Quick Season Review
Thank goodness for the Cleveland Browns; if it weren’t for them, the Edmonton Oilers would likely be the worst managed franchise in professional sports of the last decade.
Nashville (1) vs. Winnipeg (2)
Round 2 – #WPGWhiteout vs. #Smashville
Let’s do this @PredsNHL!
WE ARE WINNIPEG. pic.twitter.com/Sk4VcuT1gE
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 23, 2018
First Round Recap:
Both teams enter the second round after disposing of their last opponents with relative ease; the Predators defeated the Colorado Avalanche in six games, while the Jets disposed of the Minnesota Wild in five. Nashville and Winnipeg finished 1-2 in the standings this season, respectively, and are remarkably similar teams on paper. Both teams compliment a deep forward core with a staunch defence, and each is led by a Vezina-nominated goaltender – Nashville, as always, will be turning to Pekka Rinne in net, while the Jets counter with 24-year-old Connor Hellebuyck. While the squad from the Music City may have won their season series against the Jets – finishing 3-1-1 overall – each game was decided by two goals or less, and with the Jets coming into the second round on the strength of back-to-back shutouts, could we see a minor upset in round two? Or, will Nashville continue to roll along in their Presidents Trophy-winning campaign?
Let’s take a look at both team’s chances in the second round.
Nashville Predators
Won first-round series against Colorado 4-2
There’s not much else to say about it – the Predators are the best team in the NHL, bar none. While it’s been known for months, it was finally recognized when the Preds captured the first Presidents Trophy in franchise history. They did it with one of the most balanced teams seen in the NHL in years; their suffocating defence has been the envy of the league for years, and after a few shrewd moves over the past few seasons by general manager David Poile, the team finally has the offensive capabilities to match their defensive prowess.
However, it all begins and ends in Nashville with Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne. The 35-year-old goaltender is the heart and soul of the Predators franchise; he ranked first in the NHL in both GAA (2.31) and SV% (.927) among goalies starting more than 50 games. The Predators defence may be top-notch, but there’s no way that the team allows only 204 goals without Rinne. He’s a key cog in their success, and if he falters Nashville may be in for a tough series.
One major advantage the Predators hold, however, is playoff experience. While the Jets are coming off of their first series win in franchise history, Nashville returned the majority of last season’s Stanley Cup finalist roster. In fact, the Predators have nearly five times more cumulative games played in the playoffs, with their roster combining for 1,204 games to Winnipeg’s paltry 264.There’s not much else to say about it – the Predators are the best team in the NHL, bar none. While it’s been known for months, it was finally recognized when the Preds captured the first Presidents Trophy in franchise history. They did it with one of the most balanced teams seen in the NHL in years; their suffocating defence has been the envy of the league for years, and after a few shrewd moves over the past few seasons by general manager David Poile, the team finally has the offensive capabilities to match their defensive prowess.
However, it all begins and ends in Nashville with Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne. The 35-year-old goaltender is the heart and soul of the Predators franchise; he ranked first in the NHL in both GAA (2.31) and SV% (.927) among goalies starting more than 50 games. The Predators defence may be top-notch, but there’s no way that the team allows only 204 goals without Rinne. He’s a key cog in their success, and if he falters Nashville may be in for a tough series.
One major advantage the Predators hold, however, is playoff experience. While the Jets are coming off of their first series win in franchise history, Nashville returned the majority of last season’s Stanley Cup finalist roster. In fact, the Predators have nearly five times more cumulative games played in the playoffs, with their roster combining for 1,204 games to Winnipeg’s paltry 264.
Notable Players to Watch
Filip Forsberg has been an absolute monster throughout these playoffs, and there’s no reason to think that can’t continue. The 23-year-old averaged a point-per-game through the first round, scoring four goals and adding two assists. In addition, two of the goals scored were GWG’s, proving that Forsberg is more than just a scorer – he’s a clutch scorer. While Forsberg looks to be matched up against a top shutdown defenceman in Jacob Trouba, there’s no doubt in this writer’s mind that he’ll continue to put up points throughout the 2nd round.
Winnipeg Jets
Won first-round series against Minnesota 4-1
No pun intended, but the Jets enter the second round flying under the radar of most pundits. While no one will take away from the fact that the Jets are a fantastic team, many feel as though Nashville will advance to the third round with relative ease.
Not so, in this writer’s opinion.
Winnipeg has all the pieces to keep up with the Presidents Trophy winners. In fact, the Jets only finished three points behind the Predators in the regular season and were a superior team on many fronts. Perhaps the biggest advantage the Jets have are the number of offensive weapons at their disposal; the team ranked second in the league in goals, with an average of 3.33 per game and a total of 273 for the season. The Jets had five players post over 55 points, with four defencemen posting over 20. Overall, the Jets may have the most balanced attack in the NHL, and the Predators vaunted defence will be in tough to contain the Winnipeg squad.
Winnipeg also holds the advantage in the special team’s department; the Predators only hold a .1% advantage over Winnipeg on the PK, while the Jets were a full 2% better on the power play than their rivals from Nashville. If the Jets are to succeed in the second round, capitalizing on their special team’s advantage is key.
Notable Players to Watch
There’s no player in the NHL quite like Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien. A unique talent, “Big Buff” does it all – hits, scores, fights, and shuts down the other team’s top offensive stars. He’s the kind of player that’s capable of taking a game over at will; Byfuglien in the first round against Minnesota, Byfuglien led the team in shots on goal, assists, and hits. While I have no doubt about the ability of Nashville’s defence, it’ll be interesting to see how they attempt to contain Big Buff.
The Jets will also rely on depth scoring in order to defeat the Predators, and center Brian Little is a key cog in their depth chart. While Nashville’s focus will likely be on offensive studs such as Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler. Little has the opportunity to slide under the radar and make a huge impact on the series. He may not be an offensive juggernaut, but the 30-year-old posted an average of .52 points-per-game and provides yet another weapon for the deep Jets.
Season Series
Nashville: 3-1-1
Nashville may have won the season series, but it wasn’t in as dominant fashion as their record may suggest. Both teams combined for 41 goals throughout their five games, but neither team ran away with any game. In fact, all five were decided by two goals or less, with a game on March 13th decided by two shorthanded goals allowed on Winnipeg’s part. Had the team managed to limit their mistakes in the game, the season series between the two squads would have been tied.
Conclusion
Winnipeg/Nashville may end up being the series to watch of the 2018 Playoffs. Both of these teams are eerily similar; neither organization holds a clear advantage at any position. Both Connor Hellebuyck and Pekka Rinne finished the season as Vezina trophy nominees, and while Rinne may have posted slightly better numbers during the regular season, Hellebuyck tallied two more wins than the veteran goaltender. In front of each goaltender stand two of the staunchest defences in the league; Nashville, led by Roman Josi allowed the second-least goals in the NHL last season, only allowing the opposition to score 204 times. However, the Jets only allowed 216 and had it not been for shaky goaltending early in the season from Steve Mason that total would likely be lower. Both defences, as mentioned previously, also feature a stud defender capable of breaking a game on their own; both Dustin Byfuglien and P.K. Subban are capable of stealing a game or two by themselves should they feel the motivation to. The duo are both players to watch, and it will be interesting to see if they’re matched up against each other throughout the series.
Lastly, both offences are among the cream of the NHL’s crop. The Jets scored 273 goals as a team this season, good for second in the NHL behind the juggernaut Tampa Bay Lightning. However, while the knock against Nashville has always been their lack of offensive flair, the team combined for a respectable 261 goals, good for 8th in the league. As mentioned, no team has a clear-cut advantage in any statistical category, other than the power play. Nashville finished in the middle of the pack with the extra man, and if the Jets are able to limit their scoring opportunities with the man advantage, I believe they have a real shot of going through. The key for Nashville will be to stay out of the penalty box; the Preds were the most penalized team in the NHL this season, and if they allow the Jets to gain any momentum with the extra man, chances are slim for advancing.
Gear up, hockey fans: it’s going to be a great series.
My Prediction: Jets in 7
For the second straight year, the Minnesota Wild have unfortunately passed away after game five of the first round. Sixteen of the Wild’s last twenty playoff games have ended in a loss, and the team has now failed to move past the first round for three straight years.
Here lies the battered corpse of the Anaheim Ducks, swept out of the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the San Jose Sharks.
Here lies the corpse of the Colorado Avalanche, eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six games at the hands of the Nashville Predators.
One year removed from the worst record in the NHL, the Avs returned to the NHL postseason for the first time since 2014. It was only the organization’s third appearance in the last ten years; however, the team looks to be on the upswing on the strength of young talent such as captain Gabriel Landeskog, potential Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and defender Tyson Barrie. After clinching the final wild card position on the last day of the season, the Avalanche met the President’s Trophy-winning Nashville Predators in the first round. While Colorado managed to steal two games from the deep Predators squad, Nashville simply proved too strong a team for the inexperienced Avs.
Let’s take a look at why the Avalanche unfortunately perished in the first round of the 2018 Playoffs.
Where Did It Go Wrong?
Much like the New Jersey Devils, injuries and inexperience likely played the biggest factor in the Avalanche’s playoff elimination. Before the series began, the Avs were already without starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov and star defender Erik Johnson. In Johnson’s case, the former first-overall pick was on pace for the second-best season of his career prior to being injured against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 28th. Just two days later, Varlamov went down against the Chicago Blackhawks, thrusting Jonathan Bernier into the starting role for the remainder of the regular season and the beginning of the Avs’ playoff run. However, by the end of the first round, Bernier would find himself in the press box as well, a victim of a lower-body injury in Game 4. While Andrew Hammond performed admirably, he simply wasn’t enough to contain the Predators vaunted offence.
In fact, none of the Avalanche’s 23 players were able to contain the Predators offensive juggernaut; of the 16 players who played in all six games of the series, only three failed to register a point. Nashville’s balanced attack was certainly led by offensive wizard Filip Forsberg, who averaged a point-per-game throughout the series. However, he was far from the only contributor – the Predators found depth scoring from the likes of Colton Sissons and Austin Watson, who combined for 14 points in the six-game battle. Their defensemen also found a way to chip in offensively, with Nashville’s rearguards posting a combined 14 points as well. Contrast that with the Avalanche; Colorado only managed a single goal out of their defensemen and went a paltry 2-for-20 on the power play. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne is tough enough to beat 5-on-5, and the Avalanche needed to capitalize on the man advantage if there was to be any hope of moving forward. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so, and find themselves
Is There a Heartbeat?
Absolutely. The Avalanche are among the youngest teams in the NHL at the moment; only Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau are over the age of 30. Not only that, but the Avs young core are all locked up on reasonable contracts for the foreseeable future, with no core members of the team due for a new contract for at least one more season. There’s a lot of optimism in the Mile High City heading into 2018/2019 – star forward Nathan MacKinnon said it best after game five.
“There are some positives,” said the 22-year-old. “We have a young team going forward. We showed a lot of fight this season; there’s a lot of adversity that we overcame. Hopefully, we can use some of that next season.”
While another massive jump in the standings may be a stretch, there’s no reason to think that the Avalanche couldn’t contend to be in the top half of the Western Conference next year. All of the right pieces are there, and this year’s playoff experience will be a valuable building block towards future success.
After a brief flirtation with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Taylor Hall is back on the golf course as the New Jersey Devils have been eliminated from the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Five games is all it took for the Tampa Bay Lightning to defeat the Devils, who were back in the dance just one year after finishing dead last in the Eastern Conference. The team’s improvement is remarkable, to say the least; the Devils finished the season 10-4-2 to clinch the final playoff spot in the conference, and with Tampa Bay limping into the postseason with a 5-4-1 tally over their final ten games, New Jersey looked primed to upset the powerhouse Lightning.
Six seasons removed from making history as the first #8 seed to win the Stanley Cup, the L.A. Kings are in the record books once again. However, this year it’s for their unfortunate demise at the hands of the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights, as the Kings failed to pick up a single win in their first-round series and become the first team to be swept by an expansion franchise. While only allowing seven goals all series, the squad from Los Angeles only found the scoresheet three times in the four-game sweep. Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was made to look like the second coming of a sturdily-built brick wall or a Shooter Tutor with no holes; he was simply unbeatable. The Kings popgun offence looked atrocious throughout the series, with only four forwards able to scratch the scoresheet.