From a pure order of standings perspective, the Nashville Predators look to be in good shape in the race for a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But cast your eyes over to the points column, and you’ll quickly see an 83rd game is anything but a guarantee for Nashville.

The Predators are tied with Los Angeles for fifth place with 88 points with eight games remaining. But Chicago sits in seventh with 86 points, and a three-way tie for eighth at 85 shows just a game or two that slips away in the final two weeks can spell the difference between the postseason and the offseason.

Nashville is doing everything it can to ensure it plays into mid April. The Predators have won four games in a row and are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games.

The Predators face Anaheim, one of the three teams tied for eighth, on Thursday night. Another eighth-place team, Dallas, comes to Nashville on Saturday.

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Tied with two other teams for fourth place in the Western Conference standings, the Nashville Predators are part of a wild race for the NHL playoffs.

The Predators have 50 points at the midpoint of their 82-game season. Nashville is tied with Colorado and Anaheim for fourth, and sits just one point ahead of Phoenix and Chicago, which are tied for seventh.

With spots No. 9 through No. 12 in the West within four points of the Coyotes and Blackhawks, it’s important for everybody to play well. Nashville is 5-5-0 in its past five games, and will play host to Minnesota on Tuesday night.

The Predators will play three of their next four on the road after the home date with the Wild. Nashville travels to Florida on Thursday, then plays a home-and-home with Chicago this weekend. The Predators play host to the Blackhawks on Saturday, then head to Chicago on Sunday. Tuesday, Nashville plays at Phoenix.

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The Nashville Predators got an up-close look at the march of a champion last spring. This season, the Predators hope to be the ones taking the steps toward a title.

There is plenty of work to do in Nashville, though, the Predators coming off a season in which they finished third in the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Predators lost in six games to eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago.

Nashville is hopeful for a rise in the West this season. Both leading scorers are back from a year ago in left winger Steve Sullivan and right winter Patric Hornqvist (51 points each). Goaltender Pekka Rinne won 32 of his 53 decisions last season.

The Predators begin the new season Oct. 9 at home against Anaheim.

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But Patrick Kane stunned the Predators by scoring with 13.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime. And then, just seconds after exiting the penalty box, Hossa netted the game-winner to give the Blackhawks a 5-4 win and a  3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

The dramatics were not without controversy, though. Hossa earned his major penalty late in the game after shoving Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis into the boards, who was injured and had to leave the game. Many analysts have voiced their displeasure about the officiating, saying that Hossa should have been ejected from the game. And there’s a consensus that the Chicago star should undoubtedly be suspended for Game 6.

Even if Hossa is forced to sit, it’s difficult to envision the Predators winning two straight to steal the series. Game 5 was Nashville’s best and possibly only chance to grab control of the series despite the talent discrepancy. But after the controversial ending the Game 5, expect the home crowd to create a deafening, hostile environment in Game 6.