from Craig Custance of ESPN,

Sandwiched between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues in the Central Division standings is a Nashville Predators team that keeps hanging with the Western Conference powers that we like as potential Stanley Cup contenders.

Does that make the Predators Cup contenders? Not yet.

We'd take goalie Pekka Rinne in a seven-game series against nearly any other goalie in the league, but scoring depth at forward remains a question, especially compared to Chicago and St. Louis. That's why Monday night's win over the Blue Jackets was impressive.

Nashville got two goals from Craig Smith and a goal apiece from Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson. There needs to be production up front from forwards besides Mike Ribeiro, James Neal and Filip Forsberg, and for one night, the Predators got it. That's a good sign.

read on for Burnside on the Flames, LeBrun on the Ducks and Strang on the Coyotes...