NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS. DALLAS STARS
Nashville: 47-29-6, 100 points, first in the
Central
Dallas: 43-32-7, 93 points, first wild card in Western
Conference
Season series: NSH: 3-2-0; DAL: 2-1-2
THE SKINNY
The Nashville Predators weren't as dominant as they were
last season, when they won the Presidents' Trophy, but still finished the
season atop the Central Division heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nashville had its ups and downs, including early injuries to
defenseman P.K. Subban (19
games, upper body) and forwards Viktor
Arvidsson (21 games, thumb) and Filip
Forsberg (17 games, upper body), but responded by winning five
of its final six games and going 8-2-1 in its final 11.
Dallas did a good job of holding off the Colorado Avalanche
for the first wild card from the Western Conference, going 5-1-1 in its final
seven games. The Stars have been strong defensively (2.44 goals against per
game, second in the NHL), and their goaltending from Ben Bishop and Anton
Khudobin, who were in the mix for the William M. Jennings Trophy for
allowing the fewest goals in the NHL until late in the season, has been
outstanding.
Last season, the Stars held the first wild card March 11,
2018. But they struggled down the stretch, including going 0-4-2 on a critical
six-game road trip, which resulted in them missing the playoffs, something they
said they learned from this time around.
GAME BREAKERS
Predators: Forsberg isn't the Predators' leading
scorer -- his 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) rank third behind Johansen (64)
and defenseman Roman Josi (56)
-- but he is one of their most dynamic players. Forsberg, who had a few
highlight-reel goals in the 2018 playoffs, is tough to defend and has 42 points
(22 goals, 20 assists) in 55 NHL playoff games.
Stars: Forward Mats
Zuccarello hasn't played a complete game with the Stars since
they acquired him in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 23 for a
conditional second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round
pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. But he looked good when he did play, scoring three
points (one goal, two assists) in two games, and has 31 points (11 goals, 20
assists) in 60 NHL playoff games.
GOALTENDING
Predators: Pekka Rinne once
again had a solid season, going 30-19-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average and
.918 save percentage. He will be backed up by Juuse Saros, a reliable
goalie who played in an NHL career-high 31 games to keep Rinne fresh this
season, going 17-10-2 with a 2.62 GAA and .915 save percentage.
Stars: The Stars have a great situation in net.
Bishop, who is expected to start the series, went 27-15-2 with a 1.98 GAA, led
the NHL in save percentage (.934) and had an NHL career-high seven shutouts.
Khudobin went 16-17-5 with a 2.57 GAA, .923 save percentage and two shutouts.
If there's a caveat, it's the health of Bishop, who has missed 16 games this
season because of injuries.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Predators: The Predators get scoring contributions
from everyone, but their defensemen combined for 197 points (43 goals, 154
assists) this season. Josi finished second on Nashville with 56 points (15
goals, 41 assists), and Mattias
Ekholm had an NHL career high in points (44) and assists (36).
Stars: The Stars have been good on special
teams, finishing 11th in the League on the power play at 21 percent and fifth
on the penalty kill at 82.8 percent. Dallas has also blocked 1,291 shots.
INJURY UPDATE
Predators: Forward Rocco
Grimaldi, who had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 53 games,
missed the final six games because of an upper-body injury.
Stars: Zuccarello missed the final two
regular-season games for precautionary reasons. He was injured in his return
after missing 17 games because of a broken right arm he sustained in his Stars
debut on Feb. 24. However, he is expected to play in Game 1.
WILL WIN IF …
Predators: Their special teams are strong. The
Predators were outstanding on the penalty kill, which ranked sixth in the NHL
at 82.1 percent, and allowed two power-play goals in their final 12 games
(30-for-32). But their power play that needs to improve after ranking last in
the League at 12.9 percent (33-for-255).
Stars: They get scoring to go with their
goaltending. Dallas was not the most productive team this season, scoring 2.55 goals
per game (29th in the NHL). Bishop and Khudobin are great, but they could use
some support from Seguin, who has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 49
career NHL playoff games, and Jamie Benn, who has 20
points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 19 career playoff games.
HOW THEY LOOK
PREDATORS PROJECTED LINEUP
Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Victor Arvidsson
Mikael
Granlund -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Colton Sissons -- Nick Bonino -- Austin Watson
Brian Boyle -- Calle
Jarnkrok -- Wayne
Simmonds
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis --
Dante Fabbro
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Cody McLeod, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Frederick
Gaudreau, Rem Pitlick, Miikka
Salomaki
STARS PROJECTED LINEUP
Mattias
Janmark -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander
Radulov
Jamie Benn -- Roope Hintz -- Mats
Zuccarello
Andrew Cogliano -- Radek Faksa -- Blake Comeau
Valeri
Nichushkin -- Jason Spezza -- Tyler Pitlick
Esa Lindell -- John
Klingberg
Miro
Heiskanen -- Roman Polak
Taylor Fedun -- Ben Lovejoy
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched: Julius Honka, Jamie
Oleksiak, Justin
Dowling
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