point streak and defeated Metropolitan leader Carolina, 5-1, on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets also host East bottom-dweller, the New York Rangers, on Thursday. A forecast of 71 points is realistic.
Los Angeles has been very on/off since returning from the Olympic break, going 5-5-1. The Flyers' last three results have all been decided in post-regulation play, including wins over playoff teams like Minnesota and Anaheim.
Who's to say trends will snap in this game? You can almost chalk up a loss against Buffalo, who's won 10 of its last 11. Project LA for 71-72 points by the end of the weekend.
San Jose is not playing well as of late, losing five of its last seven, but has still managed to pick up six of 14 available points. Doing similar math to LA, it will likely lose to Buffalo and get at least a point against Philadelphia. Give them a 70-72 range.
After the dust settles by Saturday, this is what things could realistically look like.
WC2: San Jose, 72 PTS (L vs. BUF, OTW vs. PHI)
- RW tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
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1. Los Angeles 72 PTS (OTL vs. PHI, L vs. BUF)
2. Seattle 71 PTS (L vs. NSH, L vs. CBJ)
- RW tiebreaker over Nashville
3. Nashville 71 PTS (W vs. SEA, L vs. VGK)
Concluding, in my opinion, whatever Philadelphia team we see in the California games this weekend will determine what the standings will look like on Sunday morning.
For Nashville, the most they can do is win and finish the weekend with an ideal 72 points.