NHL Rink Wrap: Playoffs are no guarantee for Golden Knights

Most of all, Roman Josi and the Nashville Predators want to make the playoffs. The fights for the West’s final playoff spots could be fierce, so they shouldn’t take anything for granted.

In the Wild, the Predators have an opponent that opens the door for higher ambitions. With Minnesota slipping lately, the Predators have a shot at climbing into the Central Division’s top three.

Winning on Sunday didn’t hurt that cause. If Juuse Saros isn’t leading the way for the Predators, then you can make a safe bet Roman Josi is doing the work. In this case, he impressively piled up two goals and two assists to help Nashville outlast Minnesota 7-4.

With plenty of time left in the season, Roman Josi’s already set new career-highs for goals (17) and points (66). Not bad for someone who’s already won a Norris Trophy.

In the Sunday NHL Takeaways, we’ll dive into some of the Golden Knights’ problems. But let’s not totally take away from what the Blue Jackets brought to the table. While a playoff bid is unrealistic, this team’s looking like one of the more dangerous spoiler threats in the East.

Sometimes that boils down to Patrik Laine heating up. During the NHL action on Sunday, it was about Cole Sillinger (hat trick) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (1G, 3A) lighting it up. Max Domi might help his trade deadline value with two assists, as well.

Still just 18, Sillinger’s generated a solid 21 points in 57 games this season.

Could the Blue Jackets build a future worth getting excited about? They still need to make the right moves, but there are at least moments of promise.

For a portion of the season, it felt like the Avalanche were winning despite Darcy Kuemper. Watch out if he maintains what’s been a promising stretch of confidence-boosting play.