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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Nashville Predators push to make the NHL playoffs is defying the odds as the numbers don’t back up a major comeback.<\/p>\n
With about a month before the start of the 2026 NHL playoffs, there is still plenty up for grabs. Just about every playoff race remains undecided. Even teams like the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, who have already clinched their postseason berths, continue jockeying for position.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s one team that\u2019s looking to defy the odds. That\u2019s the Nashville Predators<\/a>. Conventional wisdom regarding NHL playoffs suggests that teams not in a playoff spot by Thanksgiving in the United States have a minuscule chance of making it all.<\/p>\n Those chances dwindle even further as the season enters its final month. Independent research by RG Media found that there\u2019s only about an 8.5% chance of making the postseason<\/a> after not being in a playoff spot at the beginning of the final month.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the Predators\u2019 push to make the NHL playoffs has been so remarkable. Entering Tuesday night\u2019s action, the Preds are in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, two full points ahead of the LA Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a tremendous turn of events for a team that was selling off pieces at the NHL trade deadline. The belief was that the Predators were cutting bait and pretty much punting on the season. However, GM Barry Trotz\u2019s reluctance to trade veteran pieces like Ryan O\u2019Reilly and Steven Stamkos has paid off.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s actually more to the Predators\u2019 push for the NHL playoffs than meets the eye.<\/p>\n Making NHL Playoffs Depends on Proximity<\/p>\n According to RG Media\u2019s research, it\u2019s almost unheard of for a team ranked 10th or lower in their conference to rally and make the NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s exactly what the Predators are looking to do. On March 7, the day after the trade deadline, the Preds were 11th in the West. They had a record of 28-27-8 for 64 points. They were tied with the Kings<\/a>, but actually ranked lower due to the higher number of regulation losses.<\/p>\n From there, the Predators have chipped away at the difference. Seven games later, they\u2019re on pace to make the NHL playoffs with a 3-28-9 mark for 75 points. As such, the Preds have picked up 11 of a possible 14 points to earn their current spot in the second wildcard position.<\/p>\n Get more Predators on Heavy:<\/p>\n Predators News: Era Comes to an End in Music City<\/a><\/p>\n Predators Could Begin Sell-Off in \u201cSeven or Eight Games\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Predators Brunette Leads NHL Coaches in these Odds: Report<\/a><\/p>\n Predators Could Join Unlikely Company<\/p>\n The last time a team rallied to make the NHL playoffs after being out was the New York Islanders in 2023-24. The Islanders rallied from three points out to jump from 10th place to sixth in the Eastern Conference that season.<\/p>\n The year before, the Florida Panthers<\/a> made up a five-point gap to earn a wild card spot. Of course, that season the Panthers went on a ridiculous run to make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the last three seasons.<\/p>\n If a team rallying to make the NHL playoffs seems like an annual ritual, it\u2019s actually not. During the salary cap era, it\u2019s happened only 23 times. And it has happened every season. In fact, the numbers seem a little high, as there were some seasons in which several teams rallied. For instance, during the 2018-19 season, three teams rallied. The St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks, and the Panthers all rallied.<\/p>\n Those 2019 NHL playoffs were one for the ages, as the Blues came back from last overall to win it all.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNestor Quixtan<\/a> Seasoned NHL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor’s fondness for baseball and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Predators\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Nashville Predators push to make the NHL playoffs is defying the odds as the numbers don’t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5119],"tags":[5,2409,231,5281,4,2410],"class_list":{"0":"post-521059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nashville-predators","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-nashville","10":"tag-nashville-predators","11":"tag-nashvillepredators","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-predators"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}