PLAYOFF PREVIEW - CENTRAL

Mario Russo & Jared Rotenberg

COL - NSH

This first-round matchup in the West between the Preds and Avs could not have favored the excessively talented west coast side any more. Even bracket builders who bet on each and every postseason underdog probably had second thoughts on projecting the outcome of this lopsided series.

Colorado is known for it’s high altitude and towering rocky mountains; both of which the Nashville Predators are likely gonna have to adjust to if they wish to hold any water to the reigning President’s trophy winners. It may seem like I’m picking at straws here, bringing up the surrounding climate to this playoff series, yet the Avs stand tied for the best home record in the entire National Hockey League, posting a whopping 32-5-4 record through 41 games this season.

So a hostile atmosphere, home ice advantage and the best record in the conference, all signs point to the Avalanche swiftly taking care of this first round series just as they did a year prior. To make matters worse for the overachieving Predator side, Vezina-caliber netminder Juuse Saros is staring at a timetable of 4-6 weeks that will keep him out of the crease for the maximum length of the series.

A hope and a prayer is all the Pred’s have left in the tank to keep their season alive against one of most proficient teams the league has ever seen. Backup goaltender David Rittich may be able to steal a game or two, but the Avs’ strength in all three zones of the ice will be more than enough to close out this foreseeable series with ease.

MIN - STL

This is arguably the closest series of the bunch, and on paper it seems as though this matchup is destined to go the distance, and is all but guaranteed to take 6 or 7 games to determine a victor. The reasons that I believe this matchup will be so close is both simply because both teams utilize a similar style of play with varying different strengths and weaknesses.

Firstly, in looking at the roster of the Minnesota Wild, the main note is the fact that they happen to carry the best player in the entire series; Russian superstar Kirill Kaprizov. In only his second season in the NHL, Kaprizov was absolutely explosive offensively, putting up 47 goals, 61 assists, and a total of 108 points in the 81 games he’s played.

Despite his regular season dominance, he was infact shutdown to an extent in last seasons first round loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, in which he only produced 2 goals and 1 assist in a 7 game loss. For this reason he absolutely has the pressure to carry his great regular season play into this playoff series.

Ultimately, this is where I see the first issue with the Minnesota Wild, as they happen to be rather top heavy, with somewhat of a lack in offensive depth, especially in the center position. Now, if the stars on Minnesota can avoid being shutdown, they absolutely have the potential to defeat the St. Louis Blues.

Despite not quite having a player of the magnitude of Kirill Kaprizov, in terms of overall offensive depth, I absolutely give the advantage to the Blues They have immense depth that is capable of utilizing a defensive style that lends itself well to the playoffs, and I ultimately think this will help the Blues immensely.

The one area of concern that does make me hesitant with St. Louis is their goaltending situation, as they have a tandem of Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso. Binnington has not been remotely the same since winning the cup, and Husso is only in his second year as a National Hockey League goaltender, and has played a significant portion of this season as a starter due to Binnington’s struggles.

Minnesota on the other hand completely bolstered their goaltending by acquiring 3-time Stanley Cup Champion and 5-time Stanley Cup Finalist Marc-Andre Fleury. Backing him up, is another veteran goaltender in Cam Talbot.

However, despite completely acknowledging that Minnesota has the edge in net that could absolutely carry them on a deep run, I personally believe the overall offensive and defensive depth, as well as the playoff and championship experience that the St. Louis Blues have gives them a slight advantage over the Wild.

For these reasons, in an extremely close series, I have the St. Louis Blues winning in Game 7.