Saturday was a rough night for the Nashville Predators.
First, the St. Louis Blues locked down the third spot in the Central Division. Mere moments later, a late Blake Wheeler shorthanded goal pushed Nashville to a 2-1 regulation loss against Winnipeg, so now the Predators will finish behind the Calgary Flames.
So, to recap:
- The Flames will be the first wild card in the West. They’ll face the Pacific Division champ, whether that be the Anaheim Ducks or, by a longer shot, the Edmonton Oilers.
- The Chicago Blackhawks will hold home-ice advantage against the Nashville Predators in a first-round series since the Preds finished as the second wild card.
It's #Blackhawks-Preds in the first round. The last two times the Hawks played Nashville in the first round, they won the Stanley Cup.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 9, 2017
As a reminder, the Minnesota Wild will face the St. Louis Blues as the West series start to really shake out.