With the season-ending playoff stretch drive in full effect, NashvillePredators.com will continue its in-depth look at the playoff race in the Western Conference. The top eight teams in both conferences qualify for the playoffs. Check back for information on games of interest in the Conference playoff race.

Click here for: Tie Breaker Scenarios | Remaining Opponents | Upcoming Games of Interest

DEFINING THE RACE:
NashvillePredators.com will track the teams the Predators can still catch in the Western Conference standings and teams that can still catch the Predators in the standings. Categories listed will be the team's current playoff seed, points earned, wins (which is the first tie breaker at the end of the season), games remaining in the schedule, and the maximum points still available.

Seed	Team	Points (Wins)	Gms Remain	Max Pts
#4-x	Phoenix	102 (48)	3	108
#5-x	NASHVILLE	98 (46)	2	102
#6-x	Detroit	96 (41)	3	102
#7-x	Los Angeles	95 (44)	4	103
#8	Colorado	91 (42)	4	99

x denotes teams that have clinched playoff spots

Notes: The top seven teams in the Western Conference have clinched playoff spots ... Chicago and Vancouver have clinched Division Titles ... Buffalo, New Jersey, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Washington have clinched playoff spots in the Eastern Conference ... Washington has clinched the President's Trophy (best record in the NHL) and home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs ... Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, NY Islanders, Tampa Bay and Toronto are eliminated from playoff contention.
Magic/Tragic Numbers: Buffalo has a magic number of 2 point to clinch the Division Title ... San Jose has a magic number of 2 points to clinch the Division Title ... Montreal has a magic number of 4 points to clinch a playoff spot ... Colorado has a magic number of 5 points to clinch a playoff spot (or 4 points with two wins or Calgary non-wins) ... St. Louis has a tragic number of 2 points until it is eliminated from playoff contention ... Anaheim has a tragic number of 3 points until it is elimintated from playoff contention (or two points with a non-win or Colorado win) ... Atlanta has a tragic number of 3 points until it is eliminated from playoff contention ... Calgary has a tragic number of 5 points until it is eliminated from playoff contention (or 4 points with two non-wins or Colorado wins)

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Remaining Opponents (alphabetical order)
Colorado (2H/2A) - Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Vancouver
Detroit (1H/2A) - Chicago, Columbus (2)
Los Angeles (2H/2A) - Anaheim, Colorado, Edmonton, Phoenix
Nashville (1H/1A) - Phoenix, St. Louis
Phoenix (1H/2A) - Los Angeles, Nashville, San Jose

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NHL Tie Breakers
If two teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the NHL tie-breaker system goes as follows:
1) Greater number of games won during the entire season
2) Greater number points earned in the season series between the tied clubs
3) The greater differential between goals for and goals against for the entire regular season.

Nashville Tie Breaker Scenarios
vs. Phoenix - Phoenix leads tie breaker #1 wins (48 to 46), Phoenix leads tie breaker #2 Season Series (5pts to 3pts - 1 series meeting remaining), Phoenix leads tie breaker #3 Goal Differential (+19 to +2)
vs. Detroit - Nashville owns the tie breaker vs. Detroit; Nashville won tie breaker #1 Wins (46 to 41 -- Detroit has 3 games remaining).
vs. Los Angeles - Nashville leads tie breaker #1 Wins (46 to 44), Nashville won tie breaker #2 Season Series (6pts to 2pts).
vs. Colorado - Nashville owns the tie breaker vs. Colorado; Nashville leads tie breaker #1 Wins (46 to 42 -- Colorado has 4 games remaining), Nashville won tie breaker #2 Season Series (6pts to 3pts).

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Upcoming Games of Interest:

Recent Results of Interest:

Tuesday, April 6 Colorado @ Vancouver San Jose @ Calgary Los Angeles @ Anaheim Wednesday, April 7 Nashville @ Phoenix Colorado @ Edmonton Columbus @ Detroit Thursday, April 8 Phoenix @ Los Angeles Vancouver @ San Jose Minnesota @ Calgary Friday, April 9 Chicago @ Colorado Detroit @ Columbus Saturday, April 10 St. Louis @ Nashville Calgary @ Vancouver Edmonton @ Los Angeles Phoenix @ San Jose Sunday, April 11 Detroit @ Chicago Los Angeles @ Colorado

Monday, April 5 no games of immediate interest Sunday, April 4 Vancouver d. Minnesota, 4-3 OT Colorado d. San Jose, 5-4 OT Philadelphia d. Detroit, 4-3 Saturday, April 3 Nashville d. Detroit, 4-3 OT Anaheim d. Los Angeles, 2-1 SO Phoenix d. Edmonton, 3-2 SO Friday, April 2 Vancouver d. Anaheim, 5-4 SO Calgary d. Colorado, 2-1 Thursday, April 1 Nashville d. St. Louis, 3-2 Los Angeles d. Vancouver, 8-3 Detroit d. Columbus, 3-2