Abysmal Predators Power Play in Playoffs Just Got the Spark it Needed

The Nashville Predators have had an abysmal power play in the Round 1 series vs the Vancouver Canucks and it is a big reason why the team trails 3-2 even after a solid comeback win to fight off elimination in Game 5.

The Predators ranked 16th in the NHL on the power play during the regular season at a respectable 21.6 percent. That is over one goal every five attempts, which should translate to 1-2 goals every two games. In the case of the playoffs, the Predators have gotten four or more power plays in a game in four of five games. If Nashville was even close to being as effective on the man advantage, this series could easily be in favor of the Predators right now.

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In the first round series with the Canucks, the Predators have scored just two goals on 19 attempts through five games. Nashville scored one power-play goal in their Game 1 loss and the other in their Game 5 win, going 0-11 in the middle three games of the series where the team lost twice and went down 3-1 in games.

While the Canucks also have just two goals on the power play in the series as well, they have had six fewer attempts and scored both in one game (Game 3). These happened to be the only two goals in that game for Vancouver and led them to a win. What stings more for the Predators from that game is the five opportunities on the power play that went to waste that game.

If the Predators were scoring on the power play at the rate the team did in the regular season, they would have four goals to show for it, two more than they've scored in the series. That could have been a massive difference as two of Nashville's losses have been by one goal and the other was two goals with an empty net goal scored by the Canucks.

Surprisingly, the Predators don't have the worst power-play percentage (10.5%) in the playoffs, or even the second worst. Those spots are reserved for the Los Angeles Kings (0%) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (5.9%).

Having power-play specialist Tyson Barrie back in the lineup and contributing on the top power-play unit definitely gave the Predators a new look and spark on the man advantage. Credit to Andrew Brunette and company for utilizing Barrie in that way in an elimination game to get the top unit going. It worked and I expect it to stay that way for Game 6 back in Nashville where the team has a chance to tie the series.

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