Now for the Nashville Predators, this is the first Finals appearance for the team in their 19-year history. Nashville finished with 41 wins during the regular season to finish as the second wild-card in the Western Conference. The Predators started the playoffs by defeating the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in four games, becoming the first wild-card and eight-seeded team in NHL history to sweep the top-seeded team in their conference. They also eliminated both the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks respectively in six games. They became the 3rd 8th seed to ever reach the finals, joining the 2006 Edmonton Oilers and the 2012 Los Angeles Kings.
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 29 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
May 31 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
June 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
June 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
June 8 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
June 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
June 14 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
This will mark the 3rd time ever that the Penguins have been in back to back finals. it happened in 1991 and 1992 and then again in 2008 and 2009. There's a number of big reasons why the Penguins are back in the finals again for the 2nd year in a row. It wasn't really easy for Pittsburgh. They survived the Eastern Conference with plenty of injury problems, including starting the playoffs without both their top defenceman and number one goalie. Most teams couldn’t survive a hit like that. But with a sum-of-its-parts defence and a couple of superstars up front, Pittsburgh found a way to eliminate Columbus in five games, and Washington and Ottawa in seven.Marc Andre Fleury had played fantastic in net before relinquishing it back to Murray during the Ottawa Series. Aside from how well Fleury played before they went back to Murray, the Penguins have managed to somehow hold it together through the patchwork blue line. Kris Letang is out for the entire playoffs with a neck injury. So Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin, Ron Hainsey and Olli Maatta, have really stepped their game up to try and fill the void left with Letang not there. Oh and let's not forget about their offense. They are quite top heavy with Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel, as well as a slew of stout support players like Jake Guentzel, Chris Kunitz and Bryan Rust.
What makes the Penguins so good is that they can play almost any style. They can run and gun, clog up the middle on defense and play a physical game as well. A true mark of a championship team can play any style. They have their two big guns going right now on offense, Malkin leads all playoff scorers with 24 points and right behind him with 20 points is Crosby.
But now the Penguins are facing a bit of a different animal in this round in the form of the Nashville Predators. For the 2nd year in a row, the West is being represented by a team making their first ever appearance in the Cup Finals. Nashville has been riding the white hot goaltending of Pekka Rinne, who has a goals against under two and a save percentage of .041. There's nobody playing any better right now in the sport then Rinne. Which is weird, because the Penguins are the one team that Rinne hasn't been able to solve. Of all his career opponents, Rinne has his lowest save percentage (.880) and highest goals against (3.57) in games against Penguins. An interesting stat, but with the way he's been playing so far in the post season I think Rinne can be able to handle them. And it's not all just on Rinne. The Predators boast the NHL's best top-four defense group in Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban. All four players play physical, effective defense while being able to fuel the rush with their legs or smart, quick breakout passes.
Sure this team may not exactly have the high powered scoring punch as their opponents from Pittsburgh, but they can still fire the puck on net never the less. When you have guys like Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Colton Sissons, and Viktor Arvidsson leading the charge up front, to go along with that skilled blueline attack of Subban Ellis and Josi, you got something that can really put pressure on the opposition. But having said that, there is a slight level of concern in the music city going into this final round. Look no further then game six against the Ducks. Nashville won 6-3 despite being terribly outshot 41-18. If not for Rinne, the team may not even be in this position after such a poor performance. More than anything, Nashville has earned some long-overdue attention from die-hard hockey fans in other markets, who are realizing something followers of the Predators have known for years: This is not only a hockey market, but a unique hockey market. The atmosphere in and around Bridgestone Arena is unlike any other in the NHL and with a fun, underdog group on the ice, Nashville is an easy team to like.
This series is going to a lot of fun to watch. In this kind of a series it's hard to bet against the defending champs. They've got a rested and healthy Matt Murray, and if for some reason he faults, they have Fleury right behind him who has proven he can play just fine this time of year. They have a balanced offense and look like they are ready to roll to another title. That being said, Nashville is no pushover. They are a very inexperienced team at this time of year. The only guy on this team who's ever played in a finals is Mike Fisher (who's currently hurt), he was on the 2007 Ottawa Senators. So experience may win out, but not in this case. This seems to be Nashville's year. With the way Pekka Rinne has been playing, the Predators have been finding a way to win. They do it again in this round.
Prediction: Nashville Predators in 7!
No comments:
Post a Comment