Nashville Predators: Bold Predictions for the First Round against Hurricanes
By Chad Minton
Juuse Saros’ goals against average?
It’s no secret that Saros has put the Predators on his back and carried them to this seventh-straight playoff appearance. Without him, the Predators would be right down there with Columbus and Detroit in the division standings.
Saros, fair or not, will have to stay in Vezina Trophy form for the Predators to have a chance. And he’s going to be up against an onslaught constantly as I expect the Hurricanes to get their large share of shots on goal.
My measuring stick for Saros’ GAA, or goals against average, is firmly at three goals per game. If he keeps it below three goals per game then the Predators have a realistic chance to pull off this upset in six or seven games.
In four games against the Hurricanes this season Saros compiled a respectable 2.73 GAA while surrendering just two power play goals. Need that same kind of success in the first round.
I won’t be surprised at all to see Saros steal a couple wins for the Predators in this series, but in the end I predict his GAA will come up just above three goals per game. I just don’t trust the Predators penalty kill to protect Saros in those pressure situations.