Yep, that’s a Taylor Swift reference. Nashville has Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Nicole Kidman. Vancouver has late puck drops and … yeah. [Ed.: Sarah McLachlan and Carly Rae Jepsen, if we’re going to get technical, but the late puck drops still give Nashville the W on this front.]
Nashville Predators
It’s been over a decade since these two teams last squared off in the postseason. There’s not much remaining from 2011 in Nashville or Vancouver, and that’s why this series has the potential to be a wild one. There’s not much that Nashville can “unveil” or surprise us with in Game 1. Look for the usual suspects to lead scoring, including Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi.
The two keys for Nashville will be limiting shot attempts against Juuse Saros and managing to generate secondary scoring.
Both have been concerns this season, with Saros looking mostly ordinary against high-quality opponents. Some of that has been due to intervals of weaker team defense in front of him, especially in the low slot area–a mistake that good teams have been able to exploit. Still, we can also hope that Saros will be able to excel when he’s called on to do so.
At the other end of the ice, will we see scoring from potential aces like Luke Evangelista, Cody Glass, and Tommy Novak? Nashville cannot afford for scoring to disappear simply because it’s the playoffs, and relying too heavily on their top line, good as it’s been, is a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, the depth players have also been stepping up this season.
Vancouver Canucks
Elias Pettersson had a great series against the Predators in the regular season; he posted five points, including a hat trick. JT Miller had 40 power-play points for the Canucks in the regular season–and topped 100 points overall–even though Vancouver’s power play was only marginally better than Nashville’s. There’s a lot to like about the Canucks, and they certainly boast more depth up front and on the blue line.
Perhaps the most frequent comparison of this series will be that of Quinn Hughes vs. Roman Josi. Hughes likely takes home the Norris Trophy this summer, but it’s clear that both teams have a lot of love for their #1 defender. Josi will not be afraid to lead scoring rushes, but Hughes will ensure the Canucks enter the zone and don’t leave it until the puck is in the net.
He’s been spectacular. Daily Faceoff notes that “In more than 1,500 minutes of 5-on-5 play with Hughes on the ice this season, the Canucks have outscored their opponents 91 to 54. Over that same timeframe, the Canucks have amassed 797 scoring chances to their opponents’ 583 while also controlling 54.86 percent of the expected goals.”
Reasons to Watch
Aside from Colorado–Winnipeg, this series will be one of the more watchable ones in the West. I think it’ll be epic. Nashville is back in the playoffs, and that’s reason enough to stay up way too late. Your favorite team in gold made some strange moves last offseason–do they pay off? Will Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan McDonagh, and Luke Schenn lift Lord Stanley’s mug again?
Keep Your Eye on This Guy
For Nashville, I’m looking for the Vancouver kid himself, Colton Sissons, to contribute offensively.
It’s pretty easy to choose someone like Brock Boeser or Elias Pettersson for Vancouver, but I’ve got my eye on Elias Lindholm. He’s got quite a bit to prove after a weird trade deadline and injury.
Tonight’s Theme Song
How to Watch
Go ahead and plan out your caffeine consumption for this series if you live in and around Tennessee, Preds fans. Puck drop tonight is at 9:00 Central. Bally Sports South has your TV broadcast, though it will also air nationally on ESPN, and 102.5 The Game has the radio call.
Furthermore, if you’d like to attend an in-person event and don’t want to travel to Canada for it, you can “cheer on the Preds alongside Predators arena host Wayne D at The Factory at Franklin (230 Franklin Road) for an Official Watch Party featuring ticket giveaways, prizes, live DJ and Gnash.”
Watching with OTF
Editor’s note: We’ve recently started making game threads part of the game previews, for administrative reasons, instead of having them be separate threads. We’re hoping that the current comments system is robust enough to support live-watching here, but if we get enough comments that it starts to slow or becomes difficult to navigate on mobile devices we’ll make a Part Two.