Mailbag: Predators' chances in playoffs; Devils' offseason goalie plans

Here is the March 13 edition of the weekly NHL.com mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on X. Send your questions to @drosennhl and @NHLdotcom and tag it with #OvertheBoards.

What are the Predators odds of doing damage in the playoffs? -- @GopredsnhlSeth

Pretty good if their past 13 games are an indication of how they will be able to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Nashville Predators found their game in February and have carried it into March. They're 11-0-2 since Feb. 17, including wins against the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. They're averaging 4.08 goals per game and 2.00 goals against during the run. The power play has converted at 23.1 percent and they're at 82.4 percent on the penalty kill, they've won 53.4 percent of their face-offs and own a 54.7 shot attempts percentage. They have five players with at least 10 points in that stretch, but they're not being carried by one line or one player. Filip Forsberg leads Nashville with nine goals and 16 points, but that is what he is supposed to be doing. Nashville has scored first in 11 of the 13, going 10-0-1. It has led or been tied going after the first period in all 13.

Is it sustainable? We'll find out.

The positive signs are that it's not about one line or just a goalie who got hot, even though Juuse Saros is 7-0-2 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in the stretch. The Predators appear to be playing a team game, with speed, offense from multiple lines, special teams that have been much improved than they were previous this season and ridiculously good goaltending. They were scoring 2.96 goals per game and were 19.3 percent on the power play and 75.4 percent on the penalty kill in their first 54 games. If we believe in the past 12, we can chalk the first 54 up to learning, growing, developing habits, and getting adjusted to the new style of up-tempo, aggressive, attacking type of play under first-year coach Andrew Brunette.

It will be hard, of course, because the Western Conference is loaded at the top with the Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets, Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. All six teams improved their rosters in advance of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. The Predators arguably did too with the additions of forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Jason Zucker, albeit with the subtraction of forward Yakov Trenin. They infused more speed, a necessary ingredient to winning in the playoffs, but most importantly they have improved their overall game, particularly their special teams. That should give Predators fans hope that they could carry their strong play through March and April, and maybe May and into June.

Do you think getting Jack Roslovic was the right move for the Rangers, like the Frank Vatrano of 2022? If so, what does he bring to the top line that will help it click? -- @GabeML30

Acquired Friday, Roslovic on the New York Rangers' top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider looks right so far. It looks like a fit. He's different from Vatrano, a pure shooter. Roslovic helps the line with his speed. He can shoot. He can score, but his puck pursuit and ability to push the pace and drive the opposition backward will be the catalyst that helps that line. 

The perfect example is the goal Zibanejad scored in the second period of New York's 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Monday, which ended his 30-game streak without a 5-on-5 goal. 

Zac Jones sent the puck down the ice and Roslovic chipped it in deep before leading the forecheck into the corner. Kreider went around the other way. Roslovic's pressure helped force a turnover by Curtis Lazar. The puck went to Kreider behind the goal line. He found Zibanejad in front, and with the puck on his backhand the center did the rest, scoring after making a patient, strong move around defenseman John Marino. Roslovic's speed and forechecking created the scoring chance and Zibanejad finished it. 

The Rangers needed a right wing who can push the pace and be a scoring threat to fill a spot on the top line. Let's not go crazy and say Roslovic is the perfect player for that role, but so far, he looks like he can be the right player at the right time.

Do the Devils sign/trade for a true No. 1 goalie in the offseason? -- @carolina_trades

That looks like and smells like the plan. It's why what the New Jersey Devils did Friday, acquiring Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens and Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks, are among the best under-the-radar decisions any team made before the Deadline. 

The Devils couldn't, even for the last quarter of a season that looks more and more like it will end after Game 82, continue to put rookie goalies Nico Daws and Akira Schmid through the ringer. They're not ready. They should be the tandem for Utica in the American Hockey League, growing and developing at their own pace and not at an NHL pace. It wasn't good for them to be facing NHL competition and pressure. Maybe the Devils corrected the issue too late to save this season, but by correcting the issue they reset the depth chart to allow Daws and Schmid to get back on schedule now and through next season.

Allen comes to New Jersey at half the price and for next season too. With the Canadiens retaining 50 percent of his salary cap charge, the Devils are on the hook for $1.925 million. Kahkonen is a pending unrestricted free agent, a rental who is essentially there on a tryout basis. If he succeeds and meshes, maybe the Devils will consider re-signing him, but they're under no obligation. He's with them so they can reduce the playing time for both Daws and Schmid. Most importantly, the Devils traded Vitek Vanecek to get him, freeing $3.4 million on next season's salary cap.

The likelihood is the Devils will take that $3.4 million and invest in a top goalie through an offseason trade. Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames was reportedly close to being traded to the Devils a month ago and they surely will revisit that with the Flames. Markstrom is signed through 2025-26 with a $6 million average annual value and Saros ($5 million AAV through next season) could be an option. Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald and Predators GM Barry Trotz have a longstanding relationship that dates to when Fitzgerald played for Trotz in Nashville. If Saros is on the block, expect the Devils to be calling. 

Allen at $1.925 million can be the 1B in New Jersey, good for 30-35 starts. Markstrom or Saros the 1A, good for 50-55 starts. Daws and Schmid can stay in Utica, but they have NHL experience so they can be recalled if necessary. The knock on the Devils is they didn't do this sooner, or even before this season started, but that's hindsight. What matters is what they do to fix their goaltending going into next season. Getting Allen and Kahkonen started them on the right path to doing that.

What's the NHL equivalent of Saquon Barkley leaving the Giants and signing with the Eagles? -- @LittlestOfMen

Scott Gomez signing a seven-year contract with the Rangers on July 1, 2007. 

Stick tap to colleague Tom Gulitti for coming up with this one. It's a good comparable. 

Gomez was a top player for the Devils, but never a generational player. Similarly, Barkley was always a top player for the New York Giants, but not jersey number retirement good. 

Gomez played his final season with the Devils on a one-year contract negotiated through a neutral arbitrator. Barkley played his final season with the Giants on a one-year franchise tag contract. 

There was some bitterness between the Devils and Gomez at the end. Barkley was vocal in wanting more stability and commitment from the Giants too. 

Gomez left the Devils to sign a lucrative contract with their rivals, the Rangers. Barkley left the Giants to sign a lucrative contract with their rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Gomez was roundly booed upon his return to Prudential Center in 2007, but years have passed, he's been welcomed back, and he played another season in New Jersey (2014-15). Barkley will be booed by Giants fans when he returns to MetLife Stadium next season. Years down the road he probably won't play another season for the Giants, but you never know.

Do you think the Red Wings will make the playoffs? -- @motleyblkhawks

This will sound crazy after a 7-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings' sixth straight defeat, but yes, they will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite being on the outside of the playoff line today because of the tiebreaker. Detroit and the New York Islanders each have 72 points, but the Islanders have a game in hand; 18 games remaining vs. the Red Wings' 17.

Detroit has been one of the streakiest teams in the League all season. For example, the Red Wings are 6-6-0 in their past 12 games. Do the math, and you'll figure out quickly that they won six in a row before losing six in a row. They had a five-game winning streak in October and a four-game losing streak in December. They were 14-7-3 on Dec. 5 and went 2-8-1 in 11 games across the next 22 days. They opened January with a seven-game point streak (6-0-1).

This is a tough stretch at a bad time, but if a 7-3 loss to Buffalo is rock bottom for the Red Wings, then look out. Their next four games are against the Arizona Coyotes, Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets; they're 4-2-0 against those teams this season. Would anyone really be surprised if they had a four-game winning streak before playing the Islanders on March 21? Speaking of the Islanders, they got hot at the right time, winning six in a row to make this a race for a wild card in the Eastern Conference. But they lost 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday to end that winning streak. The last time the Islanders had a hot streak, when they had points in eight straight games (6-0-2) from Nov. 30-Dec. 15, they went 5-8-3 in their next 13 games, enough to get coach Lane Lambert fired and replaced by Patrick Roy. The point being it's as hard to trust the Islanders as it is to trust the Red Wings.

But as it stands now, eight of Detroit's 17 remaining games are against the Sabres, Penguins, Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. They play each twice. They're 4-1-1 against them so far. They need at least six wins. They need to survive a five-game road trip from March 23-April 1 with games in Nashville, Washington, Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay, but assuming they can come out with at least five points in that. The playoffs will be within their grasp. It's 50-50, but let's go with yes.