Fansided

Predicting the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup Final Series 4-1. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup Final Series 4-1. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – MAY 2: Linesman Derek Amell #75 tries to separate the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues during a line brawl in the third period of Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 2, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – MAY 2: Linesman Derek Amell #75 tries to separate the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues during a line brawl in the third period of Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 2, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

C2 Nashville Predators vs. C3 St.Louis Blues

A rematch of their 2017 second round match-up, except a lot has changed over the past two years. These are mostly different teams now, and both are better than they were during that 2017 series. Can St.Louis overcome their playoff woes to upset the Nashville powerhouse?

Why Nashville is in

Nashville is an easy pick to make the playoffs. It’s really just a question of if they win the Western Conference or fall just a bit short, because this team is stacked to the rafters with talent on every end of the ice.

Nashville has the most well rounded defense core in the NHL today, even with the Sharks acquiring Erik Karlsson. Their top four is P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm, all of whom are proven top pairing defensemen that can generate offense in the offensive zone and provide shutdown defense in their own end. It’s the core of what makes Nashville so dangerous.

While Nashville’s offense isn’t the best in the league, it’s incredibly dangerous and exactly what you need from a playoff team.  An elite first line, only a slight downgrade for the second line, a balanced offense/shutdown third and an a fourth line that does i’s job without being a liability. What more can you want?

Why St.Louis is in

The Blues had perhaps the best offseason in the NHL this season, filling almost all of their offensive holes that caused them to miss the playoffs last season along with supporting their already fantastic core. Trading for an elite center like Ryan O’Reilly would almost have been enough to get the Blues back into the playoffs, but they also improved their depth with Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Patrick Maroon.

Putting all those additions alongside the core of Vladamir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz just makes the Blues that much more dangerous. Even without those free agent additions, all of those players are poised to have career years and take the Blues to the postseason. They would’ve last year even when they weren’t great, but they didn’t get the support they needed from the depth of the Blues. Now they have it.

With such a strong offense, the natural assumption would be that the defense is lacking, but the defense for the Blues is just as deep as their offense. Alex Pietrangelo is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league, and the rest of the defensive core is built of solid top four guys like Colton Parayko, Joel Edmundson and Vince Dunn.

Who will win

While it’ll likely be a fun series full of bad blood, Nashville should take this one. They’re favorites for the Stanley Cup for a reason with their amount of depth and absurdly talented defense, and the Blues can’t match that amount of skill even after their outstanding offseason. Unless Rinne drops the ball even worse than he did last year, the Predators shouldn’t be in too much trouble.

In any other division in the league, the Blues would be a Stanley Cup contender. But in the Central division, they have to run through two teams that are simply better than them in Nashville and Winnipeg. Unless there are injuries to Nashville or every bounce goes the Blues way, it’s hard to imagine them taking this series even after such a great offseason. It’ll be a fun series, but the outcome won’t be in much doubt.

Predators over Blues in six games

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