The NHL Playoffs are upon us. Let’s welcome the best time of the year with a preliminary look at the playoff series that lay ahead.
Pacific Division: #1 Anaheim Ducks vs WC1 Nashville Predators
The Anaheim Ducks have come a very long way since the last time these two teams met. The Ducks and Predators played twice back in November, getting their season series out of the way early. The series was split, with the home team winning both times. This was of course in the November month that saw the Ducks sinking to the bottom of the Pacific with one of the most anemic offenses in the league.
Nashville was able to comfortably settle at the top Wild Card spot without much competition from Minnesota or the Colorado Avalanche to slide down and play the Stars. Their trade deadline acquisition of Ryan Johansen helped spark a revitalization in the Preds, as he made an immediate impact. He wound up with 34 points in 42 games after being traded.
Let’s take a look at some of the keys to victory for each side.
Why the Ducks will win: Home-ice advantage.
Locking up the top seed in the Pacific Division was huge for Anaheim. Not only does it mean they get to avoid getting into a bloodbath with the San Jose Sharks in the first round, but it means that they are guaranteed home-ice advantage until the Western Conference Final. Which is fortunate, considering the way they have dominated Nashville at home. The Ducks are 5-1 in Cali against Nashville. The Preds are winless in their last four road games, as well as winless in as many games against teams with a winning record. Owning home ice will be paramount for Anaheim, who have won their last six Quarterfinal games.
Anaheim’s X-Factor: Healthy skaters.
Rickard Rakell and David Perron both missed time down the stretch for various reasons. Rakell was diagnosed with appendicitis, while Perron nursed a shoulder injury. Both are expected to be in the lineup for Game 1, but the sheer number of players on the injury report for Anaheim is staggering. Ryan Kesler will be back in after a lower-body injury, Sami Vatanen will return after battling the flu, and Kevin Bieksa will play after an upper-body injury. Clayton Stoner and Brandon Pirri are out. That is a lot of people to worry about. Thankfully, Ducks-Predators is not exactly a heated rivalry like it would have been if the Ducks had to play the Sharks the first round. So physicality may not be a much of a weakness for Anaheim.
Why the Predators will win: The top six.
How exactly do you go shot-for-shot with some of the biggest names in hockey like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry? By countering with Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and James Neal. I mentioned Johansen earlier. Combine that with Filip Forsberg’s 33 goals and James Neal’s 31, and you have yourself a pretty lethal top six. That is not even factoring in Mike Ribeiro’s 50 points, or offense coming from the blueline. Roman Josi set a Nashville record by notching 61 points as a defenseman, and Shea Weber continues to be Shea Weber by netting 20 goals for the third time in his career. Nashville does not get enough credit for just how good their offense really is.
Nashville’s X-Factor: Pekka Rinne.
Nashville’s high-priced goaltender has gone through one of the rougher seasons of his career. His 2.48 goals-against average is the highest in a full season since 2009-2010. His .908 save percentage is the worst it’s ever been in a full season. He carried a nice hot stretch from February into March, but he has 15 of 66 games on the year where he’s allowed four goals or more with a 2-8-5 record in such games. He has a 34-21-10 record this season, and is 12-5-4 in his career against Anaheim. Greatness lies in Rinne, we just have not seen it very consistently this season. Nashville will need an active Pekka Rinne and a stable defense in front of him to contain the red hot Ducks.
This series reminds me a lot of the Ducks’ first-round matchup from two years ago against the Dallas Stars. The Ducks are the better team on paper, but Nashville has a lot of high-powered offensive weapons that could prolong the series. The Preds do have much better defenders than Dallas did at the time, and I would argue that even though Rinne has had a rough go of it this year, he is better than Kari Lehtonen.
Prediction: Ducks in six.
