Broadcaster Blog: The Remaining Schedule - What You Need To Know

I hope you enjoyed your break. The Nashville Predators resume play Friday night (at 6 p.m. CT) in Sunrise, Florida, after a well-deserved, nine-day hiatus. The first 52 games of the season included many challenges over four months' time. Through it all, the Predators have endured to put themselves in a solid spot for the stretch run. In many ways, the season is just beginning. Step one is to secure a spot in the postseason in the best position for another run at the Stanley Cup.
Here is what you need to know about the remaining schedule:

30 to Go:
Starting Friday night, the final 30 regular-season games take place over a 65 day stretch - 16 at home and 14 away. The calendar is relatively compressed for all NHL teams, but the Predators are among the clubs that have already played the most games (52) prior to the break, which means more days of rest on the back side. Here are more specifics:
In summary, the remaining travel and rest combination is reasonable, and (in my opinion) considerably less taxing than last season.

Strength of Schedule:
Of the 30 games left, here is the degree of difficulty (this is somewhat subjective):
There are many ways to gage strength of schedule. For one objective look from the outside, the
Power Rankings Guru
has the Predators with the sixth easiest remaining schedule.

What is Needed?
For this, I consult
sportsclubstats.com
. Looking at the Predators page, here are some highlights:
Again, this is only an estimate. The picture can change, but this is a good road map for what lies ahead. There is still a long way to go. Remember, the season is just beginning.