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Cal O’Reilly, Steve Sullivan getting healthier as Predators push for playoffs

sullivangetty

James O’Brien

Perhaps the Nashville Predators should be called the Nashville Survivors instead. Year after year, Barry Trotz keeps this team chugging along despite considerable restraints - monetary and otherwise. This season, the biggest challenges revolve around all the injuries they’ve been dealing with.

It looks like the team could add some reinforcements sometime in the future, though. Joshua Cooper reports that Cal O’Reilly (sidelined since January 2nd with a broken fibula) began skating today while Steve Sullivan should get back to skating soon as he heals up from a groin injury.

Even with all those bumps along the road, Nashville is in a prime position to earn themselves a playoff spot. They’ve won six of their last seven games and play six of their last eight games at home.

The Predators will play two significant home games this week, as they play the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and the Dallas Stars on Saturday. The Predators might be in sixth place with 88 points in 74 games played, but the Stars and Ducks pose serious threats to their playoff lives with 85 points in 72 GP. Those two teams square off tonight, so one of those teams will end up with 87 points with one game in hand over Nashville after that contest.

In other words, the Predators can take an enormous step toward protecting their postseason spot by beating both teams in regulation or risk losing their lead if they stumble. If they succeed, they could be even stronger if O’Reilly and Sullivan can come back healthy.

Rolling with the punches (and having a great goalie like Pekka Rinne) is a key - if intangible - part of a successful playoff run, so the Predators already have plenty of “training” in that area. Obviously, the first step is actually make the playoffs, but maybe this scrappy bunch finally has what it takes to advance to the second round ... and beyond?