![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Filip-Forsberg-and-Steven-Stamkos-1024x683.jpg\")
Nashville Predators forwards Filip Forsberg (left) and Steven Stamkos (right) embrace after a goal against the San Jose Sharks on March 24, 2026 at Bridgestone Arena. JOHN RUSSELL\/NASHVILLE PREDATORS<\/p>\nNashville Predators forwards Filip Forsberg (left) and Steven Stamkos (right) embrace after a goal against the San Jose Sharks on March 24, 2026 at Bridgestone Arena. JOHN RUSSELL\/NASHVILLE PREDATORS<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not much pressure on the Nashville Predators these days.<\/p>\n
Sure, they\u2019re in the midst of the Western Conference wild card race<\/a>, and each of their 11 remaining games are meaningful.<\/p>\n But after performing like one of the NHL\u2019s worst teams for the first two months of the season, the Predators (34-28-9) now seem to be benefiting from playing with house money.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not supposed to be here, so we\u2019re just going to keep plugging away and being us,\u201d Predators coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday. \u201cI think we stuck together all year. I\u2019ve probably never been with a group that\u2019s been tighter or more committed to being together, doing it together and understanding where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Nashville extended its season-best win streak to five games with a 6-3 drubbing of the San Jose Sharks, another wild-card hopeful, Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators tied a franchise record by scoring five goals in the first period for the first time since 2009.<\/p>\n The win helped Nashville (77 points) inch closer to the Utah Mammoth (80) for the conference\u2019s top wild card spot. Utah fell 5-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n This reality looked implausible just three weeks ago when general manager Barry Trotz traded defenseman Nick Blankenburg and forwards Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron and Cole Smith before the deadline.<\/p>\n Instead of fading away, the Predators have improved. The team is 7-2-1 and averaging 3.6 goals for while allowing just 2.3 per game since McCarron and Smith<\/a> were dealt under awkward circumstances during a 3-2 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 3.<\/p>\n \u201cI think each and every one of us in this (locker) room thought we\u2019d be here, and I think that\u2019s really all that matters,\u201d left wing Filip Forsberg said. \u201cI think whatever\u2019s going on outside this room is out of our control. Since the trade deadline, I think everyone\u2019s been bought in. Results are going to happen like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Nashville filled its open roster spots with youth from the American Hockey League as part of Trotz\u2019s push to make the lineup younger. They joined rookie forward Matthew Wood<\/a>, who\u2019s erupted for six goals since moving to center earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it\u2019s not about pressure right now on us,\u201d 22-year-old center Fedor Svechkov said. \u201cIt\u2019s about fun \u2026 for us (young players), it\u2019s pure joy that we are playing for something and we can reach a goal in the best league in the world. It\u2019s so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The veterans<\/a> are still doing the heavy lifting, though.<\/p>\n Against San Jose, the Predators had six different goal scorers \u2013 Forsberg, Wood, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista, Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos. Forsberg (15 points) and Stamkos (10) have led the offensive charge over the last 10 games.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re playing our best hockey right now,\u201d Skjei said. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a confidence in the room, confidence in the guys. And obviously it\u2019s happening at a great time at the end of the year. We\u2019re going to try to keep building on that heading into the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n Brunette sees a clear distinction between this team and the 2024-25 version that wound up with the No. 5 overall pick in last summer\u2019s draft. This year\u2019s group managed to bounce back from a forgettable start.<\/p>\n It\u2019s why these Predators, against all odds, remain in the hunt.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the waters got a little rough early in the year, we dug in even deeper and we stayed with it,\u201d Brunette said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t abandon ship \u2013 a little bit different from the year before. I think we stuck together and became tighter than ever and gave ourselves an opportunity to find some clearer water.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow Russell Vannozzi on X\/Twitter\u00a0@RussellV_MSP<\/a>. For the latest Nashville Predators stories, be sure to\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for the Main Street Nashville email newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nashville Predators forwards Filip Forsberg (left) and Steven Stamkos (right) embrace after a goal against the San Jose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5119],"tags":[5,2409,231,5281,4,2410],"class_list":{"0":"post-522370","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":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116291148199807881","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522370","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=522370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}