NASHVILLE — All month long, the Kraken have watched their latest opponent hang around the fringes of the Western Conference playoff chase a little longer than they were comfortable with.
Whether it was beating up on bad teams, gaining confidence despite an injury-depleted roaster that shipped away talent at the trade deadline or sheer dumb luck, the Nashville Predators have been like a subtle head cold that won’t go away. A rare two-game series in three days offered the Kraken a head-to-head solution for that ailment, one that a 2-1 shootout loss here on Thursday night didn’t really help.
Matt Duchene opened the shootout session with a goal against Joey Daccord, followed by Jared McCann hitting the post. After Preds’ goalie Juuse Saros stopped Jordan Eberle on the Kraken’s ensuing try, Philip Tomasino won it for Nashville on the ensuing try.
NASHVILLE — All month long, the Kraken have watched their latest opponent hang around the fringes of the Western Conference playoff chase a little longer than they were comfortable with.
Whether it was beating up on bad teams, gaining confidence despite an injury-depleted roaster that shipped away talent at the trade deadline or sheer dumb luck, the Nashville Predators have been like a subtle head cold that won’t go away. A rare two-game series in three days offered the Kraken a head-to-head solution for that ailment, one that a 2-1 shootout loss here on Thursday night didn’t really help.
Matt Duchene opened the shootout session with a goal against Joey Daccord, followed by Jared McCann hitting the post. After Preds’ goalie Juuse Saros stopped Jordan Eberle on the Kraken’s ensuing try, Philip Tomasino won it for Nashville on the ensuing try.
And from there, the playoff-style hockey both teams had talked about heading in — but especially the desperate Predators — truly kicked in. Nashville entered the night seven points behind the Kraken with only 13 games to go and despite holding a game in-hand realized these head-to-head clashes might realistically be their final chance to close the gap.
The Predators are technically trying to catch the Winnipeg Jets, who began the night two points behind the Kraken in the conference’s final wild-card position and No. 8 playoff seed. The Kraken are seeded seventh, so even if the Preds are unable to make up any ground these two games they would still hold three games in-hand on Winnipeg and have a somewhat decent chance of catching them.
For the Kraken, even though the Jets are more in danger of being caught by Nashville, there’s still a desire to avoid flirting with danger in what’s seemed an all-but-assured playoff spot for weeks. Earning at least a points split here would keep the Predators at a safe enough distance and maintain a comfortable enough margin over the Calgary Flames that they can continue to look ahead to the postseason without much concern.
