There's no denying the Predators are where they are in the Central Division standings thanks in part to contributions from a number of players who may not have thought they'd ever play in Nashville this season.
But, in a year unlike any other, expect the unexpected.
For most of the season, Nashville has dealt with injury after injury for a total of 253 individual man games lost through April 19. The Preds have called on the help of a number of rookies and less-experienced players - even dressing six rookies on a number of occasions earlier in the campaign - and frequently, the team has survived, even flourished, with their assistance.
Of course, players will eventually be healthy once more, and two notable names - Associate Captain Ryan Ellis and forward Matt Duchene - have returned to the Predators lineup over the past couple of weeks.
Predators Head Coach John Hynes has always emphasized there will be tough decisions made, and while Ellis and Duchene were welcomed back into the lineup, they knew this was a team with a completely different swagger than when they first exited with injuries.
Hynes says, it's up to those players who are returning to find their way back into the mix. So far, so good.
"As we've all seen, things can change every day with injuries or guys out or how the team performs," Hynes said last week. "I do think that we have some good combinations that have been together, and a lot of it really comes down to the players that will return. They'll have to understand - and they do, because we have conversations - that the team is playing at a certain level, to a certain standard. Everyone's on the same page with what we believe it takes to win hockey games, and it's on the players coming in to fit into that. It's not about trying to change something for a player that comes in, the player that comes in has to fit into what we're doing. The way that we're working, the structure we're playing with, that's a big component, and the attitude we have in games and practices is really important, so you have those discussions.
"Opportunities will arise where players are going to get opportunities to get back in the lineup, and then it's not about them, it's about the team. When you come back into the lineup, it's truly about how you can help us win and where you fit in. It might not be in the same position you were when you left, and that's the big thing. If you take a guy like Ryan Ellis, Ryan came back, he's a co-captain of our team, a big-time player, and he came back and we felt like we had some pretty good chemistry on the power play unit, so he didn't come right back in on the power play. And his mindset was, 'I want to come in, I want to fit in, I want to help the team win. Wherever you need me to play, that's where I'm going to play.' That's what we're expecting from every player that comes back from injury or that comes into the lineup is what I can do for the team, it's not what the team can do for me."
