Nashville Predators: Predicting the Western Conference Play-In Matchups
By Chad Minton
(6) Nashville Predators vs. (11) Arizona Coyotes
This is going to be a fun series to watch for many reasons. First and foremost, you have two teams who have very different strengths and weaknesses.
The Coyotes are a rugged team defensively and have an outstanding goaltending duo in Antti Raantta and Darcy Kuemper.
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I won’t be surprised in the slightest if this ends up being a very low-scoring series, and the more consistent and steady goaltending to will win the series. That means Juuse Saros can hopefully pick up where he left off on his hot streak on March, or possibly Pekka Rinne can come in refreshed and like the vintage Pekka Rinne.
The Predators definitely have more depth and skill with their top-six forwards with the likes of FIlip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund.
The pause might actually benefit a team like the Predators who has a roster full of talent, but was very inconsistent for many reasons during the season. Give me the Predators to win this series in four games.