The streaking Nashville Predators moved into a Western Conference wild-card spot on Saturday.

On Sunday, they’ll aim to strengthen their playoff positioning.

Winners of three straight and four of six, Nashville (32-28-9, 73 points) is set to visit the slumping Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12, 64 points).

Nashville is coming off Saturday’s 4-1 home victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Coupled with the Los Angeles Kings’ home loss to Buffalo by the same score, the Predators climbed into the final wild-card spot in the West.

“It’s just the belief in the guys in this room, and that’s all that matters,” Nashville’s Steven Stamkos said. “The coaching staff has a belief. The players have a belief. It’s not always going to be pretty. We understand at this time of the year points are more important than how the game looks, but you want to build and we have.”

Stamkos tallied two goals and an assist for the Predators while Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and assist to back a 39-save effort from Justus Annunen.

Stamkos and O’Reilly scored on the power play in the second period as special teams continued to be an asset in the club’s surge. Stamkos moved past Brendan Shanahan with his 238th career goal on the man advantage, good for seventh all-time.

“As a group there’s urgency there (on the power play),” O’Reilly said. “We’re putting pucks at the net, and we’re winning battles. We’ve got to keep building off of that. Obviously, the last couple of games that’s helped us, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”

Chicago will aim to salvage a split of an abbreviated two-game homestand before playing four straight on the road next week.

Playing the second leg of a back-to-back on Friday, the Blackhawks were outmatched in a 4-1 loss to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.

Wyatt Kaiser scored the only goal for the Blackhawks while goaltender Arvid Soderblom kept the hosts somewhat close by making 45 saves.

“(Colorado’s) level is a level that we want to get to,” Chicago forward Ryan Greene said. “They’re going to be a contending team this year, so that’s definitely a measuring stick.”

No matter the foe, the Blackhawks know they must improve their special teams to stay afloat during the stretch run.

Colorado scored two power-play goals on five opportunities as the Blackhawks get acclimated to different personnel amid various injuries. Forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Louis Crevier missed the game with undisclosed injuries. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said he expected the duo to rejoin the lineup during its upcoming trip.

“Penalty kill’s one of those things where there’s so many different nuances that happen,” Blashill said. “We certainly have our structure, but I don’t know any way to learn it without going through it.”

Nashville can clinch the season series with a victory. The Predators won 4-3 in Chicago on Nov. 28 and 4-2 in Nashville on Feb. 26. In between, the Blackhawks earned a 3-0 road shutout behind call-up goaltender Drew Commesso on Jan. 10.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Cubs power-hitting outfielder Seiya Suzuki will not be available for Opening Day, manager Craig Counsell told the assembled media before Saturday’s Cactus League game vs. Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.

The Cubs open the season at Wrigley Field vs. the Nationals on Thursday. Counsell ruled Suzuki out for that game, but not necessarily on the injured list.

“Look, we’ve had good days ever since he’s been back to camp,” Counsell said. “Opening Day, it’s not going to happen. (He’s) not going to be ready to play on Opening Day. Once you get past Opening Day, we’ve got to make a decision, does it just make sense to give him some time? We’ve got time to make that decision.”

Suzuki suffered a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament while attempting to steal second base in the first inning of Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss on March 14 to eventual champion Venezuela.

Entering his fifth year with the Cubs, the 31-year old has done some throwing and hitting, but has not started any running drills.

Suzuki posted career highs a season ago with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games played. In four seasons with the Cubs, he has hit for an average of .269, belted 87 home runs and driven in 296 runs.

He is in the final year of a five-year $85 million contract.

According to reports, non-roster invitee Michael Conforto has been informed that he will be added to the 40-man roster and begin the season in Chicago. Conforto is a ten-year big league outfielder, who has played with the New York Mets (2015-21), San Francisco Giants (2023-24) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2025). He has 179 home runs and 556 RBIs, including 33 and 92 respectively in 2019.

–Field Level Media

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Wizards 132-111 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to 11 and Washington’s skid to 15.

Just before halftime, the Wizards’ Justin Champagnie and the Thunder’s Jaylin WIlliams got into a scuffle that led to their ejections along with Williams’ teammates, Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.

The scuffle moved behind the basket, with the teams’ coaching staffs and security coming over to help break up the brawl.

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jared McCain scored 18 off the bench.

Isaiah Hartenstein continued to make a significant impact early, with six rebounds and two assists before scoring his first points since March 1 to put the Thunder up by nine just four minutes in.

Hartenstein finished with nine points, a career-high-tying 20 rebounds and 10 assists, nearly missing out on his second career triple-double.

Though the Wizards (16-54) had been struggling and the Thunder (56-15) soaring, it wasn’t until a late third-quarter burst that Oklahoma City gained control for good.

After Will Riley’s three-point play with less than two minutes remaining tied it, Gilgeous-Alexander took over.

He scored seven points and had an assist in a 10-3 Thunder run to end the quarter. His first and last shots during that sequence were his most impressive.

After Riley tied it, the reigning MVP drove to the basket and got knocked off balance, flipping the ball underhand as he fell for a basket as he fell to the floor.

Then, with time winding down, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a step-back, 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the momentum heading Oklahoma City’s way.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the third, going 7 for 12 from the floor with three assists. He finished 17 of 27 with seven assists.

It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s seventh 40-plus-point game of the season.

The Thunder scored the first 15 points of the final quarter to put the game away.

Washington didn’t score for nearly six minutes in the fourth, missing its first 10 shots.

Oklahoma City outscored Washington 64-40 in the paint.

Bilal Coulibaly led six Washington players in double figures with 21 points while Bub Carrington added 19.

–Field Level Media