{"id":528865,"date":"2026-03-29T06:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T06:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/528865\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T06:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T06:06:13","slug":"predators-face-lightning-in-crucial-late-season-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/528865\/","title":{"rendered":"Predators Face Lightning in Crucial Late-Season Matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

The Nashville Predators (34-29-9) will travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning (44-21-6) in a key late-season NHL matchup on Sunday. The Predators are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Devils, while the Lightning are looking to rebound from a 4-3 defeat against the Kraken.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

This game has major playoff implications, as both teams are jockeying for position in the crowded Eastern Conference. The Predators need a win to keep their postseason hopes alive, while the Lightning are fighting to secure home-ice advantage.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Predators have struggled offensively of late, converting just 2 of 18 shots in their last game. They’ll need to find their scoring touch against a tough Lightning defense that has allowed the 8th-fewest goals in the league. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, will look to its power play to provide a spark after going 1-for-1 with the man advantage in their previous outing.<\/p>\n

The game is scheduled for Sunday, March 29, 2026.Nashville is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Devils on their previous outing.Tampa Bay most recently fell to the Kraken by a score of 4-3.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Justus Annunen<\/p>\n

The Predators’ starting goaltender, who has a .896 save percentage and 3.17 goals-against average in his NHL career.<\/p>\n

Jonas Johansson<\/p>\n

The Lightning’s expected starting netminder, who has a .888 save percentage and 3.42 goals-against average over his career.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to find a way to generate more offense and capitalize on our opportunities. That’s going to be key against a team like Tampa Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 John Hynes, Head Coach, Nashville Predators<\/p>\n

\u201cOur power play has been a strength for us all season, and we’ll need it to come up big again if we want to take down a tough opponent like Nashville.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jon Cooper, Head Coach, Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The winner of this game will take a big step towards securing a favorable playoff position in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

This late-season clash between the Predators and Lightning promises to be a hard-fought, high-stakes affair as both teams look to bolster their postseason chances down the stretch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Nashville Predators (34-29-9) will travel to Tampa Bay to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5119],"tags":[5,2409,231,5281,4,2410],"class_list":{"0":"post-528865","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\/116310965307570360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528865","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=528865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}