Nashville Predators: Key Matchups For Epic 2nd-Round Clash vs. Winnipeg
Battle of Vezina finalists
Not very often do we get to see two Vezina finalists go head-to-head in the playoffs. To make it even better, they’re both up against great offensive teams. They have their work cut out for them. As deserving as they both are for the Vezina Trophy, I expect some high-scoring affairs. I’ll be very intrigued to see how much Pekka Rinne and Connor Hellebuyck are able to neutralize the other team.
Hellebuyck’s save percentage isn’t flattering in the season series as his save percentage was below 90 percent in four of the five games. On the other hand, Rinne’s are just slightly better, but not spectacular. Rinne’s most recent outing against Winnipeg is what we’re hoping to see in the series, holding them to one goal on 34 shots. That was in mid-March in a 3-1 Predators home win. I fully expect both goaltenders to elevate their play and put up some gems.
Whichever goaltender is able to avoid giving up goals in waves is the key to who wins this series. Rinne got chased out of Game 3 against Colorado due to this. He can’t let that happen against a much better Winnipeg team. If Rinne contains Winnipeg to two or three goals per game, the Predators will be in great shape to advance. That’s easier said than done. I give the slight edge to Rinne due to playoff experience.
Can Forsberg keep ascending?
Forsberg will be in the nightmares of Colorado fans for the entire offseason. If you take out his production, the JoFA line was mostly kept in check. Viktor Arvidsson did have a beautiful breakaway goal in the close-out game, but that came at a time when the game was pretty much over.
We need Arvidsson to stay in attack mode and use his speed to get behind the defense. He turns seemingly no scoring chance into quick goals regularly. He can’t be a no-show in this series, and neither can Ryan Johansen.
Johansen isn’t necessarily out there to pile on the goals. However, we need his assists and puck possession. We need him setting up the offense in the opponent’s zone and creating scoring opportunities for Forsberg and Arvidsson. I didn’t see that as much as I would like in the first round. My expectations are extremely high for this top line, and rightfully so.
The depth of the Predators is a great luxury to have, but the top line has to show up in a major way in this next series. Winnipeg is going to get their goals. They’re just too talented to be kept off the scoreboard entirely. That means the JoFA line will have to match them with their own barrage of shots on goal. Going up against Hellebuyck is going to be much more challenging than Jonathan Bernier or Andrew Hammond. To keep pace with the Jets on the scoreboard, the top line led by Forsberg will need to have a top-notch series.
Can the power play wake up from its slumber?
It’s been an up and down year on the power play. At times it looks unstoppable, and other times looks laughable. Here’s to hoping they’re not entering another power play slump at this time of year. The Predators didn’t take advantage of opportunities in the Avalanche series, cashing in just three power-play goal in 19 tries. That’s not going to get the job done against a much better Winnipeg team who ranks in the top-10 on the penalty kill.
Winnipeg is a fairly disciplined team as they rank in the middle of the league in penalty minutes. They don’t take foolish penalties too often, meaning the Predators have to take advantage of the few opportunities they may end up getting. Power play goals are important neutralizers to when you’re facing a goaltender on a hot streak like Hellebuyck is on.
Forsberg might be the ultimate remedy to the power play struggles. He’s taking the NHL by storm right now after the Colorado series. He’s playing with a ton of confidence and is doing it in all phases of his game. Now we need him to explode on the power play and add onto the 13 power play goals he had in the regular season.
Another important power play contributor who needs to find his touch more in this area is Ryan Ellis. We all know about that deadly one-timer that he can snap home. Let’s see more of that in this series. It’s critical that the Predators improve the power play.
Need more production from Turris line
The Kyle Turris line is the key to the Predators turning into the most lethal team in the NHL. If they don’t get consistent production from this unit, it turns them into a more ordinary team. What I mean by that is they’re still formidable, but not nearly as dominant as they can be.
Turris had just one point and an assist in the first round. That’s not going to get the job done. He’s too important to this team to be irrelevant on the second line. Sometimes it’s just about matchups, and it’s possible Turris will fair better against Winnipeg in that regard.
It wasn’t just Turris that left a lot to be desired. Kevin Fiala had just two points, as did Craig Smith. I will say that Smith had a pretty solid series and did a lot of good things you don’t really see in the box score. With that said, this line has to get back to what made them successful in the regular season. Trust each other in the offensive zone, and stay out of the penalty box. The dumb penalties have to stop against Winnipeg, who don’t waste power play opportunities. They’re top-five in the NHL.
Next: Food For Thought While Predators Await Winnipeg
To round this out, we can’t count on Nick Bonino‘s line to make up for a no-show from the Turris line. If the Turris line gets back to regular season form, then the Predators can definitely hang with Winnipeg in a high-scoring series. They’ll be up against an equally good Winnipeg second line led by Paul Stastny and Patrik Lane.