Nashville Predators: Ranking the Western Qualifying Round Matchups
By Rich Howe
The NHL secure zones are buzzing now that the puck has dropped with exhibition games. The Nashville Predators play tomorrow in exhibition against Dallas.
The Nashville Predators are practicing in Edmonton and are preparing for the start of their qualifying round. First up, though, is an exhibition game against the Dallas Stars.
Nashville Predators
The unique playoff format, secure zones, television broadcasts without real crowd noise and life inside the hockey bubbles have made this season’s playoffs one of the most intriguing and talked about ever.
It will be exciting to see a refreshed Predators team finally take the ice against another team.
As we move closer towards the qualifying round games, we want to take some time to look at the qualifying round matchups in the West.
The Western Conference is loaded with heavy hitters, especially the Central Division. All of the teams in the Central Division are remarkably in the playoffs and competing for the Stanley Cup.
The qualifying games won’t be easy due to the best-of-five format. So few games leave the teams little room for error. Every organization has to be on top of their game and prepared to make quick strategic changes if needed.
After the tough qualifying games are over, the winners have the top-seeded teams to look forward to. We are in for some quality hockey after the players shake off some of the rust. So let’s take a look at out how we rank the Western Conference matchups in the qualifying round and which ones should be the most entertaining and competitive.