Finally, it’s game day!
The Nashville Predators open their quest for the Stanley Cup today at 1:00pm Central when they start their best-of-five Qualifier series against the Arizona Coyotes. Below are three things to watch for in Game 1.
PERIOD 1: Goaltending
This almost seems stupid to mention since so much of the discussion over the past few weeks has been around the goaltending but there’s no denying this discussion is at the top of the list. Pekka Rinne did not have the regular season he would’ve hoped for and Juuse Saros struggled early as well.
But there’s been nearly five months between meaningful games and a debate has emerged. Rinne is a four-time Vezina Trophy finalist and a former Vezina winner. He’s 20th all-time in NHL wins (359), led the Predators to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance and will likely be the first Nashville player to have their number retired once he hangs up his skates. Does Rinne deserve to be the Game 1 starter based on his legacy? Or does Saros, who rose to the occasion and rattled off a 12-5-0 record when Hynes took over?
And then there’s the question of how long each goalie’s leash is. If Rinne starts and he allows a bad goal early, is he pulled? If Saros starts and falters, can the team turn to a confident Rinne or will his new position of “back up” get to him mentally?
PERIOD 2: Rocco Grimaldi
Winger Rocco Grimaldi was the team’s leading goal scorer in the first round loss to the Dallas Stars last year and was one of the few players who consistently performed well during the tumultuous regular season. His 31 points in 66 games (10-21-31) blew away his previous career high (13 in 53) and he found chemistry with Nick Bonino and Craig Smith on that third line.
It’s a short series and Nashville will need everyone clicking as soon as possible in order to be successful. That may start with the third line as the top line of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson — along with the second line of Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund and Kyle Turris — will demand the attention of the Coyotes defense. This should allow for Bonino, Smith and Grimaldi some space to be a threat. If Grimaldi can re-discover his scoring touch after the pause, it could mean good things going forward for Music City.
PERIOD 3: Third Third Defense Pair
Regardless of who Coach Hynes dresses as the third pairing, some combination of Dan Hamhuis, Korbinian Holzer, Yannick Weber and Jarred Tinordi need to do one thing: not be a liability.
Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis will get the most minutes (27:00?) and Mattias Ekholm and Dante Fabbro will follow behind with about 22:00. Those two pairs can be trusted not only to generate offensive chances but also provide solid defense in front of their goaltender. That leaves roughly 10:00 for the third pair. Will Arizona be able to deploy their offensive weapons like Taylor Hall, Conor Garland, Clayton Keller and proven playoff performer Phil Kessel against them?
The top four can’t play the entire game and expect to be at peak performance for a playoff tournament that’s five rounds long. The third pair needs to do their part by dispelling Josi, Ellis, Ekholm and Fabbro’s workload while also limiting the opponent’s chances. The more Nashville can play with the lead, that will help as well.
Put another way, if the third pairing can avoid being a liability, it’ll set the Preds up for success going forward.
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