Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Two phrases that marked my youth and haunted birthday parties and Christmases and even an Easter Sunday (new bike just in time for spring!).

Those phrases were kicking around in my head this morning while I was considering this edition of the Nashville Predators. As assembled, are they good enough? On top of that, are the batteries included? Who is going to provide the juice?

I’ve considered a lot of where this team is, what it has accomplished, and what the needs down the stretch could be. Every single team is going to lament wanting one more big, physical player. Every single team will want to add one 90-point scorer at the deadline. We’re no different. But I get the feeling that prices will be stratospheric this deadline – and that means preventative for most teams.

What Nashville has is enough energy and enthusiasm from a young pool of players up front. The acquisition of Mike Fisher continues to play dividends for the Preds. He has an easy camaraderie off the ice with his linemates and on the ice they click well. At various times, second and third line players have driven the team. For stretches we've seen Jordin Tootoo, Craig Smith, Patric Hornqvist, and Gabriel Bourque step into leading roles. Even Matt Halischuk is enjoying a career year with 12 goals this season, while averaging just a few ticks over 11 minutes of ice time per game.

If this club brings its “A Game" come playoff time, there’s no reason to think they can’t win a seven-game series against any opponent. Scoring comes from so many different outlets this year that as games tighten up I actually still feel good that the Predators can rally – no matter which line is on the ice. Plus, the defense is chipping in goals. And that’s a huge comfort.

I think the younger players mentioned above along with Colin Wilson, Nick Spaling and defensemen Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis will keep the wheels spinning along with current leadership. The enthusiasm will definitely carry down the stretch, and the real question that remains is how will the young team respond to playoff pressures.

As far as needing to further assemble, I’ll allude to what I said earlier – every team wants to add that one more piece, but it might not be in the cards this year. However taken on the whole, this has been a great year so far for this team. They’ve managed to not only keep pace in the Conference, but has emerged as part of the "breakaway group" at the top of the Western Conference standings. The rest of the season may now turn out to be a race for home ice positioning among the top-5 seeds and a seperate race for the final three playoff teams. But the real success of the this season will be judged by the playoffs; it says a lot about the focus of the franchise that just qualifying for the playoffs is no longer a measurement of success.

What it really comes down to is whether or not this team can win in the playoffs if no other players are added. With the balance of scoring, the team’s track record this year, and Pekka Rinne in net, I do indeed think that Nashville is capable of winning any round against any team in the Western Conference. And that is possibly the best thing you can say heading into the deadline.

Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.