Predators Must Overcome Huge Obstacle in Round 1 vs Canucks

The Nashville Predators have officially been locked into their first-round matchup with the Vancouver Canucks. The Dallas Stars winning their final game on the second-last day of the regular season kept the Predators on the Pacific side of the playoff bracket with the Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and one of the Vegas Golden Knights or Los Angeles Kings.

The Predators first and only test that they have to worry about right now is the Canucks who were one of only two teams to sweep the season series against Nashville this season. The other was the Boston Bruins.

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The Predators went 0-3-0, scoring six goals and allowing 13 against the Canucks. While the regular season and playoffs are very different and the intensity is ramped up for the postseason, each team has some young players and both teams have players who are well-equipped and experienced in the playoffs.

By Nov. 1 when the Predators had already played the Canucks twice and lost, Nashville was in the midst of their tough start and were 4-5-0. They also had not fully adjusted to the system being implemented by Andrew Brunette. Once they had, that is when the season turned around.

Juuse Saros was in net for two of the losses, both of which were home games. He allowed a total of eight goals in those two games and had a .875 SV% and .792 SV%. The Canucks and their high-powered offense really got to Saros and the Predators. Expect nothing but Saros in net to start Game 1 though.

There are a few interesting things to note player-wise from the three games as well this season. Colton Sissons was one of Nashville's better players in the three games, scoring in two of them. Funny enough, Anthony Beauvillier was a member of the Canucks for the two games between the clubs in October and recorded two assists.

The standout from the Canucks that the Predators will have to watch out for is Elias Pettersson. In his one playoff appearance back in the 2019-20 season, he put up seven goals and 18 points in 17 games while helping push the Canucks to Game 7 of the second round. He has proven to already be a threat against Nashville and Saros by scoring four goals and an assist in the three games this season. If he's held in check, the Predators will definitely have a much better chance at getting past Vancouver.

This is going to be a tough first round for the Predators, and although they lost the season series, this playoff series could be completely different.

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