Stanley Cup Playoffs: Nashville Predators versus Arizona Coyotes preview
Who will win the Stanley Cup Playoffs series between the Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes?
The Stanley Cup Playoffs will get underway on August 1, when the play-in rounds for both conferences begin. In the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators will square off against the Arizona Coyotes in a battle between two underachieving teams who still managed to find a way to make the postseason.
Both teams were expected to contend for a top three spot in their respective divisions. However, neither of them got there. Despite that, both teams were able to battle through their rough seasons and are now set to square off for the right to get to the round of 16.
Neither team has played in roughly four months. So in case you need a refresher course, here’s how both teams got to this point.
Nashville Predators
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Entering this season, the Predators were seen as Stanley Cup contenders after signing Matt Duchene to a seven-year deal worth $56 million. Their season started off strong, as the Preds finished the month of October with an impressive 8-3-2 record. From that point on, 2019 was hard on them, as they won just four games in November and they finished the 2019 portion of their season with an 18-14-6 record.
Shortly thereafter, the Predators fired head coach Peter Laviolette and replaced him with former New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes. Hynes led the Preds to a 16-11-1 record, which was good enough to help them become the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
Arizona Coyotes
Expectations were as high as the temperature in Arizona after the Coyotes finished the 2018-19 season strong and traded for Phil Kessel. They got even higher after the team traded for Taylor Hall. However, injuries start hurting them and they nearly missed the playoffs. 2019 was kind to them, but 2020 was not nearly as easy.
The Coyotes relied mostly on their defense, as they allowed the third-fewest goals in the league. They’re hoping guys like Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel, and Hall can step it up in the postseason because they’ll need to score goals to win games.