It’s been over two months since we’ve seen any NHL action thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As we head into June, it looks like the NHL is gearing up to get back out on the ice. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league’s ‘Return to Play’ plan earlier in the week via a YouTube video on the NHL’s official channel.
24 teams are in – 12 from the Western Conference, and 12 from the Eastern Conference. Two cities will host the tournaments, which are being split up into two rounds. The seeding round will determine the top four seeds in each conference – the top four teams will all play each other once in an effort to sort out who is #1-4. Then, there’s a qualifying round consisting of four best-of-five contests – the #5-12 seeds will pair up and play for the right to play the four teams from the seeding round in the second round. Confused yet?
That qualifying round is where our beloved Nashville Predators come into play. At 35-26-8, the Preds qualify as the #6 seed with a points percentage of .565. They’ll be squaring up against the #11 seed Arizona Coyotes in a rather intriguing and challenging match-up. For the Coyotes, the break couldn’t have come at a better time – they had lost 14 of their last 21 games before the break. They’ll get the chance to reset, as will all 24 playoff teams. But, it’s superstar Taylor Hall and the overall team speed of the young Coyotes that should make Preds fans nervous.
For what it’s worth, the season series is tied between these two teams, though those games were played in October and December of 2019. For the Preds, the goaltending situation remains one of the bigger question marks. Juuse Saros started 14 of their last 18 games – is he going to be the guy? Or, will they switch back to Pekka Rinne, who is far more experienced in the clutch situations that the postseason brings?
This is going to be a wild tournament unlike anything we’ve seen before. That makes it so hard to predict. Coming in after a two-month hiatus means someone’s going to get hot and someone’s going to get cold, and it’s just begging for some sort of insanity to ensue. Why can’t the Preds come out and make a run at this thing? While the Colorado Avalanche have the best odds to win the conference at +325, the Preds are sitting right in the middle of the field in the West, with odds averaging at about +1400 (average odds compiled from this list of sites at Sports Betting Dime). Hell, why not take a flier on the Preds?
At least we won’t have to worry about Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kositsyn partying out in the desert until 4AM the morning before a Stanley Cup Playoff game, right?!?!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
