At Stake Tonight... (April 6)
Monday, 04.05.2010 / 5:28 PM
/ Features
By Jay Levin
- Nashville Predators
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Including tonight's action there are only seven more days left in the 2009-10 NHL Regular Season. NashvillePredators.com looks at the Western Conference games scheduled for tonight, Monday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 6, with a synopsis of what's at stake for the Preds. Click here for more on the Conference Standings, Remaining Schedules, and Tie Breakers.
Feel free to post your thoughts and comments at the bottom of this article.
What's At Stake: St. Louis enters the week tied for 10th in the Western Conference, six points out of a playoff seed; a regulation loss tonight would eliminate the Blues. Columbus is already eliminated from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game. The Preds do host the Blues at the end of the week; the game may take on a different tone in St. Louis is still in the playoff hunt, but there are a lot of games between now and then.
Minnesota at Edmonton
What's At Stake: Both Edmonton and Minnesota are already eliminated from playoff contention. The game may hold an impact on draft positioning, though. Regardless of results the Oilers will enter the Draft Lottery in the No. 1 slot, but Minnesota currently sits tied for the No. 8 slot in the draft, just one fewer point than No. 10 NY Rangers.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game.
What's At Stake: The Kings have clinched a playoff spot and enter the week in seventh place in the Conference, however with four games remaining on its schedule, LA can move up as high as fourth place in the playoff seeding. Anaheim enters the week tied for 10th in the Conference five points behind eighth place Colorado. The Ducks have a very slim margin for error; a regulation loss would eliminate them from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: This is the first game this week that has an immediate impact on the Preds. Los Angeles enters the week with 95 points -- three fewer than Nashville -- but has four games remaining on its schedule. If the Kings win out they would finish with 103 points; if the Preds win out they would finish with 102 points. So Nashville needs some help somewhere along the line to remain ahead of LA.
Colorado at Vancouver
What's At Stake: Vancouver has already clinched the Northwest Division Title, but sits five points behind Chicago in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Conference. The Canucks need a lot of results to go their way to steal the No. 2 seed, but it's still a possibility, so.... Colorado enters the week in the No. 8 seed in the Conference, just two points up on ninth seeded Calgary. The Avs do have one more game remaining on their schedule than the Flames, so it's not a "must win" for them, but any points sure would help their playoff chances.
From the Preds View: All in all, not an overly important game for the Preds, but some slight potential impact for Nashville. The Preds need one more point to secure a spot ahead of the Avalanche (either Nashville point earned or Colorado point lost), so from that standpoint, a Colorado loss -- either in regulation or OT/shootout -- would secure Nashville no worse than the No. 7 seed in the Conference.
Chicago at Dallas
What's At Stake: Chicago has already clinched the Central Division Title, but sits just two points behind San Jose for the top spot in the Western Conference with one more game remaining than the Sharks. Dallas is already eliminated from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game, but the Preds do have at least a passing interest in Chicago's playoff seed. And Chicago does have remaining games against Colorado and Detroit later in the week -- two teams still battling with the Preds for playoff seeding -- so any result which keeps the Hawks engaged for those two games could potentially help the Preds later in the week.
San Jose at Calgary
What's At Stake: San Jose has already clinched a playoff berth, but needs two more points to secure the Division Title. Calgary enters the week in ninth place in the Conference, just two points out of the playoff hunt. The Flames need all the points they can get to push past Colorado for the No. 8 seed. The Sharks are two points up on the Blackhawks for the Conference lead and Chicago has one more game remaining (plus the Hawks have a one win lead for the first tie breaker).
From the Preds View: The Preds don't have any immediate skate in this game, but have a passing interest in both San Jose's playoff seeding and Calgary's playoff bid.
Feel free to post your thoughts and comments at the bottom of this article.
Monday, April 5
Columbus at St. LouisWhat's At Stake: St. Louis enters the week tied for 10th in the Western Conference, six points out of a playoff seed; a regulation loss tonight would eliminate the Blues. Columbus is already eliminated from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game. The Preds do host the Blues at the end of the week; the game may take on a different tone in St. Louis is still in the playoff hunt, but there are a lot of games between now and then.
Minnesota at Edmonton
What's At Stake: Both Edmonton and Minnesota are already eliminated from playoff contention. The game may hold an impact on draft positioning, though. Regardless of results the Oilers will enter the Draft Lottery in the No. 1 slot, but Minnesota currently sits tied for the No. 8 slot in the draft, just one fewer point than No. 10 NY Rangers.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game.
Tuesday, April 6
Los Angeles at AnaheimWhat's At Stake: The Kings have clinched a playoff spot and enter the week in seventh place in the Conference, however with four games remaining on its schedule, LA can move up as high as fourth place in the playoff seeding. Anaheim enters the week tied for 10th in the Conference five points behind eighth place Colorado. The Ducks have a very slim margin for error; a regulation loss would eliminate them from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: This is the first game this week that has an immediate impact on the Preds. Los Angeles enters the week with 95 points -- three fewer than Nashville -- but has four games remaining on its schedule. If the Kings win out they would finish with 103 points; if the Preds win out they would finish with 102 points. So Nashville needs some help somewhere along the line to remain ahead of LA.
Colorado at Vancouver
What's At Stake: Vancouver has already clinched the Northwest Division Title, but sits five points behind Chicago in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Conference. The Canucks need a lot of results to go their way to steal the No. 2 seed, but it's still a possibility, so.... Colorado enters the week in the No. 8 seed in the Conference, just two points up on ninth seeded Calgary. The Avs do have one more game remaining on their schedule than the Flames, so it's not a "must win" for them, but any points sure would help their playoff chances.
From the Preds View: All in all, not an overly important game for the Preds, but some slight potential impact for Nashville. The Preds need one more point to secure a spot ahead of the Avalanche (either Nashville point earned or Colorado point lost), so from that standpoint, a Colorado loss -- either in regulation or OT/shootout -- would secure Nashville no worse than the No. 7 seed in the Conference.
Chicago at Dallas
What's At Stake: Chicago has already clinched the Central Division Title, but sits just two points behind San Jose for the top spot in the Western Conference with one more game remaining than the Sharks. Dallas is already eliminated from playoff contention.
From the Preds View: The Predators have nothing immediate at stake in this game, but the Preds do have at least a passing interest in Chicago's playoff seed. And Chicago does have remaining games against Colorado and Detroit later in the week -- two teams still battling with the Preds for playoff seeding -- so any result which keeps the Hawks engaged for those two games could potentially help the Preds later in the week.
San Jose at Calgary
What's At Stake: San Jose has already clinched a playoff berth, but needs two more points to secure the Division Title. Calgary enters the week in ninth place in the Conference, just two points out of the playoff hunt. The Flames need all the points they can get to push past Colorado for the No. 8 seed. The Sharks are two points up on the Blackhawks for the Conference lead and Chicago has one more game remaining (plus the Hawks have a one win lead for the first tie breaker).
From the Preds View: The Preds don't have any immediate skate in this game, but have a passing interest in both San Jose's playoff seeding and Calgary's playoff bid.
