Hockey Tonkin’ – Preds and Jets All Even After Two

Share This Post

Everyone rested after last night? Checked in with your cardiologist? Went ahead and called the funeral home and made arrangements because playoff hockey will be the death of you? Good, because it’s only going to ramp up from here. To be fair, I tried to warn you all that this was coming. The Avalanche series had some excitement, but nothing compared to what this series against the Jets has brought and will bring. And we’re only two games in so far.

After those two games, the series is tied 1-1. No surprises here. These two teams are the two best in the NHL. Nothing is going to come easy from here on out. I fully expect this series to go six or seven games. I’m sticking with my Preds in six prediction, by the way. So with both teams each winning in completely different ways, what must the Predators do to to take the series?

In Game 1, the Jets won with speed, capitalizing on Preds mistakes, and keeping the crease clean, allowing Hellebuyck to see every shot coming his way. The Predators put up a ton of shots, but the Jets goaltender was up to the task. His defense made sure he had a clear line of sight in front of him and kept the shots to the outside. In Game 2, the Predators did a much better job of creating traffic and getting to the slot. They will need to continue getting to the hard areas to repeat the Game 2 performance. Remember, if Hellebuyck can see it, he’s going to stop it.

Special teams continues to play a role in the series as well. In Game 1, the Predators did not spend any time on the penalty kill, but failed to score any power play goals themselves. It’s become an ongoing theme this postseason. The Preds must figure out how to convert when they get a power play opportunity. They cannot settle for shots from the point against the Jets and expect a positive outcome. It all comes back to getting to the hard areas, creating traffic, and puck movement. Something we’ve seen a little bit of, now they just have to finish.

The last big takeaway I came away with after two games has been the lack of killer instinct in the Preds. Johansen put the Preds up 4-3 at 5:45 to go in the third period. From that moment on, it was all Jets. The Preds were content to sit back and play defense. I understand protecting the lead, but you have to play at least some offense to take some of the pressure off Pekka. They’ve been guilty of “turtling” in the past, and it almost put them in a 2-0 hole last night. The Predators are at their absolute best when they are pushing the play and being aggressive. I’d like to see more of that when they have a late lead.

This series has been about as evenly matched as you can be through two games. The Jets stole one in Game 1, and the Preds bounced back to win a double OT thriller in Game 2. This will likely be the toughest test the Preds will face all post-season. The good news is, it’s tied at one game a piece and the Preds still have plenty they can improve on. The series now shifts to Winnipeg, where the Jets have been very good. Luckily for the Preds, they have experience winning there as well. This is a confident group, so you know they are going into Games 3 and 4 fully expecting to take two in Winnipeg. If they can, Game 5 will be an absolute nut house on Saturday back in Nashville.

Herbie Brooks is the Lead Hockey Analyst for SoBros Network. He knows three things: beating Commies, winning Gold Medals, and having great hair. Follow him on Twitter: @SoBroHerbie_B

Buy our shirt. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube. Shop our store on Redbubble.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get updates and learn from the best

More To Explore