| Author | Prediction | # of Games | Reasoning & Justification |
| Jason | Predators | 6 | As a Northern Californian, I’ve watched the Sharks bungle the playoffs too many times to count…what’s one more? They won’t notice, I promise. |
| Kris | Predators | 6 | “The biggest concern I see the Predators having in this series is consistent goaltending. There’s no question that Nashville can expect elite performances from Pekka Rinne, but they comes in waves.” Saying that prior to the start of the Anaheim series, I still believe that to be true now. Rinne will have to be just as perfect this series as he was in games six and seven against the Ducks, and it will only get harder from here on out. This series will, once again, come down to goaltending. I’ll take Rinne over Jones/Reimer any day of the week. |
| Bryant | Predators | 6 | I picked the Preds because they just showed they can beat a team that they didn’t match up with well and forced them to alter their playing style. Now, they are facing an opponent who they match up well against and should be able to play their own game against. |
| Marya | Predators | 7 | After the last series, I really believe the Preds can beat anybody. I think the Sharks may be a little cocky coming off of slaying their mortal enemy, and if the Preds can keep up with an 85% pk rate I think they have a good chance. Going to need the Pekka from games 6 & 7 to keep showing up as well. |
| Jeremy | Predators | 6 | Momentum. In a post season of firsts for the Predators, San Jose is going against a team playing with house money. Playoff Colin Wilson is in full effect and if they clamp down on him, guess what, you still have Forsberg, Smith, Neal and Johansen. Plus, the Predators boast a heavy offensive push from the blue line. Speaking of defense, the pairing of Bitetto and Jackman have been amazing in a pure shut down role and keeping the opposition away from prime scoring chances and pushing the puck back into the offensive zone. |
| Mark | Predators | 7 | And we thought the Preds-Ducks series was close? I think this series has the potential to be even closer, ya know, like multiple overtimes every other night close. The Preds have got to stay out of the box as the Sharks went 5-21 on the man advantage in their series against the Kings. San Jose is a touch deeper than Nashville, but maybe there is something special about this Preds team. |
| Link | Predators | 6 | I want to see one match up where the Sharks are dressed in teal and the Predators wear yellow. The ice would look like an abstract intepretation of a Michael Bay film. |
| George | Predators | 6 | This team is rolling right now. If Laviolette can find a way to squeeze some depth scoring out of this roster, Nashville is going to be very dangerous going forward. |
| Anish | Predators | 7 | Who are we kidding here. This is definitely a slightly biased pick. The Sharks are on a roll right now, but so are the Preds. And in the Western Conference, anything could happen. That fact bodes well for Nashville. |
| Rebeka | Predators | 6 | Rinne definitely showed up in Game 6 & 7 and, if he’s still on this streak, I think Nashville will do well. The Preds need to stay out of the box & keep level heads. I’d say getting the passing situation under control would be ideal, but they haven’t done that all season so just playing smart would be a good idea. I mean, that’s pretty much expected, but sometimes going back to the basics work. |
| Alex | Predators | 7 | This series has a chance to be even closer than the Ducks series, if you can imagine it. The Sharks, like the Preds, are a solid 5v5 team and have a lot of depth at forward and defense. Much like the Ducks series, the difference could come between the pipes. |
| Dan | Predators | 6 | Have to. While the Sharks may be the deeper team, Nashville has played very well against San Jose over the last few years. But who am I kidding… San Jose has all the pressure here. And if Nashville can guard Rinne and not ask him to do too much, I like their chances. |
All of us took the local beloved hockey team. Maybe it was the handsomeness/60? Either way, we’ll get far less whining on Facebook. And that’s always good. -DB