Pros & Cons: Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Our newest feature, Pros and Cons, holds a debate between two of our featured writers as they make an argument for each team in the series. We will continue this series throughout the playoffs as we delve deeper into how these two teams will interact.
Nashville Predators by Alexander Monaghan
The Nashville Predators maintained an almost identical record both home and away making the home ice advantage of the Blackhawks not such a glaring… advantage. Certainly the away team will try to use that in their favor as they take on the third strongest offense in the league and the second strongest offense in the Western Conference.
Coach Barry Trotz took a scoring by committee approach to this season, moving former first liners Jason Arnott and JP Dumont around the lineup instead of in their usual spot. This transition led to nine different players scoring double digits in goals and Swedish winger Patric Hornqvist breaking the thirty goal mark.
Hornqvist, however, enters the series with zero NHL playoff experience. He did play in the AHL playoffs last season with the Milwaukee Admirals registering eight points in eleven games. This team needs to not rely on one player as they have done all season and receive consistent contributions from Martin Erat, Steve Sullivan, Joel Ward, David Legwand and Marcel Goc.
Perhaps their greatest advantage would be the ability to fight fire with fire. Although Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith represent one of the scariest tandems in hockey, the due of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter should give them a run for their money. One of the best shut down pairings in the league will need to shut down more than one line as Chicago throws waves of talented forwards at the opposition.
Netminder Pekka Rinnealso holds zero playoff experience and will need to continue his torrid play down the stretch to beat the offense. Over the last two months of the season Rinne only lost four games in regulation with excellent peripherals. He may prove to the Hawks that goaltending means everything in April.
Chicago Blackhawks by Brandon Augienello
In these Blackhawks, we have one of, if not the most, exciting young teams in the National Hockey League. Last season’s surprising conference finals appearance catapulted this once downtrodden Original Six franchise and in the blink of an eye and turned them into the hottest ticket in town.
Head coach Joel Quenneville, who took over early last season, has done an incredible job managing a team filled with youth and talent. Managing a bevy of elite players ice times and making everyone happy isn’t exactly as easy as one would think. In addition to core players such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp, Chicago General Manager Stan Bowman made probably the biggest splash in the free agent pool, signing perennial 40-goal man Marian Hossa.
Predictably, the club ran through the regular season, despite having shaky goaltending in Antti Niemi and Cristobal Huet respectively, throughout large portions of the season. Garnering the #2 seed in the conference regardless of their inconsistencies is going to be vital for a successful playoff run. Only the Vancouver Canucks had more wins in their home rink, out west.
Their first round opponent will be a good early test because, despite winning four out of the six regular season contests between the two, the games were a lot closer than the series might have indicated. Pekka Rinne, while unproven in these playoffs, will certainly provide the Nashville Predators with solid goaltending. Solid might not be enough, in this case, because even though goaltending is ultra important at any point in the season, you still have to score to win in this league.
Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are at the top of their games, but where is the punch up front? Joel Ward, Patrick Hornqvist, Steve Sullivan, Martin Erat and captain Jason Arnott are all very solid hockey players, but there isn’t one gamebreaker among them.
The Nashville Predators hold the advantage between the pipes, if you are basing your theory on regular season statistics. But this isn’t the regular season, these are the playoffs. It’s time to show and prove for whoever is in net for Chicago and the young Nashville netminder.
