With just five games left in their season, the Nashville Predators are still in the race. They remain just three points behind the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames, with one and two games in hand, respectively.
They’ll try to make up some ground tonight with the Carolina Hurricanes in town and have recalled Zach Sanford to give them some reinforcements.
It would be quite the feat should the Predators pull it off, given how their trade deadline went. Tanner Jeannot, Nino Niederreiter, Mattias Ekholm, and Mikael Granlund were all moved, leaving Nashville with several young players in the lineup nightly.
They’ve also been without captain Roman Josi since the middle of March, and his return is still questionable. Despite that, the Jets and Flames have each failed to really grab hold of that final playoff spot, opening the door for some Juuse Saros-led magic in the final few weeks.
Sanford, 28, has played just 11 games in the NHL this season, the fewest total of his career. The big forward has scored two points with the Predators and 28 with the Milwaukee Admirals during his time in the AHL.
The Jets and Flames both seem to want early tee times in April.