Onward to the Playoffs

The Nashville Predators' season has been full of ups and downs, and many of those have been on the extreme side. It took a little luck for them to finally claim the last playoff spot on Sunday, as they needed a Kings loss to back in. Currently, they can still control where they play, as any of Chicago, Minnesota, or whoever wins the Pacific Division are potential opponents in the first round.

This piece is about the ups of the Predators season, as there have been a fair number of them. In spite of injuries, PK Subban has been everything that the Predators have hoped for, as he has brought an element to the team that has not been seen before. In goal, Pekka Rinne has played some of his best hockey, and a fair amount has to do with the team finally having a backup that can take some of the load off of him, as Juuse Saros has emerged as a solid backup that has the ability to one day become a starter in the league. While James Neal had a slightly off-year, he did still manage 20-plus goals for the season. The slack was picked up by both Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson, both of whom are now 30-goal scorers for the season, with Arvidsson joining in last night. Arvidsson's emergence wasn't much of a surprise, given that he was arguably their best player for much of the season, and along with Forsberg and Ryan Johansen, has given the Predators a formidable top line.

While the Predators face a tough task with whoever they face in the first round, this may be the time where they begin another hot streak.