The Nashville Predators have lost three straight, but are still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nashville (34-31-9, 77 points) is one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Kings beat the Blues 2-1 in overtime on April 1 to overtake the Predators, setting up an important matchup between Los Angeles and Nashville on April 2 (9:30 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).

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Here’s what needs to happen for Nashville to return to the postseason.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) shoots the puck, scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks, during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) scores a goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Brady Skjei, Nashville Predators defenseman in NHL

Nashville Predators defenseman Brady Skjei (76) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks with center Ryan O’Reilly (90) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) battlesSan Jose Sharks right wing Adam Gaudette (81) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) battles San Jose Sharks left wing Igor Chernyshov (92) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) celebrates his goal next to San Jose Sharks defenseman John Klingberg (3) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks with center Fedor Svechkov (40) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle San Jose Sharks in chase for wild card

A catfish is removed from the ice before a game between the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

Western Conference wild-card standings, as of April 2

After games played on April 1, here’s how the Western Conference wild-card race stacks up.

WC1 – Utah Mammoth (82 points, eight games left)

WC2 – Los Angeles Kings (78 points, eight games left)

San Jose Sharks (77 points, nine games left)

Winnipeg Jets (76 points, eight games left)

Seattle Kraken (75 points, nine games left)

Nashville Predators playoff picture

According to Money Puck, the Predators have a 19.2% chance of making the playoffs. They have an 16.1% chance of finishing in the WC2 spot and a 3% chance of finishing in the WC1 spot.

Their most likely first-round opponent is the Colorado Avalanche.

TROTZ: Why Barry Trotz’s legacy with Nashville Predators goes beyond bumpy GM tenure

Nashville Predators schedule

The Predators have eight games remaining on their schedule:

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April 2: at Los Angeles Kings

April 4: at San Jose Sharks

April 6: at Los Angeles Kings

April 7: at Anaheim Ducks

April 9: at Utah Hockey Club

April 11: Minnesota Wild

April 13: San Jose Sharks

The NHL’s regular season ends on April 16 and the playoffs begin on April 18.

April 2 scoreboard watch: Who do the Predators need to lose tonight?

Tonight’s a big night for the wild-card race. Four games will affect the standings and two of those games feature two wild-card teams: Utah visits Seattle, and Nashville visits Los Angeles.

Winnipeg @ Dallas (7 p.m. CT)

Toronto @ San Jose (9 p.m. CT)

Utah @ Seattle (9 p.m. CT)

Nashville @ Los Angeles (9:30 p.m. CT)

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Today’s Nashville Predators playoff picture, wild-card standings