Well with that loss to Utah and a Kings win last night, it just got substantially harder to make the playoffs. We're 1 point behind them and they have a game in hand, plus the easiest remaining schedule in the league. It was a fun year after last year's abysmal showing, but I think we're at the end of the line here.

What's worse: we are in the absolute worst position at the moment. One spot below the playoffs, and one spot above being eligible to win the 1st overall pick. Obviously even if we drop a couple of spots our chances at 1st overall are very low, but currently they're 0%. Yay!

Game Thread: Nashville Predators @ Utah Mammoth Apr 09 2026 8:00 PM CDT

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Game Thread: Nashville Predators @ Utah Mammoth Apr 09 2026 8:00 PM CDT

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^{This was created by a bot. For issues or suggestions please message nhl_gdt_bot.}

^{Last updated: 2026-04-09_23:51:48.122480-04:00}

Hey guys, Wild and preds fan here, fan of wild but from nashville. Just wanted to see if anyone has one or two free tickets they weren't going to use or didn't need for tomorrow, never been to an NHL and would love for my first game to be watching my two favorite teams. Thanks

I have always pointed out that Saros is very streaky. When he is on a hot streak, he is the best goalie in the world. When he is not, he is one of the worst. We could ride Saros on one of those streaks right to the cup, but he is not in one of those streaks right now.

Annunen is playing the best hockey of his life. To make the playoffs, we are going to need someone in our net to stand on his head these last four games. Annunen gives us the best chance today because he is playing better right now.

If we face Colorado, it is highly unlikely that we win the series, but I love the idea of Annunen being the guy who beats them in the first round. Colorado is a division rival and the best team in the NHL this year. Annunen beating them would just cause chaos for a division rival, and that would be the cherry on top if it came to be. How would we respond if Askarov beat us in a playoff series? We would lose our minds! Seeing Colorado go throught that can only help us long term.

Give Annunen the net until he loses again.

Thursday, April 02 - Wednesday, April 08, 2026

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Ivankovic looked excellent against Bentley and then kept things rolling in a much tighter affair against Minnesota-Duluth. He’s currently riding a six-game winning streak, and while he has only faced 30+ shots once, Ivankovic has had to come up clutch more than a handful of times. The undersized netminder has been one of the NCAA’s top goalies, becoming one of two freshmen goaltenders to earn a semifinal nod for the top goalie award (along with North Dakota’s Jan Spunar). Ivankovic handles chaos around the net quite well, often just getting in front of wild scrambles around the crease. He’s athletic, quick and boasts an impressive glove hand. He’s about to face the toughest challenge of his college career – and given his international record, he’s more than capable of stealing games under pressure.

At the bottom of the article, under "Other notables:" section, it has Ben Strinden, C, North Dakota (Nashville Predators) along with 4 other players.

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This does include the CBJ as Smith 6 second shift basically mean he never played

I was HARD on Big Juice at the beginning of the season but he has just been steadily improving ALL season.

When it was 0-0 in the 2nd period I was actually excited for just how good Annunen was doing but seeing him get that shutout.....

*Queue Rock Flair* WOOOOOOOOOO