Predators can still win their way into playoffs

Great goaltending is helping keep the Nashville Predators’ improbable playoff hopes alive.

Mark Jankowski had a goal and an assist in the first period and the young Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Thursday night.

Goalie Juuse Saros also made 33 saves for the win with his second shutout this season and 20th of his career, helping the Predators win their second straight and third in four games.

The Predators seemed well out of the playoff chase with a flurry of injuries and trades at the deadline after announcing the franchise’s only general manager David Poile, also the NHL’s longest and winningest GM, will retire June 30.

But Nashville beat the NHL’s best in Boston on March 28. They edged the Western Conference leader in overtime Tuesday night and this win puts them a point back of Winnipeg, currently holding the second wild-card spot in the West, and Calgary a slot above the Predators.

“It’s huge,” Jankowski said. “We know the position we’re in, and we take our guys against anyone. We’re not backing down. We see who’s across the ice there, and we’re not backing down from anyone. We believe in this group, no matter who we’re playing against.”

The Predators hit the road for the final time to decide their playoff future, visiting Winnipeg on Saturday night and then Calgary on Monday night. A win at Winnipeg puts the Preds into the final wild card spot.



Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, left, is congratulated by right wing Michael McCarron after Saros shut out the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)