Preds Clinch Playoff Berth, Shut Out Wild

They're in.
Ryan Johansen scored the goal, Juuse Saros stopped every shot he faced, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Minnesota Wild by a 1-0 final on Monday night to clinch their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The result gives the Preds a sweep of the season series, as well as 92 points to hang onto second place in the Central Division.

Looking to rebound from a loss in Winnipeg on Saturday night, Nashville got the monumental first goal - and what turned out to be the only goal - as Saros locked it down the rest of the way with 29 saves overall to send his club back to the postseason.
"You work all year to work your way and get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so tonight was the night we marked it," Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "It was a good road win."
"It was a good day for us," Saros said. "That was a big thing for us to clinch the playoff spot now and then just focus on getting better."
The game's only goal came less than five minutes into the contest when Johansen sniped a shot - while shorthanded - over the shoulder of Devan Dubnyk for a 1-0 advantage. From there, the night belonged to Saros, who kept Minnesota off the scoresheet until the final horn.

"Juice is phenomenal," Johansen said of Saros. "He's such a quiet leader on this team. For such a young kid, he's an absolute professional every single day. He earns everything he gets, and it's easy to play for him. He's a workhorse, and he's going be a big part of this club for a long time."
Forward Rem Pitlick made his NHL debut for the Predators on Monday night and skated 9:43 of ice time while leaving his head coach impressed.
"He played a smart game," Laviolette said of Pitlick. "It's a big task to come in as a young player that is meeting a team for the first time and a coach and a system - it can be a bit overwhelming, but our guys are pretty good in there. They're good guys, and they took care of him, but then he's got to go out and play the game… and I thought he did a good job in his first game."
"That was crazy out there," Pitlick said. "It was a lot of fun, definitely some learning moments, but something that I'll never forget."

Ticket Punched:
The Predators are starting to make a habit of this whole postseason appearance thing.
For the fifth-consecutive season - a franchise record - the Preds will be vying for Lord Stanley's Cup when the postseason begins on April 10.
It's no easy feat - only 16 out of 31 teams in the NHL get there in a single year, and to do it in five consecutive seasons is quite an accomplishment.
"It's a good feeling, but you really have to look at how hard it is to make the playoffs over an 82-game season," Johansen said. "You need to be healthy, and need guys to chip in and make big plays throughout the year. It's a great accomplishment, and it's something to be very proud of, but at the same time, we have a goal in mind and there's a lot of work ahead still. We're going to keep our foot down."
"It's a credit to the guys in the room," Laviolette said. "It's not an easy thing. Everybody goes into a year with good intentions and everybody has a plan in mind, and I'm sure they're all including the playoffs. It's not an easy thing and should never be taken for granted, but our guys worked hard and we got to this point. We have to continue to work on our game and get ready."
While the Predators are certainly satisfied with achieving their goal, it's not the only one they have in mind. With just five games to play in the regular season, there is still work to do, and the Preds can't wait for the challenge that lies ahead.
"You look at our team and see the depth and go through the whole lineup, there's a lot of tremendous players on our club," Johansen said. "We're all coming together, and we're a pretty darn good hockey team. The focus right now is that there's still a lot of work to be done. We'll just enjoy this one tonight, enjoy making the playoffs here and get home, go to bed and get back to work."

Notes:
Preds forward Rocco Grimaldi was absent from Monday's game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Prior to Monday's contest, the Predators assigned forwards Austin Watson and Miikka Salomaki to Milwaukee of the AHL on long-term injury loan.
Grimaldi, Watson, Salomaki, Matt Donovan, Cody McLeod and Frederick Gaudreau were all listed as scratches for the Preds on Monday.
Nashville will now head home, but their next game will also come on the road on Friday night at Pittsburgh.