Nashville Predators Are Favored To Make Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Nashville Predators have surged their way into playoff contention.

After new general manager Barry Trotz completely overhauled the roster going into the 2023-24 season, the Predators are starting to look like playoff contenders once again.

A big 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers put the Predators within a point of a Western Conference wild card spot at 5-6-0.

While the record does not say it all, Nashville has started to piece together the little things needed to be a playoff team in the National Hockey League.

New free-agent signing Ryan O’Reilly has led the way with a team-leading seven goals and 10 points. His play on both ends of the ice has set the tone for the rest of the team.

Star forward Filip Forsberg has built a strong connection with O’Reilly, racking up 10 assists and 12 points on the season on Nashville’s powerful first line.

Young standout Tommy Novak has provided a much-needed presence on the second line with six goals and nine points in 11 games. Rookie Luke Evangelista also has six assists in seven points as Nashville’s young core continues to blossom.

Star defenseman Roman Josi has two goals and eight points on the season.

Superstar goalie Juuse Saros has had an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, going 4-5-1 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average, but he has still shown flashes of his Vezina quality goaltending.

He made 35 saves on 37 shots on Oct. 28 against the star studded Toronto Maple Leafs and picked up a shutout in the team’s home opener against the Seattle Kraken.

Vegas still has Saros tied with Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck to take home the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender at +750 odds.

We will be your NHL betting guide as we show you how the Predators compare to their Western Conference counterparts in Stanley Cup Playoff odds.

Currently, Nashville has +145 odds to make the postseason and -180 to miss the playoffs.

Comparatively, the Los Angeles Kings have the shortest odds to make the playoffs at -750 while Western Conference juggernauts like the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are off the board.

The wildcard race presents an interesting pack of teams.

Edmonton, despite starting the season 2-7-1, still have -200 odds to make the playoffs and +160 odds to miss the playoffs. They can never be counted out with their star core of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.

Two teams that missed the playoffs last year have surged into contention and have gotten favorable odds on the board.

The St. Louis Blues have the most likely odds to sustain their success at +220 odds while the young and rebuilding Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes are bigger long shots.

Arizona is slated at+450 odds while Anaheim still have some of the longest odds on the board at +700 to make the postseason.

Nashville has the most favorable odds out of all of the teams in that wild card pack, save for the star powered Oilers.

With new head coach Andrew Brunette, the Nashville Predators have a chance to bounce back from a disappointing 2022-23 season and make the postseason once again.