The Predators are fourth in the eight-team Central, two points ahead of the Dallas Stars for the final Stanley Cup Playoff berth. The Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have qualified from the division.
Dallas has games in hand on Nashville, though it will play one of them at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, BSSUN, BSSW+, NHL.TV).
The Predators and Stars play in Nashville on Saturday. It will be the eighth and final time the teams will play in the regular season.
"They're battle-tested going to the Cup Final last year and we know every time you play them it's a pretty big rivalry with Nashville," Hynes said on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Thursday. "We know it's going to be not a lot of time and space on the ice, there is going to be some physicality in the game. We're going to have to make sure we're ready to compete at a high-playoff level on Saturday night."
The Predators have played their way into the playoff race in the Central by going 16-6-1 in 23 games since March 15. During that run they've scored 3.09 goals per game (ninth in NHL during that span), allowed 2.17 goals per game (second fewest) and gone 86.4 percent on the penalty kill (tied for fifth).
In its first 28 games, Nashville was 11-16-1, scored 2.32 goals per game, allowed 3.43 and went 67.0 percent on the penalty kill.
Hynes told podcast co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke the Predators turned it around because their forwards picked up their intensity level in forechecking and puck battles, goalie Juuse Saros found his game and confidence, and their special teams have improved.
"Those three have allowed us to get traction, be a harder team to play against, have a lot more substance to our game," Hynes said.
The Stars have gotten back into the race by going 10-4-2 so far in April, which started with a 4-1 win against the Predators on April 1. They were 11-12-10 through March.
"They're extremely competitive and they've got good size," Hynes said. "I think they play to an identity that they have.
"They're a formidable team."
The podcast also featured Rosen and Roarke going around each division and touching on all the playoff races, the Vegas Golden Knights' 10-game winning streak, issues that are plaguing the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers' postseason chances, the struggles of the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens, and the possibility of Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid scoring 100 points in 56 games this season.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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