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      NSH@MIN: Predators punch their ticket to the playoffs

      ST. PAUL, Minn. --The Nashville Predators clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Monday.

      Juuse Saros made 29 saves, and Ryan Johansen scored for the Predators (43-28-6), who lead the St. Louis Blues by two points for second place in the Central Division and trail the Winnipeg Jets by two points for first. It was their first win in three games.
      "You work all year to work your way and get into the Stanley Cup playoffs, so tonight was the night we marked it," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "Fifty percent of the teams, almost, don't make it. And it's not an easy thing. Everybody goes into the year with good intentions and everybody has a plan in mind and I'm sure they're all including the playoffs, so it's not an easy thing and should never be taken for granted, but our guys worked hard to get to this point. We have to continue to work on our game."
      WATCH: [Predators vs. Wild highlights]
      Minnesota (35-33-9), which has lost two straight and four of its past five games, remains two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves.
      "Our backs are against the wall, but whether Colorado or [the] Arizona [Coyotes], whether they win or lose, we need to win," Wild forward Jason Zucker said. "For us, we obviously are going to need help, but we need to win. That's the only thing we can worry about."
      Johansen made it 1-0 with a shorthanded goal at 4:32 of the first period, taking a pass from Viktor Arvidsson and scoring from the high slot. It was his first goal since Feb. 9 (20 games).
      "It's a good feeling. You've really got to look at how hard it is to make the playoffs in an 82-game season," Johansen said. "It's a great accomplishment and it's something to be very proud of. At the same time, we have a goal in mind. There's a lot of work ahead of us still. We're going to keep our foot down."

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          Saros earns Monday's Pepsi Zero Sugar Shutout

          They said it

          "You look at our team and you see the depth. You go through our whole lineup and there's a lot of tremendous players on our club. We're all coming together. We're a pretty darn good hockey team. The focus right now is there's still a lot of work to be done. We'll just enjoy this one tonight and enjoy making the playoffs here, get home, go to bed and get back to work." -- Predators forward Ryan Johansen

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              NSH@MIN: Johansen snaps one past Dubnyk for SHG

              "It is a helpless position. There's not much we can do about it. Again, the dominoes have got to fall in the right area. As long as there's a breath in our body and we have an opportunity, we're going to go out and try to play like we did today. I thought we made Nashville look bad. They didn't have much. I think they had six scoring chances the whole night. We just can't score. That's the bottom line right now. … We're doing the job in that respect, but we just can't score at this point." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

              Need to know

              Nashville has made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons. … Predators forward Rem Pitlick had 9:43 of ice time in his NHL debut. … It was Nashville's first regulation win in Minnesota since Jan. 22, 2017. … The Wild have lost 18 of their past 23 home games (5-13-5).

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                  ThirstForTheCup: Predators clinch a playoff spot

                  What's next

                  Predators:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
                  Wild:At the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, FS-N+, NHL.TV)