Preds Look to Clinch Playoff Berth with Success in Minnesota

The Nashville Predators will look to clinch their fifth consecutive playoff berth with a win over the Minnesota Wild tonight in St. Paul.
Not only does that opportunity exist tonight at the Xcel Energy Center, but the Preds are also eager to erase the memory of a 5-0 loss in Winnipeg on Saturday night, and both can be accomplished by finding success this evening.
"The game didn't go the way we wanted in Winnipeg," Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said Monday morning. "I thought we started pretty good in the first period, but we didn't play very well in the final 40 minute,s so [we need] a little bit more of a consistent effort. It's obviously a big game for us tonight."
As the Preds look to shake off the loss in Winnipeg, forward Filip Forsberg said the team is mentally prepared for tonight's divisional battle.

"The previous games have been good, and we've been playing some good teams and racking up the points lately," Forsberg said. "Overall it's been good the last couple games, so we're just trying to build off of that."
The Predators hold a 3-0-0 record against the Wild in the 2018-19 season, including two consecutive shootout wins earlier this month. On the edge of claiming the second Wild Card spot in the West, the Wild are also looking to grab a key win tonight.
"Minnesota's got a good, young team and they play hard and they were competitive games," Laviolette said. "They're fighting for their lives, we're fighting for something, so it should be a pretty good hockey game."
Recent acquisition Rem Pitlick will also make his NHL debut with the Predators tonight after finishing his NCAA career with the University of Minnesota just a little over a week ago.
To see the Preds playoff clinching scenarios and potential opponent matchups,
click here.