OilersNation has no direct affiliation to the Edmonton Oilers, Oilers Entertainment Group, NHL, or NHLPA
Oilers Game Notes: Predators visit Edmonton trying to keep faint playoff hopes alive
Edmonton Oilers Nashville Predators
Photo credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Cam Lewis
Mar 15, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 15, 2026, 12:39 EDT
After an uneven four-game road trip that started with promise and ended in frustration, the Oilers are back in Edmonton for a four-game homestand. First up on Sunday evening are the Nashville Predators, a team desperately in need of points after losing to the basement-dwelling Canucks earlier this week.

Nashville Predators at Edmonton Oilers

  • Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
  • Start Time: 6:00 PM MT
  • Location: Edmonton, Alberta
  • Venue: Rogers Place
  • Watch: Sportsnet
1. Both Edmonton and Nashville are coming into this game after blowing leads in winnable losses. The Oilers were up 2-0 against the Blues midway through the third period on Friday before St. Louis scored twice late in the frame and won in overtime. The Preds carried a 3-1 lead into the third period in Vancouver on Thursday, but the Canucks scored twice in the final four minutes before winning in a shootout.
2. The Oilers began their road trip with wins over the Golden Knights and Avalanche. The momentum quickly dried up in a 7-2 loss to Dallas, and the trip ended on a sour note with the blown lead in St. Louis. Edmonton is now 32-26-9 on the season, good for third place in the Pacific Division. They’re two points back of Anaheim for second, three points behind Vegas for first, and three points up on San Jose.
3. The Preds were sellers at this year’s deadline, moving out Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron, Cole Smith, and Nick Blankenburg for draft picks and prospects, but they’re still technically alive in the wild-card race. Nashville is three points back of the Sharks for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, though the Kings and Kraken also sit between them and San Jose.
4. Despite rumours and speculation about a full-on fire sale, Nashville’s top players remained with the team through the deadline. Steven Stamkos leads the Predators with 31 goals in 65 games, and Filip Forsberg is right behind him with 28. Ryan O’Reilly has 22 goals and leads the team with 61 points. Roman Josi is leading the way offensively from the blue line with 44 points in 53 games.
5. Goaltending and defence were the strengths of the Predators throughout their most successful years, but that hasn’t been the case over the past couple of seasons. Nashville finished 27th in the NHL in goals against in 2024-25, missing the playoffs with a 30-44-8 record. They sit 27th in goals against again in 2025-26 and appear headed to a second straight spring outside the playoffs. Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen have combined for a .891 save percentage and a 3.15 goals-against average, and no goalie has faced more shots this season than Saros.
6. The Oilers and Predators played twice in the span of one week back in January, with each team picking up a win. Edmonton cruised to a 6-2 victory at home before Nashville responded with a 4-3 overtime win in the second meeting. This is the third and final game between the two teams, so the Preds can secure their first season-series win over the Oilers since 2018-19 with a road victory.

What they said…

Nashville forward Tyson Jost after the team’s 4-3 loss to Vancouver earlier this week…
“It stings. This one doesn’t feel good. It was a big two points for us. There are times where you’re great, and there are times where you’re kind of leaking a little bit and taking on some stress and some water.”
We’re definitely disappointed, and stings for sure. We wanted those two points. You know how important that is, and at the same time, you’ve got to bag it, learn from it, and know that we have two more huge games coming up on this road trip. We’ve got to find a way to capitalize.”
Predators head coach Andrew Brunette on the team blowing a two-goal lead against the Canucks…
“Grateful to get a point. Probably didn’t deserve one. They were the better team from the puck drop. It’s one of those nights for our group that was kind of hard to figure out. Obviously, it hurts blowing a two-goal lead in the game, but we didn’t really deserve to be in the game.”
“We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to try to find our game back. We have a lot of guys that aren’t playing at the level that we’re accustomed to, and we need everybody for us to give ourselves a chance.”
Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen following Edmonton’s overtime loss to the Blues on Friday…
“It’s really a shame. Throughout the whole game, we were playing pretty well, and teams are going to have their push if we’re leading, and we just need to learn how to play with the lead.”
“We just have to hope that the one extra point we lost today is not going to come and haunt us later.”
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch on the Oilers finishing their road trip with a loss…
“I don’t think it could have gone much better for us in the first 40 minutes, and then the third period, we had a nice lead, and they got their goal, and maybe we got a little nervous and backed off a little bit.”
“Obviously, they had a strong push, and yeah, it’s unfortunate. It could’ve been an outstanding end to the road trip, getting three out of the four, but getting only one point in the last two games is disappointing for us.”

Final word…

What looked like the start of a winning streak quickly evaporated for the Oilers with a pair of ugly losses this week. They got hammered by a Stanley Cup contender in Dallas and then blew a lead against a non-playoff team in St. Louis. Edmonton can’t afford to leave any more points on the table in the final weeks of the season, especially against opponents who are behind them in the standings.