Just months after the Predators' season seemed to go off the rails, Nashville opens the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday in Vancouver.
There wasn't much optimism about Nashville's postseason chances in mid-February after the Pres suffered a 9-2 blowout loss to Dallas at Bridgestone Arena.
But the Predators have improved in recent weeks, relying on veterans, regaining focus and learning coach Andrew Brunette's new offensive system.
What are the chances that the Pres will continue their run in the postseason?
Here are three reasons for optimism and three reasons for concern.
Reasons for optimism
big 3
The Predators didn't often make the playoffs behind a dominant front line.
Nashville's model over the years has often been based on strong goaltending, stingy defense and balanced offense.
However, the Prets' top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist has been a problem for opponents all season.
The trio has scored 46 goals on the ice this season, the second-most among any line combo in the league.
Forsberg set a franchise record with 48 goals this season and set career highs in goals, assists (46) and points (94). O'Reilly's 69 points (26 goals, 43 assists) were the second highest of his 15-year career. Nyquist set career highs in assists (52) and points (75) and also scored 23 goals.
The trio hasn't wowed opponents, as the Forsberg-O'Reilly-Nyquist line has been deployed in 78 of Nashville's 82 games this season. However, this group's combination of talent and intelligence allowed them to stay one step ahead of line checks.
Vancouver will face the challenge of silencing the Pres' big three.
road warriors
As the visiting team, the Predators clearly need to take at least one game in Vancouver, and probably more. That won't be an easy task at Rogers Arena, where the Canucks went 27-9-5 during the regular season. Vancouver fans will have plenty of pent-up energy to burn off as this is the Canucks' first playoff season in four years and second postseason appearance in the past nine years.
But the Predators have been road warriors this season, one of only two playoff teams with more wins on the road (24) than at home (23).
The Pres' 24 road wins are third most in the Western Conference and sixth most in the league. It was just two months ago that the Predators went 5-0 on a road trip for the first time in franchise history, defeating St. Louis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim to start a franchise-record 18 games. . A series of game points.
So don't expect the Pres' team, which features playoff-tested veterans like Juuse Saros, Roman Josi, Ryan McDonough, Luke Schenn, Colton Sissons, Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist, to fade from Nashville. Please.
Maintaining quality
The Predators have been one of the best teams in the NHL since putting the sordid memory of the Feb. 9-2 game against Dallas in the rearview mirror.
Buoyed by an 18-game point streak, the Predators finished the season with a 20-5-3 record and had the second-most wins and points (43) during that span. Nashville outscored opponents 106-71, allowing the league's third-most points per game (3.79) and fourth-fewest points allowed (2.54).
The Pres went 6-4-1 against playoff teams in their final 28 games, with wins over Las Vegas (twice), Los Angeles, Colorado, Winnipeg and Florida.
Nashville hasn't always outperformed the competition over the past few months, but they still often found a way to win. For example, two weeks ago against St. Louis, the Predators beat the Blues 47-33. But Saros made 44 saves and the Pres found a way to score six goals to earn the victory.
The fact that the Predators have been playing at a high level for months should be considered a good sign heading into the playoffs.
Reason for concern
recent history
The Canucks are 3-0 against the Predators this season, outscoring Nashville by a combined score of 13-6 with 3-2, 5-2, 5-2 wins.
The counter argument is that the teams haven't played each other since December, when Nashville was a much different (and less confident and effective) team.
But it wasn't just this season that Vancouver had the upper hand in this series. Over the past five seasons, the Canucks have gone 8-4 against Nashville, outscoring the Predators 48-34 during that time. Vancouver has scored at least four goals in seven of those 12 games.
The Canucks' big weapons are firing regularly against the Predators.
Forward JT Miller has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 23 career games against Nashville. Forward Elias Pettersson has 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 15 games. Forward Brock Boeser has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 16 games. Defenseman Quinn Hughes had 20 points (0 goals, 20 assists) in 13 games.
Vancouver will be confident going into the game against the Predators.
Pure difference?
It seems strange to think that a team would have an advantage over the Pres in the goaltending department, but the numbers speak for themselves this season.
Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko had the best save percentage (.918) and points per game (2.45) of his seven-year career this season, while Nashville's Juice Saros had the worst in a full season. He posted a save percentage (.906) and goals against average (2.45) and goals against (2.86) during his nine-year career.
Demko exceeded expectations this season, ranking second in the league in goals scored (22.0), but Saros (-3.0) was behind with 37 goals.th In that department.
However, there are some things to keep in mind. First, Demko has only made his four playoff appearances in his career (his three starts), but he hasn't appeared since 2020. Saros has appeared in the playoffs 17 times in his career, but this is his first time appearing in the postseason. From 2021.
Second, Demko missed about five weeks with a knee injury and returned earlier this week. However, Demko didn't look all that rusty, as he stopped 61 of 65 shots (.938 save percentage) in two games played.
penalty kill
A key power-play goal, or a successful penalty kill, can make a huge difference in a game and, as a result, even swing the momentum of the series.
Predators are 22ndn.d. On the penalty kill during the regular season, the overall success rate was just 76.9 percent.Considering Vancouver had 11 in the NHL.th-Best power play (22.7%), that matchup can be problematic.
Nashville inched forward on the penalty kill, but still allowed 10 power play goals on 29 attempts over the past 10 games. The Pres allowed power play goals in three of their final four games of the regular season, but it wasn't an ideal path to advance to the postseason.
The first step to reducing the number of goals conceded on the power play is to spend less time in the box. Nashville was penalized 99 times during the regular season, including 11 penalties.th– Highest total in the box.
But once the Pres corner them, they have to deal with the Canucks' fearsome foursome. Miller has 40 power play points (10 goals, 30 assists). Hughes had 38 points (5 goals, 33 assists). Pettersson scored 31 goals (13 goals, 18 assists). Boeser had 25 points (16 goals, 9 assists).
