"It's always a lesson to be learned when you get sat out," Wilson said. "You never want that to happen and you should learn it before you get scratched, but I think I've been doing well. I thought I had a couple of good games before that scratch. With the playoff stretch coming, I want to step up my game."
Wilson was the key threat for the Predators in their Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. He scored five goals in six games against the Blackhawks, and was able to go to the front of the net and use his size to put himself in good scoring areas.
The Predators need Wilson to be that player again. They have talented scorers in forwards Filip Forsberg, James Neal and Ryan Johansen, and must get offensive contributions from defensemen Roman Josi and Shea Weber.
However, Wilson will play a big role in determining if the Predators have enough secondary scoring to make a deep run in the playoffs.
"I just want to keep playing that same way," Wilson said. "The closer it gets, your motivation is just win games and do whatever you can to help the team. When it's that easy of a mindset, the rest kind of takes care of itself."