NHL: Undeterred by deadline deals, Predators vow to push on vs. Kraken

With the NHL trade deadline behind them, teams like the Nashville Predators and Seattle Kraken are turning their full attention to the playoffs.

“Make a push for the playoffs,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said.

The Predators sit three points behind Seattle for the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card spot heading into Tuesday’s game in Seattle, with the Kraken holding a game in hand.

“We talked about it. This is the team going forward,” Josi added. “I think we were kind of in this position three years ago where you sold a couple pieces and we made a push for a playoff spot. This year is no different. We want to make a push. We’re right there. We’ve got some big games coming up. Our goal is still to make the playoffs.”

Nashville started a five-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Saturday, despite goals from young forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Matthew Wood, the Predators’ first-round picks in 2021 and 2023. Goaltender Juuse Saros made 21 saves.

“I thought we played a good hockey game. It was a battle,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “Unfortunately, we start the third period with that goal against and had to chase it. I thought our game was in a really good spot. We lost some momentum in the second on a couple of small mistakes, but we had our chances at the end. There’s a lot of good in this game—kind of a playoff-type game where there wasn’t a lot of room.”

The Predators have lost four of their last five games (1-3-1), but Brunette was encouraged by their performance against one of the league’s hottest teams.

“We’re in it,” he said of the playoff race. “It would have been nice to get some points out of Saturday, but this group stays resilient. We have a big game against a team we’re chasing on Tuesday. There’s lots of good in this game—a recipe for road points—and we’ll take that on the road with us.”

Steven Stamkos leads Nashville with 30 goals, two more than Filip Forsberg, while Ryan O’Reilly has a team-high 60 points (22 goals, 38 assists).

Meanwhile, Seattle has dropped two straight games and is 2-2-0 on its six-game homestand, which ends Thursday against league-leading Colorado. The Kraken were without forward Frederick Gaudreau and defenseman Ryan Lindgren for Saturday’s 7-3 loss to Ottawa due to a locker room illness.

Seattle also lost Jaden Schwartz after a scary incident in the first period. After Eeli Tolvanen checked Ottawa’s Nick Cousins near the Kraken bench, Cousins lost his balance, and his right leg struck Schwartz in the face. Schwartz stayed on the ice for several minutes before leaving for the locker room. He will not play Tuesday.

“Obviously, we lost some pieces, guys under the weather, Jaden going down. That doesn’t help,” Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour said. “But no matter what, sick or not, this is the best time of year to play hockey. This is why you play. We need to learn that we deserve to be in this position and we have to show up.”

-Field Level Media/Reuters