Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (81) controls the puck against Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic (72) on March 22, 2026 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. MELISSA TAMEZ/ICON SPORTSWIRE

Jonathan Marchessault stopped short of calling his recent stretch of improved play his best work.

It’s a clear step up, though, from where the slumping Nashville Predators forward had been most of the season. Between nagging injuries and what seemed to be a lack of fit within the Predators’ lineup, the 35-year-old was on pace for his least productive year since his rookie campaign in 2015-16.

“I’m playing better hockey and part of a team that’s trying to make a push for a playoff spot,” Marchessault said March 24. “I think right now, honestly, everyone (has) a great mentality and a great spot in the lineup.”

If the Predators are to make the playoffs, Marchessault is a key part of the equation.

The 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner appears to be healthy after missing a total of 19 games over three stints on the injury report with a lower-body issue. That was the first step.

Slotting Marchessault next to newly minted center Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg on the second line is also paying dividends. Since the trio came together on March 15, Marchessault has dished out seven assists in as many games to push his season point total to 28 (11 goals, 17 assists).

“Obviously Fil is an amazing, world-class player, but Woody is the one that facilitates a little bit of everything for me and Fil,” Marchessault said. “He’s low and slow in the middle. (He’s) always available, and we have a lot more possession (of) the puck. He’s a big guy. He has good flair for what’s coming up ice when he has the puck. He has good vision, good flair for the net. He’s a great goal scorer. … I think he’s definitely the big difference for us right now.”

Marchessault was an obvious candidate to be shopped at the trade deadline despite the full no-movement clause in his five-year, $27.5 million contract that runs through 2028-29.

Questions still remain about his long-term future in Nashville. Marchessault declined to comment in early March on whether he had discussed potential trades with Predators general manager Barry Trotz.

During his post-deadline press conference, Trotz took some of the blame for Marchessault’s struggles and expressed his belief in a turnaround for the talented veteran winger.

“Marchy is fantastic around the net,” Trotz said March 6. “He’s a scorer and can still do all of that, but you need complementary (playmakers). I sometimes don’t have the right pieces for him, so it does hurt his game.

“But he’s still got lots of game. He really does. He’s a player that can get frustrated sometimes, but when he gets hot, he’s hot.”

Forsberg and Wood have solved Marchessault’s fit issue at least temporarily.

It may give the Predators a chance to see Marchessault in his element: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He holds 76 points and a whopping plus-37 rating across 102 postseason appearances, including a Stanley Cup title run with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 after helping the franchise’s inaugural team to a runner-up finish in 2018.

Crunch time often brings out the best from the formerly undrafted Marchessault who developed into an NHL All-Star.

“I think obviously he’d like to have the first part of the year back,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “He went through some injuries and didn’t start the way he wanted to. He’s a guy who’s been through this before. He’s (risen) his game up to the challenge. He’s excited to be playing right now.”

Follow Russell Vannozzi on X/Twitter @RussellV_MSP. For the latest Nashville Predators stories, be sure to sign up for the Main Street Nashville email newsletter.