Stanley Cup Playoffs 2018: Nashville Predators primed for success

The Nashville Predators are the team to beat as the Stanley Cup Playoffs 2018 start

The Nashville Predators are ready for success. They have been since last season when they went from the eighth-seed in the West all the way to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Since then, they’ve done nothing but improve upon the pre-existing team.

This is thanks to David Poile, the Predators general manager. He won Executive of the Year last season, and he’s done an even better job this season.

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Since last season’s Cinderella run, Poile has added Nick Bonino (repeat champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins), Alexei Emelin (at the cost of a third-round pick), and Kyle Turris (in exchange for a second-round pick, Vladislav Kamenev, and Samuel Girard, neither of whom were in line to impact this year’s team).

Each of these players has made an impact. Turris has 42 points in 65 games. Meanwhile, Bonino put in 25 points, a 54.3% face-off success rate, and 47 percent CorsiFor percentage despite a 63.8 percent defensive zone start rate.

Poile even convinced center Mike Fisher to come out of retirement. Suddenly, the Predators went from a distinct lack of centers – Ryan Johansen going down before the Stanley Cup Finals spelled the death of Nashville last season – to having center depth. They have some of the best depth down the middle in the league.

Nashville Predators’ Defense

As good as the Nashville Predators are on offense, their defense is even more outstanding. In addition to the core four – PK Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis – they now have Emelin, Matt Irwin, and Yannick Weber. That defense has been one of the best in both zones in the NHL. The Predators got 203 points from their blueline and their defense allowed the second-fewest goals.

Part of that is also the excellent play of goaltender Pekka Rinne this season. After collapsing in the Stanley Cup Final, he went back to his form from the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs run. Rinne had the fifth-best save percentage of goaltenders who played more than 30 games and the fourth-best goals against average.

Among starting goaltenders (40+ games played), Rinne was third in both categories. He’s a shoo-in for the Vezina at this point and is likely the Nashville Predators’ best Conn Smythe choice.

So are the Preds ready for a Cup run again? The answer would most likely be yes. They have proven to be the best team in the NHL over the regular season. The Predators have also shown they can be the best team in the playoffs as well.

Next: Power Ranking the Stanley Cup Playoff Teams

They’re the biggest favorites in the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, but the Predators aren’t taking their situation for granted. With the going about to get tough, the Nashville Predators are only starting to get going.

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