{"id":530420,"date":"2026-03-30T02:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T02:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/530420\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T02:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T02:49:16","slug":"how-a-third-straight-loss-has-nashville-predators-losing-control-in-playoff-race-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/530420\/","title":{"rendered":"How a third straight loss has Nashville Predators losing control in playoff race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Things were going so well for the Nashville Predators<\/a> less than a week ago.<\/p>\n

Five straight wins, including key victories over the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks<\/a>, launched the Predators<\/a> into the second wild-card spot<\/a> in the Western Conference. In fact, the Predators controlled their own destiny, with more games ahead on the schedule and a tiebreaker advantage.<\/p>\n

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But the past four days have seen that advantage disappear.<\/p>\n

Three straight losses, including the 3-2 defeat at Tampa<\/a> on March 29, have Nashville (34-31-9, 77 points) reeling. The Predators have not picked up any more points, while teams behind them are gaining ground.<\/p>\n

Though the Predators still hold the second wild card<\/a>, one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, they do not control their own destiny. Here’s a look at the current wild-card standings as of March 29:<\/p>\n

WC1\u00a0– Utah Mammoth (82 points, eight games left)<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings (76 points, nine games left)<\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken (75 points, 10 games left)<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Jets (74 points, nine games left)<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks (73 points, 11 games left)<\/p>\n

All four teams behind Nashville can catch the Predators on games played. Even if the Predators start winning again, they now need help to hold on to the second wild card.<\/p>\n

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The Predators also have seen their advantage in regulation wins \u2014 the most important tiebreaker once all games have been played \u2014 disappear. They are tied with Seattle and Winnipeg in regulation wins with 25. Los Angeles has 19 and San Jose has 21.<\/p>\n

KEMELL’S STRANGE GOAL: Joakim Kemell scores unusual first NHL goal for Nashville Predators vs Tampa<\/a><\/p>\n

The good news for Nashville? It plays several of these teams multiple times down the stretch, starting with Los Angeles on April 2 (9:30 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).<\/p>\n

Here’s the Predators’ remaining schedule, all of which are against teams in the Western Conference playoff race:<\/p>\n

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April 2:\u00a0at Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n

April 4:\u00a0at San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

April 6:\u00a0at Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n

April 7:\u00a0at Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n

April 9:\u00a0at Utah Hockey Club<\/p>\n

April 11:\u00a0Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n

April 13:\u00a0San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com<\/a>. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter,\u00a0@alexdaugherty1<\/a>.\u00a0Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page\u00a0@tennessean_preds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How a third straight loss has Predators losing control in playoff race<\/a><\/p>\n