Nashville Predators: Four X-Factors to Upsetting Colorado Avalanche

The Nashville Predators enter the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as probably the biggest underdog of the entire 16-team playoff field as they’ll take on the buzzsaw that is the Colorado Avalanche.

An epic collapse against the Arizona Coyotes in the season finale sent the Predators into a much less favorable matchup. It looked like a 100 percent certainty that the Predators would draw the Calgary Flames in the first round, but hockey is a whacky sport at times.

As unlikely as it seems, upsets happen constantly in the NHL postseason. Anyone remember when the Blue Jackets swept the Lightning? Wasn’t that long ago. It’s why we love it so much. It’s chaos many times regardless of seeding.

For the Predators to pull off an upset similar to the level of 2017 first round sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks, it’s going to take virtually everything breaking their way and near-perfect defensive discipline.

Tall order, right? But, stranger things have happened. Here are my four x-factors for the Nashville Predators to finally get past the first round for the first time since 2018.

Prove the Doubters Wrong Between the Pipes

If Juuse Saros wasn’t injured, there would still be very little hope in the Nashville Predators pulling off this upset. However, there would at least be an argument to be had that the Predators could push it to seven games and make it interesting.

With David Rittich being the likely Game 1 starter, the cloud of doubts hang over this team. The Avalanche are a high-scoring, speed team that’s going to push the Predators defense to the brink.

Rittich is likely going to have to put up multiple 40-save performances while hoping that he gets a lot of goal support. I’m think four to five goals per game to hang with the Avalanche on the scoreboard.

I do think that Rittich is capable of piling up high save totals, but will that matter if the Avalanche still get four-plus goals? Saros is world class and can conceivably put up the occasional 40-save shutouts, but I’m not sure Rittich can do the same.

If Rittich puts this team on his back with stellar goaltending, he’ll earn himself quite the contract in the offseason as he’s due to be a UFA.

Can Duchene and Forsberg stay red hot?

This x-factor ties into the previous slide as the Nashville Predators will undoubtedly need high goal totals to win these games. I don’t expect a low-scoring, defense first series like I was expecting against the Calgary Flames.

Unfortunately, this style of game doesn’t fit the Predators, but fits the Avalanche perfectly. The Predators can try to match their fast playing style,  but they don’t have enough personnel to match the Avalanche toe-to-toe in this area.

With that said, Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg carrying over what they accomplish in the regular seaosn will go a long way into keep the score close, even if the Avalanche do get their goals.

Both Duchene and Forsberg easily broke the single-season franchise goal record previously held by Viktor Arvidsson. We watched all season these two dynamic players trade goals, and in the end Duchene finished with 43 goals, and Forsberg with 42.

For comparison, the Avalanche actually had zero 40-plus goal scorers, but are way deeper with three 30-plus goal scorers, and seven 20-plus goal scorers. Predators had five.

We have to see Duchene and Forsberg carry the heavy load offensively. They absolutely cannot go on a goal drought in this series or it will be quick and painful. A sweep, and a rather uncompetitive one, if these two don’t carry over what they did in the regular season.

Make it Ugly, Force Avs to play your style

The Nashville Predators are who they are, like it or not. You can’t ask them to chance this late in the season heading into the playoffs. They have to ride and die with their hard-hitting, physical style that unfortunately leads to a lot of penalties.

They can absoluely try to limit the inexcusable lazy penalties like leaving your stick out too long because you got beat to a loose puck for a tripping penalty. But penalties are going to happen, and maybe the refs will swallow the whistle since it’s the playoffs.

Either way, the Predators need to turn this into a slugfest defensively. Figure out a way to slow down the Avalanche rush and obviously limit the shots on goal. Even more so, limit the odd-man rushes that’s going to burn Rittich, or whoever is in net for that matter.

The Predators have shown glimpses of being able to play impressive defensive games. They did that recently against Calgary in a shootout win, and they did it against other teams like Minnesota, Pittsburgh and San Jose in April.

I’m really hoping that Jeremy Lauzon can get back into the starting lineup. He hasn’t appeared in a game since April 16 with a leg injury, but there’s a decent chance he can be ready for Game 1. This team badly needs his defensive skillset for this series, and his penalty killing.

The Predators are going to have to do an extraordinary job at getting into shot lanes and blocking shots. That can go a long way into protecting their goaltender, something even the Arizona Coyotes exposed the Predators with in the season finale.