Heading into the 2023-24 season, it was unclear what to make of the Nashville Predators. GM Barry Trotz had been busy in the offseason, and that included cutting ties with veteran centers Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. Andrew Brunette took over as the new head coach.
The club hovered in the mushy middle for much of the season, then lost 9-2 to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 15. The team canceled a planned trip to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, and subsequently went on an 18-game point streak. That streak was snapped with a couple of lopsided defeats this past Thursday (8-4 to the Arizona Coyotes) and Saturday (7-4 to the Colorado Avalanche), so their contest on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins (8 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+) is a chance to get back on the right side of the ledger.
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But beyond the game against the B’s, how high can this team climb in the standings?
If the Preds win out, they’ll finish with 106 points. The Dallas Stars (currently at 103 points) and Avalanche (100) might be tough to catch, particularly since those clubs are on heaters of their own as of late. But the Winnipeg Jets, with 96 points to the Preds’ 90, are in bit of a tailspin, going 4-5-1 in their past 10.
After the Bruins game, the Preds have seven games remaining, six of which are against teams currently outside of playoff position. The other game is against, you guessed it, Winnipeg. As for the Jets, their final seven games include clashes with the Stars, Avs and Vancouver Canucks.
So based on schedules, it would appear the door is open for Nashville to overtake Winnipeg. What do the projections say? Stathletes’ model has the Jets finishing with 103 points to the Preds’ 100, and gives Winnipeg a 69.2% chance of taking the No. 3 seed compared to 26.7% for Nashville.
As we traverse the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to check in on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2024 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39853161/nhl-playoffs-bracket-standings-2024-predators-wild-card-central
Author : ESPN staff
Publish date : 2024-04-02 12:00:15
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