Press Kit: The Preds To Face Avalanche, Saros Out For First Two Games

Filip Forsberg and the Predators against the Colorado Avalanche. Photo: Courtesy of the Nashville Predators

The Predators are back in the playoffs for the eighth straight season and are taking on the red hot Colorado Avalanche in the first round starting Tuesday, May 3 in Denver.

This series will be one of Nashville’s toughest over the past seasons taking on a Stanley Cup favorite in the Avalanche.

“We certainly belong in the playoffs,” said head coach John Hynes during a press conference. “We feel like we have a real strong identity, and we have some good experience with guys that have made some runs. We have a good amount of our younger guys that are in the lineup now and went through a pretty good playoff series against Carolina last year.”

Colorado had a fantastic season, finishing first in the Central Division and the Western Conference and second in the entire NHL.

The Preds, on the other hand, finished the in the last Wild Card spot with 97 points and in the month of April lost nine out of its last 15 games. They were able to snag a comeback 5-4 win over Colorado in the second-to-last game of the season.

Juuse Saros. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville Predators

A big factor for Nashville is not having star goaltender Juuse Saros for at least Games One and Two, the team announced on Monday (May 2).

“He’s doing his rehab, he’s working and he’s getting better,” said Hynes. “He’s around the team, he’s in all of our team meetings and he’s preparing himself mentally to make sure that when and if he’s ready, then he’s going to be ready to go… We’re just trying to do the best job we can to provide him with the opportunity to get better and he’s taken advantage of it.”

Without Saros, the Predators will have to use backups David Rittich or Connor Ingram for the first two games.

Rittich has played in 17 games this season, picking up six wins, three losses and four overtime losses. He sports a 3.57 goals against average (GAA) and a save percentage of 88.6 percent.

Ingram has spent most of his time with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, and has only played three games for the Preds, making his NHL debut on Oct. 24 against Minnesota. His record is 1-2 and has a GAA of 3.71 and save percentage of 87.9 percent.

These numbers are fair, but it will be difficult to overtake the Avalanche without Saros who had a GAA of 2.64 and a save percentage of 91.8 percentage in 67 games played.

Roman Josi. Photo: Courtesy of the Nashville Predators

Offensively, the Predators have had one of their best seasons ever behind Norris Trophy favorite Roman Josi and leading scorer Matt Duchene. Josi had a historic season, scoring 96 points, the most ever scored in franchise history. He leads the team in assists with 73.

“The playoffs are always exciting,” Josi shared. “It’s a long regular season with a lot of tough games. That’s why we play so hard in the regular season, to get to this point.”

Duchene is having his best season as a Pred, scoring 43 goals which was eighth best in the NHL. He also had 43 assists and 86 points–the most he’s ever had throughout his 15 year career.

Colorado’s offense will be led by Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon who lead the team in points and goals. Rantanen leads the team with 92 points and 36 goals. MacKinnon has 88 points and 32 goals.

Another issue for the Preds is the fact that Colorado has a duel-goalie threat in both Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz.

Kuemper has played 57 games and sports a GAA of 2.54 and a 92.1 save percentage. Francouz has played 21 games and has a GAA of 2.55 and a 91.6 save percentage. Kuemper will most likely be tonight’s starter but having these two fantastic goaltender’s could be devastating to the Preds if their offense runs flat.

Tonight’s Game One will be a massive stress test for the Preds to see if their offense and defense can save them even with the absence of Saros. No announcement has been made regarding Saros’ availability for Game Three and on.

Preds vs. Avalanche NHL Playoffs Round One Schedule:
Game 1: Tuesday, May 3 at 8:30 p.m. – Predators at Avalanche, Ball Arena
Game 2: Thursday, May 5 at 8:30 p.m. – Predators at Avalanche, Ball Arena
Game 3: Saturday, May 7 at 3:30 p.m. – Avalanche at Predators, Bridgestone Arena
Game 4: Monday, May 9 at 8:30 p.m. – Avalanche at Predators, Bridgestone Arena
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 11, TBD – Predators at Avalanche, Ball Arena
*Game 6: Friday, May 13, TBD – Avalanche at Predators, Bridgestone Arena
*Game 7: Sunday, May 15, TBD – Predators at Avalanche, Ball Arena
*If Necessary

Steven Boero