Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Rob Martell, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Vaughan Rody, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 17113
Patric Hornqvist scored two goals and added an assist as the Nashville Predators clinched a playoff spot Friday with a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in their final regular-season home game.
Sergei Kostitsyn extended his point streak to 11 games with a goal, Matt Halischuk also tallied and Pekka Rinne made 44 saves for the Predators, whose 9-1-1 record over their last 11 contests helped them qualify for the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Derick Brassard scored just his second goal in 14 contests and Steve Mason stopped 21 shots for Columbus, which has lost five games in a row and 18 of its last 21.
Hornqvist buried a rebound on the doorstep six minutes into the first period to open the scoring and - 54 seconds after Halischuk's tally - completed his fourth two-goal performance of the season at 2:42 of the second for a 3-0 cushion.
Kostitsyn capped the Predators' 17th consecutive home triumph over the Blue Jackets with 7:35 remaining in the third period.
| Columbus | Nashville | |
| Derick Brassard 1 | Points | Patric Hornqvist 3 |
| Derick Brassard 1 | Goals | Patric Hornqvist 2 |
| R.J. Umberger 1 | Assists | Patric Hornqvist 1 |
| N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
| N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
| Steve Mason .840 | Save Percentage | Pekka Rinne .978 |
| Steve Mason 21 | Saves | Pekka Rinne 44 |
| Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
| Columbus | 45 | 1 | 0-1 | 3-3 | 11 | 17 |
| Nashville | 25 | 4 | 0-3 | 1-1 | 7 | 35 |
- Nashville will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Predators have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .459 after a loss.
- Columbus will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .391 after a loss.