Evangelista's Shootout Winner Keeps Preds in Thick of Wild Card Race

Luke Evangelista probably wasn’t expecting to hear his name called again once the overtime period had expired Thursday night in Los Angeles. 

But as the Predators found themselves deadlocked in a shootout against the Kings with a crucial extra point available in the midst of a tight-as-can-be Wild Card race, the skilled winger eventually got a tap on the shoulder. 

After eight Kings skaters had failed to beat Preds goaltender Juuse Saros in the breakaway competition, Evangelista was the next Nashville participant with a chance to convert against L.A. netminder Darcy Kuemper and silence the home crowd at Crypto.com Arena. 

“I kind of always had an idea of what I was going to do,” Evangelista said of his shootout success. “You never know how long it's going to go. We’ve kind of got a few staple guys that go one through three or four in the lineup there, so I knew I had a little bit of time at least. But, probably around four or five, I was kind of planning what I was going to do if I was going to go.”

Nothing to it. 

Evangelista’s backhand beauty gave his club a much needed victory to not only snap a three-game skid, but also set the tone to start a massive roadtrip and pull the Preds even with the Kings and San Jose Sharks at 79 points apiece.

The celebration on the ice that immediately followed Evangelista’s tally was a bit more exuberant than a normal regular season game - but that outing was also anything but normal. 

This five-game excursion that weaves back and forth through California and ends next Thursday in Utah has the potential to determine whether or not the Predators are preparing for a playoff series in less than two weeks or packing their bags for the offseason. 

They’d prefer the first option, and moments like Evangelista’s strike might just end up getting the job done.

And as for the man in charge of calling Evangelista’s number in an instance like that, the final decision of the night ended up being the right one. 

“When both goalies play with that, I think you’re just looking down the bench, and kind of just pick them out of a hat here a little bit,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of the process. “We haven't been in too many [shootouts] that go past three rounds. We haven't seen everybody shoot, and ‘Vange’ is a guy with tremendous poise and hands, and he showed it tonight.”

That showing kept the Preds right in the thick of the race - and those two clubs they’re tied with in the standings? 

Their next two games just happen to come in San Jose on Saturday and in Los Angeles on Monday - hence the season defining roadtrip language. 

But there’s no place the Preds would rather be right now than in the Golden State holding their playoff destiny in their hockey gloves. 

And as the pressure mounts, it’s still OK to find enjoyment in it all, too. 

“I mean, these are fun games,” Evangelista said. “This road trip for us is all teams that we're kind of competing against, and obviously, L.A., we're neck and neck with them right now. That was a hell of a game. That's a fun game. It's a fun win for us.”